Will towing an automatic in drive turn the motor?

[Insight]

My neighbor has a 2005 GMC Canyon pickup truck that has sat idle for a year. I've been helping him try to get it running again to diagnose the problem it has.

He charged up his battery and tried to start it and it just had a brief groan. Later I hooked up the good battery from my truck and you can hear the starter solenoid click but the engine doesn't turn, even the slightest. I suspect the engine is seized.

To see if I could unstick the engine I tried cranking on the alternator with a socket and a breaker bar but the pulley just slipped on the belt. The front of the engine is so tight that it's impossible to access the crank pulley or any of the other pulleys to try to turn the engine.

One of his friends suggested towing the truck. With an automatic transmission, if you put the transmission in drive and towed it, would the engine turn?

This would just be a brief tow to try to unstick the engine so we can fire it up to do the main diagnostics. