Allroad 2.7t Crank won't turn

[BluePanda]

How freely is the crank suppose to turn. I've worked on other cars and never had trouble turning the crank by hand. I'll give some better info of my issue. I bought the car with the new motor (used) out of the car, but attached to the trans. I've taken on the challenge of putting this car back together and so far i've got the motor in and a lot of connecters I'm unsure of as well as broken vacuum lines. Well, a friend reminded me of checking the crank to make sure the motor is good. I tried to turn it, and nothing. Not even a nudge. is there something I should be looking for? Is the locking pin I've heard of something that's only put in when doing the timing belt or is it always there. I'm new to audi btw. Kinda feel like I bit off more than I can chew with this. All I want to do now is get it running and sell it.

Someone please help. and if you're in the colorado springs area feel free to come give me a hand or help in any way.

Thanks in advance.

[tewnick]

The locking pin wound be on the driver side of the engine. Hopefully it is the locking pin.

[rollerton]

Make sure the spark plugs are out. And how are you trying to turn it? Crankshaft directly or one of the cam gears on the head? Even with plugs out I have a hard time turning the engine fwd by hand, I usually end up with a BIG wrench on the big reverse threaded fan nut (when engine is in and everything fully assembled) and turning it backwards.
But..obviously, if you're turning it properly and from the crankshaft it should rotate w/o too much trouble. If it doesn't I'm not sure where to tell you to start. I mean there could be interference somewhere from the engine install. Clutch? Torque convertor? Starter or something binding. I mean, in your situation if you didn't personally turn it over before you installed it then there's quite a few steps of backtracking to narrow it down.

[BluePanda]

I'll try tomorrow to turn it without the plugs in. I'm trying to turn it at the crank itself. It's auto, is there anything that would lock the engine near the flywheel or torque converter, other than the starter? If anything I'll try to take out the starter just incase, which seemed like a really tight fit. Also should I put the car in neutral? I really can't understand what could be holding it up. I've worked on plenty of cars and never had an issue quite like this. even on a bad motor seized it still moved a little. I just really hope and pray the engine is good.

Make sure the spark plugs are out. And how are you trying to turn it? Crankshaft directly or one of the cam gears on the head? Even with plugs out I have a hard time turning the engine fwd by hand, I usually end up with a BIG wrench on the big reverse threaded fan nut (when engine is in and everything fully assembled) and turning it backwards.
But..obviously, if you're turning it properly and from the crankshaft it should rotate w/o too much trouble. If it doesn't I'm not sure where to tell you to start. I mean there could be interference somewhere from the engine install. Clutch? Torque convertor? Starter or something binding. I mean, in your situation if you didn't personally turn it over before you installed it then there's quite a few steps of backtracking to narrow it down.

[BluePanda]

So I removed the spark plugs and still the crank won't budge. I think I started to loosen the actual crank bolt. Any Ideas?

I think I'm going to try and remove the the oil pan to see if I can see anything out of the norm. Or maybe try the timing belt. I'm still open to suggestions.

[rollerton]

Unless the engine is like completely 100% seized/ locked up somehow then I'm going to guess binding somehow between engine/ trans or something. Typically even a spun rod, bent valve or other catastrophic failure will allow the crank to turn a little bit. Huge PITA but I'd be tempted to remove starter and use pry-bar to turn the engine via the ring-gear/ flex plate. At least that way you could kind of get an idea whether it's just locked up solid as-is...or...it's just stuck/ binding. If you get ZERO movement that way I'd start loosening bellinghousing bolts. And check periodically if it frees up as you get a bit of clearance between the engine/ trans.
Just do the Audi dance: Once step forward, two steps back! repeat!

[BluePanda]

Hmm..I will try this tomorrow if I have an early day. I now know there is no locking pin. So I'm praying loosening the bell housing bolts does the trick. Is it normal to have to loosen the turbo from the manifold to remove the starter?

[BluePanda]

Ok update loosening the trans got the crank to rotate. So does that mean I have to remove the trans and try to realign it? Or could I just screw the bolts back in and hope it reset it's self to not bind again?

thanks in advance

[Black-Forest]

Do you see a spacer plate between the motor and transmission?

[BluePanda]

I don't recall seeing one, but The motor rotates freely now, after I tightened it back down. I made sure it would still rotate while I was doing so. If there isn't a spacer plate is that bad? I know when I had a 240sx the plate was pretty much just a dust plate from outside elements because of the gap that was remaining after it was bolted up.

Do you see a spacer plate between the motor and transmission?

[Black-Forest]

Without spacer (about 1/4" wide) things would lock up because torque converter would essentially get crushed. If plate present check torque converter bolts perhaps you have one that has walked out and making contact with the back of the block. Next item... torque converter was not installed all the way into transmission.

[Black-Forest]

Any updates?