Help!
 

I have a 2005 Civic lx. It died on the freeway the other night (didn't throw any codes) i started checking everything i possibly could. Compression, fuel pressure, spark, etc. Everything this far is checking out fine minus not being able to start. After several days of fiddling, testing and cranking i finally finagled it to start. I was able to keep it running for about a minute, minute and a half until it died again. It sounded like CRAP! I checked to see what codes were thrown and got 3: Misfire cylinder1, misfire cylinder2, multiple cylinders misfire. As i pulled out the dipstick (in preparation to pull the valve cover) i noticed an abundance of smoke! Pulled the cover (also filled with smoke) and proceeded to check timing. In trying to align the cam to TDC i noticed i CANNOT manually turn the crank! It turns when i bump the key but not by hand, no matter how large a cheater bar i use! (Mind you I'm not a small guy by any means) I'm twisting the whole engine; to a point I'm sure I'm overtly stressing the mounts, to no avail. I managed to get it darn close (after several minutes if bumping the ignition) and can visibly see the alignment isn't off enough to cause that severe misfire.

That all being said, it's now dark so i called it a night. What am i missing guys!? I'm stumped here! Why all the smoke? Why can i not turn it by hand!? I gather a lack of oil pressure is the culprit. But any ideas you have as to where to start? I'm completely baffled by why i can't turn it by hand!

Thank you kindly in advance for any info you can offer!

Re: Help!
 

Like metallic knocking? If so, possibly rod knock.

Did you have all the spark plugs removed before turning crank?
What do the spark plugs look like..any fouling?
Just confirm: you are turning the engine counter-clockwise only, correct?

If you get it to turn manually do a valves adjustment on it.

Belt may have jumped teeth.

Re: Help!
 

How low was the oil level? Not touching the dipstick?

I see these engines with almost no oil left in them...on an alarmingly regular basis.
Guess what happens after there isn't enough oil in the engine

Re: Help!
 

a brief visual inspection showed the notches on the crank in line at the same time as the camshaft being TDC. Now i assume if it had jumped teeth, one of the two of those would be off slightly right?

Re: Help!
 

the oil level was low, yes. But not that low. It was in fact touching the dipstick, just south of the low mark on the dipstick. However i was about 1,500 miles past my designated oil change. Shouldn't be enough to damage the engine though right?

Re: Help!
 

That is very low. Was it at a higher level before the recent issue?
What does engine noise sound like?

Re: Help!
 

My 2003 starts to flicker the oil warning lamp when it’s about 2.5 quarts low on oil.... I figure it is at that point that the oil pumping around the engine is no longer in the pan and the oil pump starts to suck up air. It’s repeatable as it’s happened more than once...

The starter has built in gear reduction and then it engages the flywheel which is yet anouther gear reduction so yes that little motor can turn things you might not be able to.

Generally, the crank on our car turns quite easily. Normally I would loosen up the ac and power steering belts as a final quick check, but since your seeing noticeable amount of oil smoke inside the engine that sounds like something is seriously out of spec and creating way too much friction somewhere inside the engine resulting in that hot spot cooking the oil.

A little smoke is normal as the engine is running, but if your making that kind of internal smoke on just trying to start the engine.

My opinion is that a autopsy of the engine will likely lead to piston or crankshaft issue.

Re: Help!
 

Ya, if a belt driven accessory locks up, that can bring the whole engine to a screeching halt