1909 Difficult to turn over
 

My newly acquired 09 has been a static display for quite a while. It is now tough to turn over. I have loosened all the belts on the tranny and it is still difficult to turn over. Rear wheels elevated spin freely. What next?

Re: 1909 Difficult to turn over
 

Does removing the spark plugs help? It may have sticky valves as well. A lot depends on the environment it was setting in for so long. Make sure it's in neutral. The bands generally only apply if you push a pedal but the clutch/brake lever has to be in the right place too.

Re: 1909 Difficult to turn over
 

Wisconsin I see. The oil in the engine/tranny might be thickened by the cold weather, making it harder to crank her over. Some tricks they used back in the day was to put a heater under the tranny to warm up and thin out the oil, and to jack up one rear wheel off the floor to make it easier to turn it over.

Re: 1909 Difficult to turn over
 

I'm not sure if the weather in Wisconsin is warm enough to do this, but I tow the car behind my pickup for a couple of miles with the spark plugs out. This loosens up the engine and transmission enough to start the car. After a couple of miles, install the spark plugs and tow the car to get the car running. Once the car is running, jack up the rear wheels and let the car run in high gear for a while. I always place a fan in front of the radiator to keep the engine cool while the car is on jack stands. I recommend you change the oil and coolant before towing the car and have new gasoline in the car. I hope this helps, Russ Furstnow

Re: 1909 Difficult to turn over
 

What was the car doing before it was put on display? Was it a fresh restoration? I could be stiff if the engine has low hours since a rebuild.