VW Polo engine sized up

[mcandmar]

Have an interesting problem to fix, my neighbors 96 VW Polo with a 1 litre engine. Has been parked up for about a year and appears to have seized up

Starter engages cleanly, clutch is free an working, and rocking the car back/forth in gear its clear the crank shaft wont turn. Pulled the plugs out and had a look in each cyl, no liquid in there locking it up, bores look like they still have a film of oil on them, certainly not dry and rusty. Pulled the timing belt cover to make sure it still has a belt, all looks good. Also checked altternator and pulleys were all free so whatever the problem its crank or pistons. All i had handy was engine oil so poured a bit in each cyl and left it to seep in.

I've heard of engines locking up that havent run in 10 or 20 years but not in this short a time. Found lots of things to try from filling with warm diesel oil and filling the cooling system with boiling water to heat it all up. Anybody ever had this before? Or any good tips for freeing it up without having to pull it all apart?

[Tap Towers]

A mate of mine left a 1920's chrysler 6.75ltr two days with a parrafin/ petrol mix down each bore, then spent ages rocking it. It ran, but needed work 3 months later anyway.

[chezz]

Tow it and drop it into gear...not a lot to lose...If it's gonna move then this will free it up, if it doesn't you know never would have moved.

[s2_wot]

Tow it and drop it into gear...not a lot to lose...If it's gonna move then this will free it up, if it doesn't you know never would have moved.

That's what I'd do too, not that I'd advise anybody else to. 1 gear and the urS4 to give it a gentle tug.

[chezz]

Probably better to try 2nd or even 3rd gear - less force/resistance

[mcandmar]

Had thought of that, but decided against it as piston rings are fragile, could easy break them if they have stuck and then its really done for. Ideally want to break it free and crank it by hand first. Will probably have another look at it tomorrow and see if i can make any progress.

[johne]

I know there's not much room down the side but I'd go in through the O/S wheel arch onto the crank pulley bolt and try turning the crank that way before the more drastic action of towing and raising the clutch whilst in 4th or 5th.

My 1.4 Polo of the same year is the oil tightest engine I've ever had, by that I mean it uses NO oil, it will go 8,000 miles between oil changes without a single oil top-up. From this it may mean there's little oil between the rings and bores so more likely to rust on.

John