I recently bought a 98 e250 with about 170000 miles 5.4 litre. I bought the van as part of a business deal. I live in florida and basically have not driven the van since it was bought in january. I store it accross the street from my house and hav not driven it since feb. Recently i went over to the storage area and tried to start the van..no luck. It turned over for about 1 second i heard a clunk then just clicking. I dropped the starter and had it bench tested its fine...also had the battery load tested its fine...replaced the solonoid just cuz i was at the parts store and didnt feel like making another trip. Also replaced the battery connectors. Still no luck. Ive pulled the plugs which was a major pain in the a$$, disconnected the serpentine belt and tried turning the engine by hand no dice, also tried hittin the starter no dice, Currently it is sitting with the plugs out and marvel mystery oil in the cyclinders. Basically what would cause an engine to seize from sitting basically a month, or is there something else that could be the issue. any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

You could also try adding a good quality penetrating oil. Then keep trying to see if you can break it loose. This is one of those situations where patience could pay off.
Let us know how you make out with this, Thanks.

 

I have a question for you. can the motor be turned over in reverse. If you can do that and try to start it again if it clunks and stops then you have rod that broke and locked it up. the only thing that I can think of is that with that many miles it might have smoked or rattled while it was running to give it some warning before locking up.

 

ive tried in reverse as well...ive moved the van both forward and reverse in gear so im fairly certain its nothing in the driveline...the last time it was driven there were no issues...no smoke, rattles, cluncking nothing. Which is why im a little dumbfounded. I find it hard to believe that the motor would seize just from sitting a month and then trying to start it. not impossible i suppose but unlikely. I have not dropped the oil pan to look at the bottom end since the van is in an area where i really cant work on it, but im thinking possibly the oil pump shaft possibly sheared?? in any event it will be a few days before i can get over and do any more with it

 

If an automatic trans is placed in any range with the engine not running there is no physical connection to cause the engine to turn. If the vehicle were on a hill with the engine off and no brakes applied and not in park the vehicle will roll.
Is there any way to look in the bell housing for something that may be jamming the torque converter and engine ?

 

Correct..however if there were a bolt or some other obstruction in the torque converter flywheel area the vehicle should not move if that were the case which is why i moved it to check for just that possibility. There is a plate at the bottom of the bell housing but it basically only allows you to see the bottom of the assembly, there is also a plastic cap about 2" in diameter halfway up the bell housing on the drivers side. On the top of the bell housing there is also another hole about 3/16" in diameter where ive put a phillips screwdriver down the hole to feel the top of the converter and i can feel the converter trying to move when i hit the starter. I am fairly certain that there is no obstruction from the flywheel assembly back. But like ive said in previous posts i have not been able to take the oil pan out and physically look at the bottom end. which honestly is where i suspect the problem. even if it were say a broken valve or pushrod chances are you would still be able to turn the engine and this thing just will not move forward or backword

 

The only thing the torque converter does is to turn the pump in the trans and when trans oil pressure applies a clutch or band then the tail shaft moves. The torque converter turns with the engine running because it is connected to the flywheel. Don't want to beat a dead horse, but just as when the piston(s) are frozen, rod came apart, there is still the possibility of something causing the flywheel/torque converter from moving. I agree with you since you can't find anything definite preventing the engine from moving you may need to drop the pan. What did you use to try to turn the crank pulley ?
Something is still bugging me and that is ,your starter tested OK, the battery tested OK, but what about something simple like a bad battery cable ?
I would want to make sure I tried to check everything before dropping the pan.
That's a lot of work to go through especially if you don't find anything .

 

as far as the cables go i bypassed them with a set of jumper cables with the starter removed to verify for myself that the starter was indeed fine, then i reconnected the starter and hooked the cables back up with it in the vehicle and same thing no engine turnover just clicking. as far as the pulley goes ive used an 18 mm socket and 1/2 breaker bar, ive also used the good ole 2 wrench trick no luck, i was thinking about putting some grade 8's through the balancer and getting a bar...tire iron something along those lines to try turning it that way, however im kinda leary about that figuring id just break those bolts. way i see it i either have to drop the pan and or slide the tranny back to see whats up...neither of which im looking forward to.

 

At this point i believe you tried all you could. I guess there is also the possibility of something let go with the timing chain pieces. We will be watching to see just what you find. Thanks.