[Spridgets] Ladybug seized up

Greg Gowins eric.t.cartman at gmail.com
Thu Apr 9 07:47:30 MDT 2009


Hey Frank,

This one is a puzzler.  I can't really think of anything, except maybe a
partially blocked oil passage somewhere?  Maybe there is enough of a flow at
idle to keep things properly lubed, but when you get to the higher RPMs of
driving, the problem occurs.  You also mentioned the other day that you had
the wrong water pump on originally.  Maybe the replacement one is having
issues getting coolant circulated at above idle RPM speeds.  That's all that
comes to mind for me.

Greg Gowins
Driftwood, TX

On Tue, Apr 7, 2009 at 10:02 PM, Frank <spritenut at comcast.net> wrote:

> So after the third clutch master, I finally have a working clutch in the
> Ladybug.
> I zipped around the block to test it and handed it over to my daughter to
> try it out.
> I said "Don't go far" and 20 minutes later she comes pushing the car home
> saying it ran out of gas.
> Well I put 3 gallons in it and it has maybe 4 miles on it now. There is no
> way it ran out of gas.
> Fuel pump is clicking but it will not crank over, sort of like a stuck
> starter.
> Rocking the car made NO movement or starter kick out. Neutral the car
> rolls.
> few guys stopped over tonight so we popped out the starter, it was fine but
> I could not lever the flywheel very easy.
> Something was holding the engine back. The starter would budge it but not
> turn it over.
> Pulled the plugs and it was still extremely hard to pry over with a
> crowbar.
> This is a fresh rebuilt engine that seemed OK when it first fired up this
> weekend.
> We did drive it yesterday even with a funky clutch but it ran great.
> Tonight Tiffany blows it up!
> After a few beers, the guys and I tried prying it over again, it moved
> easier so we put the starter back it and it fired up and ran perfect.
> We let it run for a solid 1/2 hour and kept switching it off and starting
> it up again. No problem.
> My daughter says it "worked itself out" But I know better.
> What the heck happened in the first place? Clutch worked as normal. In
> gear, car was locked up, depress clutch, car rolled.
> Even now, the clutch works normally. The car starts and runs fine.
> Why did it seize up but only when SHE took it for a spin by herself?
> How does a seized engine fix itself all by itself?
>
> --
> Frank Clarici
> Toms River, NJ
> My own Fleet of Sprites


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