Locked up Quad in 91 SE Sedan

[91SEsedan]

I recently bought a very nice little 91 SE sedan with 133K mi. The car seems to be in great shape with the exception of the front bumper. However, the engine will not turn over AT ALL. It won't budge by turning the key or by turning the crank with a socket and ratchet. I know absolutely no history on the car other than it was repoed because the previous owner stopped paying since it would not start. I bought the car for only $500, and considering that it has a flawless interior and just one or two small dings on the outside I don't feel bad about this. I don't know much about the Quad 4, so any help you guys can give me will be greatly appreciated.

[4kQuad]

If the starter can't spin it and you can't spin it at the crank. There is a good bet its hydro-locked (sp) meaning water has gotten into one of the cylinders. So when the starter trys to spin it the water trapped in the cylinder pushes back so to speak. So the motor can not spin.

Lift the hood, looking down at the motor you see a large flat thing on the motor that says Quad 4 on it. Remove the 4 bolts 15mm i think. Pull the cover straight up. You will see the spark plugs looking straight back up at you. remove all 4 plugs, then try the key again. With the plugs removed, the water is no longer trapped and it should push right on up out of the plug holes.

Before you get that far, Pull the Oil Stick. is there oil on the end of the stick or does it look like a milk shake. If it's a milk shake it's rebuild time. $2,000.00 for a rebuild and $500 for the car. Well 2,500 for a pretty car with a new motor is still not bad.

By the way, if it's the DOHC when it's rebuilt....they hall @ss. They like to eat V6's. But don't tell V6 people that, they don't like to hear a 4 banger will beat them.

Mine was a 5 speed, 60mph in second at 6000 and 70mph in 3rd at 5000.
Yep 70 in 3rd with 12 grand to go before I had to shift and two more gears to shift up to. Did I say they hall @ss.

[Brad97GS]

You, uh, meant "1.2 grand to go," right? ;) It's been a few years since I've owned a Quad, but I'm pretty sure it didn't have a 17,000rpm redline! :lol:

Anyway, I agree with 4k. It's a good possibility the engine is hydrolocked. And since removing the spark plugs is simple on these engines, it's no big deal to take them out and see what's going on. If you're looking to spend less than $2000, you can probably find a Quad 4 in a junkyard for a decent price. It'd be a good idea to inspect it first though. :) Good luck!

[4kQuad]

You, uh, meant "1.2 grand to go," right? It's been a few years since I've owned a Quad, but I'm pretty sure it didn't have a 17,000rpm redline!
Brad97gs posted ^^

No I mean "170000" I said they hall @ss.

Ok your right. yellow lined at 6200 and red started at 6400

[91SEsedan]

I went out to the car today and I pulled the plugs and tried to crank it. No luck. I even removed the serpentine belt thinking maybe the ac comp or alternator might be restricting it, and that made no difference. All I hear is the starter engaging, but it simply will not turn over. It does have oil in it that looks good and it is full of coolant. Nothing looks unusual out of the tailpipe or inside the muffler. I even put a new battery in it and that did absolutely nothing for me. Did the car throw a rod or are there any more simple or inexpensive tests I can perform? Thanks to all of you for your help!

[BadBoy]

well, you could go one more step & remove the timing belt to see if its the cams that are binding. i'd guess the bottom end is fried. does the crank move at all? even just a little? i had a van w/ a 4.3L V6 that lost oil pump prime, totally locked up tight.

Good luck!

BadBoy :glasses:

[Brad97GS]

Does it make any noise at all, like the starter making a really fast 'whirrrrrrrrr' sound? I'm wondering if the flywheel teeth are broken or something...

[91SEsedan]

There is absolutely NO rotation of this engine at all. The starter clicks and you can tell it engages, but it cannot turn over the motor. All dash lights go off because of the draw on the brand new battery so something has to be jammed inside the engine--whatever that may be. At least that is my assumption from what all I have tried and been told so far.

-Brock

[91SEsedan]

I did try turning the crank with a socket and ratchet after pulling the plugs and removing the serpentine belt. It will not move either way. The starter makes the effort to turn the motor, but it makes no more than one hard straining clunk.

[BadBoy]

me thinks your screwed, dude :( i guess all you can do is pull the oil pan and see how bad it is...

sorry!

BadBoy :glasses:

[4kQuad]

If you put a socket on the crank, with the plugs out and it don't turn..with oil in it.

I have to agree that the oil pan needs pulled or maybe just drain the oil and run a magnit through the oil feeling for chunks.

[91SEsedan]

I was laying in bed last night and I couldn't sleep....so my mind began to wander. I remembered a little 91 Grand Am LE sedan that I had looked at a few months ago. The owner inherited a dying used car lot from his father-in-law and had this car. He knows nothing about it, but that they labeled it as "junk". It has 83K mi, is a Quad 4 and has been sitting for many years. I stopped by and we hooked up a jump box to see if it would crank. We turned the key and it started cranking. So long story short I bought the car for $100. I figure I have something to rebuild at least since it turns over and I can get some very useful other parts from this car. The body is in pretty good shape with the exception of the hood and grille. The seats and carpet are nasty, but everything else seems ok. It has one turbo aluminum wheel left on it and bare rims otherwise. So I am one step closer to getting the little red machine going again!

[BadBoy]

good to hear! i hate those sleepless nights too :P

BadBoy :glasses:

[Brad97GS]

Good thinking! A spare parts car is always nice... :)

[91SEsedan]

Here is my donor motor for the SE. Odom on this car reads 83,871 mi. Anything I should be looking for or take extra caution with when removing this motor? I know that there are a couple of extraneous parts that have been thrown under the hood of this car over on the driver's side. The motor looks untouched to me.

Thanks!

-Brock