Slow/No Crank After 4.0 Rebuild

[jmdirk]

Okay guys, I'm almost at the end of my rope here. I hydrolocked my '94 Ex a couple months ago and bent a rod.

So I took the engine out of my '93 parts truck, tore it down, honed cylinders, reconditioned cylinder heads, new cam bearings, rod and main bearings, new rings gaskets etc.

The problem I have now is that it typically won't turn over. I've put in new battery and starter, checked the wiring between the two. I can hear both the solenoid on the fender and the one on the starter engage.

I can periodically get it to turn over and it starts up right away (though it does idle too high ~1500 rpm)

When I first put it together I made two bone headed mistakes:
1) Messed up the spark plug wire order - now fixed
2) Messed up the fender starter solednoid connection so that when the engine ran, the starter was running constantly. (starter has since been replaced)

The strange thing is that as I was dealing with issues 1 and 2, it seemed to turn over okay but as time goes on, it gets more and more difficult to turn over.

It almost seems like something inside is too tight. I checked all the bearing clearances when reassembling the engine and they appeared okay. I'm at the point where I'm going to yank it out and start tearing it down again to see what else might be the problem, but first I'm hoping someone might have some bright ideas as to what is going on.

 

[loaderopp]

Okay guys, I'm almost at the end of my rope here. I hydrolocked my '94 Ex a couple months ago and bent a rod.

So I took the engine out of my '93 parts truck, tore it down, honed cylinders, reconditioned cylinder heads, new cam bearings, rod and main bearings, new rings gaskets etc.

The problem I have now is that it typically won't turn over. I've put in new battery and starter, checked the wiring between the two. I can hear both the solenoid on the fender and the one on the starter engage.

I can periodically get it to turn over and it starts up right away (though it does idle too high ~1500 rpm)

When I first put it together I made two bone headed mistakes:
1) Messed up the spark plug wire order - now fixed
2) Messed up the fender starter solednoid connection so that when the engine ran, the starter was running constantly. (starter has since been replaced)

The strange thing is that as I was dealing with issues 1 and 2, it seemed to turn over okay but as time goes on, it gets more and more difficult to turn over.

It almost seems like something inside is too tight. I checked all the bearing clearances when reassembling the engine and they appeared okay. I'm at the point where I'm going to yank it out and start tearing it down again to see what else might be the problem, but first I'm hoping someone might have some bright ideas as to what is going on.

did u use essembley lube when u rebuilt it. And are all the grounds checked

 

[2000StreetRod]

Offset rods?

I had a similar problem about 40 years ago when I rebuilt my first engine (1960 Volvo 544). It turned out the rods were offset and I assembled them incorrectly. When I torqued the rod crankshaft caps the pistons were binding against the cylinders. My Hayne's Repair Manual doesn't say whether or not the V6 rods are offset. Nor does it mention any front markings for assembly. Just a thought but I'm doubtful it's your problem since you said the engine actually ran.
There is a lot of friction between the rings and the cylinder walls after honing. Try pulling the spark plugs and turn the engine by hand or with the starter to see if it spins reasonably freely.