Purchased this little beauty as a parts car, but it is better than expected. Looking at the engine issue of being seized. After a lot of googling I found this stuff called PB Blaster from the US. Supposed to be a great product for unseizing engines. Not much luck with it yet, been spraying it into the cylinders for three days to let it soak down.
I pulled the rocker cover off, and have managed to ascertain that the head operation is ok. Pulled the crank pulley off, with the key, which allowed the cam to turn freely, so I am satisfied that I have a locked up bottom end or pistons locked in the cylinders.
I am loath to attempt to pull this engine, as I know nothing about front wheel drive setups, so I am concentrating on trying to get this sorted with the engine in.
I am hoping that there are some Capri Guru's on here who may be able to give me some advice.
When I pulled the crank bolt out, I noticed it was actually cut, so I think someone has gone up this path before. When I tried to get a replacement, it was recommended to me to pull the starter motor out to ensure it is not locked onto the flywheel. My eyes are not 100%, but good enough, but for the life of me I can't see the starter motor! I can't even find it in my downloaded service manuals, not a mention of it.
Number two is to remove the sump. Been told that it will come off with the engine in vehicle, is that true??
This Capri has the potential to be a good one, not knocked about at all. Was dry stored for several years prior to me purchasing it, however I got no history, so don't know if it was seized prior to going into storage. This is purely a hobby, as I am pretty knackered and can only do a little bit each day. Getting deeper into it as each day passes.
Any advice appreciated guys. Cheers

If its anything like the later 323, '89-'94, you should be able to remove the sump with the engine in. May have to remove the crossmember which isn't a big deal. Just have to undo the front and rear engine mounts. Left and right should keep the engine in the vehicle.

The main diff in FWD cars when removing the engine is you just have to pop the driveshafts out of the gear box which means undoing them at the hub and possibly popping the hub carrier off the ball joints.

Oh and starter may be on the firewall side tucked away.

I found the starter motor thanks. Managed to get the wiring off it, and nothing else. I don't know what the actual size of those bolts are, but they may as well be welded on! 14mm was the closest I could find, but it was still a little loose. Did not have a hope in hell of undoing the lower bolt from underneath, so tried up top and it was worse. Tried ring spanners and sockets but can't get any purchase to break the thread loose. That and whatever I put on it is just slipping off.
When I looked at the starter, it gave me the impression that someone had tried hitting the top of it before, little pit marks, so I am hoping that it may well be a starter stuck on the ring gear. My issue now is how on earth to get it off? I gotta give it a rest before I can't walk. Never had a starter motor so difficult to get off.

Hi,

A starter normally has 2 bolts to hold it. The engine is very close to a Laser, ( the Capri was based on a Laser ) so you may be able to swap the lot. FWD cars can be harder to fix as there is less space, but it should have reasonable access if you follow what the manual says. Often there can be special tools, many you can make something to do the job with.

96ELGli thanks for the info. My problem is my manuals do not show the starter, or a process to remove it. It is in a very tight spot. It appears to have three bolts holding it, however it has been difficult to get a socket or spanner to hold the bolts.
In frustration yesterday, I proceeded to remove the sump to inspect the crank. That was no easy feat in my condition, but after half a day I managed to get it off. Everything looked as it should, but still nothing is turning. I gave it a good spray with PB Blaster, a US product that the yanks rave about. Am hoping today it may give a little. If not, will slack off the big ends and see if there is any hope in finding out what is binding it up. I would have loved to have got that starter motor out, just to remove it from the equation, but couldn't physically do it. As it was, working on the capri in the morning, I spent from lunch till 6pm in bed. Over did it big time. If I am going to kark it, at least it will be doing something that I love!
This engine has an auto box attached to it, so I don't see how it could be locking it up. I think it will be a stuck piston from sitting. The oil that came out was black and thick. The engine only has 106k on it, so its just worn in. Gotta be something simple causing this problem. Just have to find it! Any ideas please fire them back to me. Cheers

Being a Laser/Mazda based 1.6 engine, and at 106000km - its closer to actually worn out!. They arent like they are now.

