I am finishing what I had envisioned as a straight forward update/renovation of a 2CV 6 that has not been used for a couple of years. I have renewed the master cylinder; the steering box; fuel pump; carburettor; disc brakes. new interior, new top plus a few other minor itms. I had arrived at the point of starting the engine. Upon cranking ,and I had done this several times to check that the fuel was getting to the carb and all seemed well,, then suddenly the starter stalled. A check showed the flywheel to be immobile, couldnt budge it either way. Rocking the car did not help. All locked up solid. The clutch is centrifugal and had always turned freely before as had the engine. I am hoping for some insight into the problem before I have to pull the engine. Comments and suggestions please!!!!

Something stuck in the carb letting the cylinders fill with neat petrol? Petrol won't compress so locks the engine.
Probably not but just a suggestion.

Thanks, Lenny, but plugs out and cam covers off to be sure all valves and gear intact

Starter jammer on ring gear
Petrol pump rod
Corn flakes from exhaust maifold jammed the valves
Crank shaft/Cam shaft kaput
Clutch fork resting on the pressure plate
Gear box input shaft blocked

Happy investigation

Could it be crud that's collected at the bottom of one or both of the cylinders and then been pushed to top dead centre? This is exactly what happened to me, although I could turn the flywheel round to a certain point before it stuck either way.

socarco,
I've seen this happen many times with engines which haven't been laid up properly.

It can be described as the engine having 'self-decoked' when it's just been switched off and then left for years.
Carbon deposits from the cylinder head and piston crown eventually drop into the combustion chamber and jam the engine when an attempt is made to start it.
Sometimes, there's even some rust from the inside of the exhaust manifolds added to the mix.

The textbook solution is to remove the cylinder heads and clean out all the gunge which will be found in the barrels, but sometimes filling the cylinders with a 50/50 mixture of engine oil and petrol will soften the deposits sufficiently for them to be blown into the exhaust manifolds with a blow gun applied through the plug holes.
Note that this mixture should be left to 'marinade' for some days before attempting to turn the engine, but the longer it can be left the better.

I've got one of these to do next week, on a car where the owner went off to Hong Kong to work for 9 years, leaving the 2CV to its own devices in a damp garage.
It's been 'soaking' for about a month now, so let's hope that's worked.

ken.

( Moral of the story? When laying an engine up, remove the plugs and pour about 50cc of engine oil into each bore, spin the engine over a few times, then re-fit the plugs loosely.
If possible, turn the engine over a few times every 12 months, first removing the plugs.)

Many thanks to all of you who have responded so promptly with all the good recommendations.
After considering what all was said and what was apparently the problem (Gunk in the cylinders, probably, something more serious, possibly, I am taking what I hope will be the easy way out. I will pull the engine and put in the spare.
I have checked with some other 2cv forums where apparently there is infrequent activity- read-No Replies, so I find that here there is lots of interest and expertise. Again My thanks to you all.

This makes me happy.

I hope you sort it. Don't bin the other engine though, I guess we'd all be curious to see what was actually wrong with it.

Definately - if it is what happened to me, it'll be easier to get the engine on a bench & take the cylinder heads off for a good clean. You'll see the crud quite plainly & at least know what it was & get it out once & for all.



I found that when I first got the Bedouin - I left a few messages on places like 2CVTV and got very little response.

Real people with real enthusiasm and real experience on this forum, and it shows.