Hydrostatic Locked Engine

Hydrostatic Locked Engine


Do not use the starter motor to rotate the engine, severe damage may occur.


Squirt approximately one teaspoon of oil into the cylinders, rotate the engine to lubricate the cylinder walls to prevent damage on restart.








When an engine is suspected to be hydrostatically locked, regardless of what caused the problem, the following steps should be used.

- Inspect the air cleaner, induction system and intake manifold to ensure system is dry and clear of foreign material.

- Disconnect the negative battery cable.

- Place a shop towel around the spark plugs when removing them from the engine. This will catch any fluid that may possibly be in the cylinder under pressure.

- With all the spark plugs removed, rotate the engine crankshaft using a breaker bar and socket on the vibration damper bolt.

- Identify the fluid in the cylinders (i.e., coolant, fuel, oil or other).

- Make sure all fluid has been removed from the cylinders. Inspect the engine for damage (i.e., connecting rods, pistons, valves).

- Repair the engine or components as necessary to prevent this problem from reoccurring.

- Install new spark plugs. Refer to => [ Spark Plug ] Service and Repair.

- Drain the engine oil and remove the oil filter.

- Install a new oil filter.

- Fill the engine with a specified amount of approved oil.

- Connect the negative battery cable.

- Start the engine and check for any leaks.