Tecumseh 9hp; "unstuck" crankshaft and loud internal rattle

Hi, I just picked up a craftsman Snow Blower with a 9hp, Model LH318-156569 engine... the guy I bought it from said the engine was "frozen"... I tried the pull starter and it didn't budge (bought it anyway, great price)... once home, I removed the starter cord assembly and plastic belt cover... just to see if I could, I used a 14" ratchet on the nut holding pulley to the end of the crankshaft... to my surprise, without "herni-a-ting" myself, I got the crankshaft to spin!... I spun it clockwise a couple of times with the ratchet, then i used the electric start briefly to see if it would spin as well, and it did... I went back to the ratchet and it felt stuck again (exactly like the first time)... I gave it a the same effort and I was able to get it to spin... one last time, I used the electric starter (just about 2 seconds) and it spun but I noticed a rather loud rattling sound inside the engine, a sound I'd never heard before from a small engine.

QUESTIONS; what's my next move to repair this engine (or getting ready to run)?... what's the relationship, if any, between the sometime "stuck" crankshaft and the rattle I heard? What would you do? Thanks very much for responses!

 

Sounds like a broken rod, remove the spark plug, insert a thin screwdrived in the hole, turn the engine to see if the piston goes up and down. Have a good one. Geo

 

geogrubb thanks!... tried your recommendation, piston didn't move... I'm a gamer and a knuckle-scraper at heart and would love to fix it but I never tried a repair like this, is it possible to "unfreeze" and/or remove the piston head and make a long lasting repair? thanks for time and opinions. Johnny

 

You'll have to open it up and see how much damage has been done to get an idea of the repairability of the engine.

 

Like Cheese says, you have to open it up. Best case scenerio is the connecting rod broke and is flopping around inside the block when you spin the motor making that bad noise you hear. And if you are lucky, the connecting rod will be the only thing broken, so a little machining on the crankshaft to remove scratches from the connecting rod, a new connecting rod sized for your newly machined crank shaft, and if the cylinder wall shows no damage, treat your self to a new piston and rings and reassemble it. Worst case is when you open it up, you will find the crank damaged beyond repair, the cylinder badly scored with chips missing off the botttom, bad bearings, internal evidence of having been run with no oil, valves packed with unremoveable sludge and a crankcase bottom filled with bits of sludgy metal, all of which would point to getting a replacement engine instead of trying to rebuild this one.

 

Time for a new engine. By the time you buy all the parts, rebore the cylinder, change all the bearings with time and materials you will have spent more then it's worth.
Check out Northern Tool for prices on a new engine.

 

Huh? It might need a $25 rod and a couple gaskets. Open it up and see what you need before condemning it.