My 80 Arrows issue

So Ive had this truck for a short bit and Ive enjoyed it very much. Had a head gasket issue a while back but got that situated. Decided it would be best to replace the water pump and radiator. Been running like a champ till recently.

Ive noticed that I occasionally have some rough starts where I have to gas it a bit to get it to stay idling. Noticed my choke cable broke a couple weeks ago so that explained some of the issue since it wasnt getting any air. Still though 1 out of every 5 starts was rough. There was the ratcheting like sound coming from the engine when it would start rough. Then I noticed that after driving a bit when I would cruise down to a lower RPM the ratching sound would increase then dissipate when I accelerated again. Ive just recently started commuting again and on my way home the other night I heard a sound, so i shut off the music and I was hearing this loud tapping sound. I accelerated and decelerated just to clarify it was me then once I let of the gas the truck quit. It didnt want to start and moaned as it turned after I was on the side of the road.

SO we got it back home the next day. Thankfully my family has a auto shop on our property. It started up just fine, we heard the loud tap then it quickly smoothed out and was almost unable to be heard. So I was actually a lil low on oil, Im embarrassed because I was good on all my other fluids. So after being topped off it ran great! then all of a sudden it quit. Let it sit where it was over night and came back to it today. It kinda wanted to start then locked up the starter.

So from my searches Ive found these at fault for both the tap and the shut off issue:
-bad lifter
-exhaust issue
-piston knocking
-pressure issue
-fuel pump (in conjunction with the oil shortage)

Anyone dealt with this issue before? The sound came from the back of the engine and that was where the leak was with the head gasket so Im guessing maybe because of the high heat issue maybe there was some serious wear and tear.

So I see there has been a lot of views but no replies. Pulled the valve cover off and it seems things will move when it barely turns over. Pulled the plugs and it still doesnt smoothly turn, and I cant manually do it. Really stressed that it could and more than likely seized. Dropped the oil pan and found this nasty thing....



So yeah. The hunt for the problem continues.

That looks like metal like probably part of a bearing or something?

CORRECT YOU ARE SIR! Bearing piece. Ended up pulling the head off today, pistons looked good from the top. Pulled the front and bottom off and started to dismantle everything on the crankshaft. I thought the connector rod piece looked suspect but we decided to take everything out. Wasnt until we were fiddling with the 4th piston that we knocked something by accident and off flew a bearing. What do you know...it looked like these nasty things...I took a comparison shot..



So yeah once we freed them from the crankshaft the whole thing turned freely. Got some new ones on order, going to clean it all up, and hope it starts haha. I ended up ordering an old manual for it so hopefully it tells us all we need so that everything is synced right.

This is what the manual looks like..


anyone use one of these as well?

Yep that is exactly what i thought it came from lol. And yes the factory service manuals are the best manuals, i also have a few for my 89 truck and 91 eclipse engine

Yeah it just came in the mail a minute ago. I flipped threw it and Im very happy with my purchase. I have never really liked Chiltons when it came to larger projects, or at least the chiltons for my past vehicles. Its almost like they left things out thinking that the average Joe wouldnt tackle such jobs.

So. After taking my lil girl all apart and putting her back together I will find out tomorrow if the job has been successful. I couldnt find matching pistons or connecting rods. Had a guy in the area machine my one bad rod back to a somewhat youthful state. The crankshaft had some rough fused aluminum to it. I cleaned it up as best as possible by sanding with emory cloth and using muriatic acid. The acid seemed to work a bit but of course caused rust to appear everywhere, not to mention the nasty smell. We did as best as we could but we couldnt restore the part of the shaft to its former glory.

It is smooth but you can feel a small amount of irregularity to touch. I ground my teeth trying to get it off and ground them even more realizing it wasnt going away. Really wanted to see if I could get it turned but didnt. Nothing is COARSE but on the top side of that one part of the crankshaft its not as perfect as the other 3 spots. Like I said its a smooth as a babies bottom but you can sense some irregularity when rubbing your fingers across with some oil.

Tomorrow is the first start up since the seize. I am planning to baby the truck for a good while. Not being the total expert that some are I was curious what life it has with what I just explained. I worry about it because of really how perfect the other 3 crankshaft spots are and of course the heat/speed of friction an engine could/does have.

Is there a doctor in the house? what am I looking at?