Ford New Holland 4610 motor locked up

cutlass1 · Nov 8, 2020

Hello, We have an issue with our Ford 4610. Motor cannot turn by the crank bolt but it can turn slowly with great effort with a pry-bar on the flywheel teeth. Oil pan was dropped and there was no indication of engine damage, the crankshaft had thrust play and connecting rods had normal endplay. All gears appear to be normal. No damage to the valve train. I wasn't present when it locked up, but the person who was said they heard a strange banging noise out of nowhere and they shut it down. Afterward the starter could not turn the engine. I was able to see the clutch fork engage the throwout bearing but the motor still can't turn easily when clutch is pushed down. I'm thinking there might be something stuck in the flywheel area. I heard that "headland" pistons would come apart but I don't see any indication of damage on the cylinder walls or pistons when looking up from the bottom of the engine. Anyone had an issue like this with these 3 cylinder diesels? Thanks

JimB2 · Nov 8, 2020

Not familiar with the Ford 3 cyl Diesel but does it have an engine driven hydraulic pump that may be have a problem?
Have you loosened fan belt to eliminate water pump and alternator?
I believe it uses a CAV fuel pump, I don't believe they are prone to failure and the next would be oil pump before dismantling engine.

cdmn · Nov 8, 2020

Don't know if it happens in Fords, but in some engines, the nose of the starter can break off and get jammed into the flywheel. I've had a non-Ford engine where a valve head has broken off, and by rattling around, it peened the top of the piston so bad, that it expanded into a jammed fit with the sleeve.

cutlass1 · Nov 8, 2020

Thanks for the reply. That's my next step, to see if there is any binding in the pump or other gear driven accessories. If that checks out I may explore the clutch/flywheel for any broken parts. Lastly I was going to remove the head to see if any of the top of the pistons separated. I read that the top ring is very close to the top of the headland piston and is a weak point.

cutlass1 · Nov 8, 2020

Thanks for the reply. I removed the starter and didn't see anything jammed. Then I used my remote camera inside the bell housing through the starter hole but didn't see anything unusual. Valve train, camshaft and lifters look good, but I'm gonna pull the head if other possible sources of binding check out.

juniur · Nov 8, 2020

I’ve seen ball bearings come out of the throw out bearing and jam between the flywheel and bellhousing.
If you think it’s a piston take the rod caps off one at a time and push the pistons up and try to turn the crank.

2x4 · Nov 8, 2020

broken gear on the end of the dist. shaft or oil pump?

fixerupper · Nov 8, 2020

Since you have the starter out take a screwdriver and pry up and down on the flywheel ring gear. Give it just a slight nudge up, then a slight nudge down. Is there any gear slack at all even a slight amount. If it seems like the crankshaft turns free even a slight amount but quits turning when gear slack somewhere like camshaft or hydraulic pump drive is taken up your crankshaft just might be free but something the crankshaft drives might be tight. This is not a sure bet diagnostic by any means but it could be part of the process of elimination.

Janicholson · Nov 8, 2020

Broken piston rings travel above where the groove they make would be visible. Piston pins can slide out and groove the walls. if the rod caps are loosened or removed, each piston could be moved easily upward to see if one of them is the problem. If one is near TDC, the others would be down some! Jim

504 · Nov 8, 2020

Take out the glow plugs and try it again.

Tx Jim · Nov 9, 2020

No glow plugs offered on Ford 4610 engine.

My guess is galled piston or possibly failed main or rod brg.

cutlass1 · Nov 13, 2020

Update: Turns out it was a shattered valve seat that caused the valve to hit one of the pistons. The piston cracked and wedged itself inside of the cylinder bore. I'm gonna remove the piston to see if the walls are badly scored. If not, I may get lucky and just be able to hone it. I really don't want to split this tractor and have the motor cylinder bores sleeved. I'll keep you posted, thanks everyone for the input.

Tx Jim · Nov 13, 2020

I hope cylinder wall isn't cracked through to coolant area from the stress of the wedged piston.

Ford New Holland 4610 motor locked up

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