Bare with me here.. possibly long story/detail list. we got a 92 4x4 standard v6 (3vze) pickup truck with a bad head gasket (smoked more than cheech n chong) went and did the head gasket, water pump, and timing belt job. *note: i disconnected the soft line from the hard line running to the clutch slave cylinder in order to remove what i needed to complete the job.. i ran it a few times to check for leaks etc with the line disconnected and clutch peddle left in depressed position on the floor and both shifters in N (in hindsight i should have bled the clutch system).. all seemed good.. ran it again another day and noticed it was low on gas.. turned it off.. went to get gas, put some in her, went to go start it up in both N, and starter sounded like it wasn't getting enough power.. very slow spinning.. sounded like it was struggling.. added a jumper to boost power still did same until it stopped completely.. checked voltage.. it was good.. (approx 12.6v)

I put a socket on the crankshaft pulley bolt and tried to turn it, but it wouldn't budge.. breaker bar.. nothing.. could rotate just maybe a few degrees back and forth and could hear a clanking noise that seemed to be from the bottom end.. i removed the acc belts, plugs, even the starter to rule out any of those causing the binding.. no luck.. assumed the worst and sourced a known good running engine..

I went to remove the engine from our truck.. got it hoisted up.. and decided to try and spin it.. it spun freely.. no binding.. confused by this i decided to reinstall the engine after reconnecting and bleeding the clutch system (thought perhaps that was the issue).. put everything back together.. started right up in N... ran for about 10min straight.. went to back out of our driveway (depressed clutch, shift into r, while getting onto the accel and letting off the clutch peddle).. it stalled.. went to start up again.. acted just like it did before.. with slow moving starter/engine rotation. Has not locked up this time. But sounds just like it did last time before binding up..
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i disconnected the drive shaft from the rear differential and was able to spin it by hand with no issues.. front axles spun too (hubs not in locked mode)
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I bled the clutch again just in case.. didn't make a difference.. clutch is rather stiff.. feels almost like a cable clutch.. seemed like the bubbles were not stopping either..
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​​​previous owner had a new clutch installed shortly before the hg went out.. we had no issues driving it onto and off our tow dolly and later into our driveway..

I am a bit tired and lost at this time in figuring this out and would really appreciate some assistance.. i may end up removing the clutch slave and try to start it.. not sure if that would really change anything.. but i feel this issue has something to do with the clutch system.. but not sure how or if it is actually causing this issue.. thanks in advance.

 

Is the clutch disk aligned properly? Sounds like maybe it’s getting jammed up on the input shaft.

 

The truck was driven about 500miles after the clutch job before the head gasket blew.. so i assume it was done properly.. when it first locked up, i had not messed with the shifter..
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i agree it seems like something is jamming.. the clutch peddle was left down and soft line disconnected for a month or so while the truck was being slowly worked on.. i wonder if something in the master went bad during that time.. im wondering if the throw out bearing and clutch fork got messed up.. but i dont see how or why..

 

Anyone else have any other possible suggestions or ideas? I would rather not take it to a transmission shop.. thank you

 

Anyone?

 

I’m wondering if maybe you’ve got a slightly warped crank or maybe a bearing starting to seize up.

 

so it sounds like it's definitely binding up after the engine has been run for awhile? does it bind up on a cold start? strange problem

 

Follow up. So i replaced the clutch mc, soft hose, and slave cyl. They were old so didnt feel bad replacing anyways..


Cranked It,still slow to spin.. put in another bat.. started right up.. shut it off... slow cranking again.. im beginning to think it is a starter or wiring issue now.. unlike before prior to removing the engine.. that was definitely binded up. I cleaned the terminals and grounds. Still no luck. I ran an extra set of cables to the starter from the bat just incase it was a possible wiring issue. Did not change anything. Starter looks old. May be time to get a new one. Might try hitting it tomorrow with a bfh.