But youve got so many options. Matching Laser Engines work find, and I suspect the later Mazda engines (1.8,2.0 etc) may also bolt in.

You can sometimes have an easier time removing the engine and leaving the gearbox in. Depends on which level of pain you want.

But nice score on the capri.

Nigel, thanks for the vote of confidence with this old girl. I have hit the ground running this morning. Loosened all the big end caps. Pistons 2 and 3 are stuck! Have poured more of this PB Blaster into the cylinders though the spark plug holes. I am hoping I get a dribble out underneath. It will give me a glimmer of hope. I don't want to pull the head off unless I absolutely have to. I am more pleased with the fact I don't have to take out the starter motor, it would be more of a pain than taking the head off! Luckily I have heaps of time, so if this PB Blaster does not work, I will have to try and find something stronger. The more I look at the engine, the more it looks like it has been looked after, apart from the grungy oil. It has been mentioned to me that moisture may have gotten into the cylinders. Even though it was dry stored, I don't know how this would have happened.
Any advice on freeing these to babies up would be appreciated. I don't want to pull the head. My back is knackered, so lying under the car is something I can do, and live with the consequences. Leaning over the engine is something I can't do, hence my reluctance to even try to pull the head off. Thanks all for the advice thus far.

Come the afternoon, and a bit more impatience, I filled the cylinders with ATF. Within one hour, piston 2 was free. I bolted the big end back onto the crank and gave it a little turn, and it spat ATF out the spark plug hole. Hoping for the same result I bolted big end 3 back onto the crank. A little more stubborn, but it has started to move a little, just enough to spit ATF out of the spark plug hole. Will leave it overnight and see how it goes tomorrow. So much for PB Blaster, good old automatic transmission fluid did it within an hour. I know what I will be using in the future. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

The engine it totally free now. ATF did the trick big time. Have checked the big end bearings and there are no marks at all. Am thinking of just bolting everything back up, and see how it goes. I have had that much lubricant and ATF in the engine, I am concerned with how to get it all out.
What would be a good way to flush this once I get it all back together? Buy some cheap oil, and then use an engine flush? If so can someone recommend one? Thanks

I flush my engine with diesel. drain the oil, pull the plugs, fill with diesel turn it over a few times, drain the diesel, put new oil and new plugs in and off I go.

the only question i have currently is . . . . how are the bores??

Yeah......and the skirts of the pistons....stuck rings ????

I had to fix a 3.5 V6 quad cam in a Pajero once like that.....the twits that owned it had cooked it, got it towed home, left it sit for about a month in their front yard before towing it to a workshop that I worked at.
The people were told it would be cheaper and quicker to get it going with a 2nd hand engine....the twits didn't want to go that way, so the heads had to come off, and sent out to be straightened and overhauled.
The engine wouldn't turn over with the heads off either.....soaked it in WD40 and worked on turning the crank backwards and forwards for a while.
I then buffed the rust out of the bores and cleaned it as good as I sould get it.
It went well after it was back together......the twits were told that problems could occur from now on...like, using oil, or oil passages becoming blocked with crud from being cooked.
2 weeks later, it spat a rocker out of it's hole......the guess is, the HLA was at full compression overnight, and had some crud in it, so the oil pressure pushed it out of it's bore.
It had LPG as well.....it was a sh!t of a job.

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

The pistons of 2 and 3 were stuck about half way up the cylinder. Once free I managed to have a look from underneath and the cylinder walls looked good. There was a bit of gunk that wiped off, but no marks or rust that I could see. From the top it may be a different story. I will do a pressure test on it before it is all back together just to ensure at least that is ok. With the big ends tightened to spec, it still turns over ok, so hopefully it is ok. Won't know more till I test it further. Unfortunately doing this sort of thing is not in my best interests health wise, so have to give it a break for a few days. Will try to concentrate on cleaning everything up before it all goes back together.

to clean the atf out of the bores with the head on, maybe try some brakecleaner. it should thin the atf out so it can drain past the rings and out the bottom. and then leave it with the plugs out for a couple of days to give the brake cleaner a chance to evaporate.

Thanks Ranga83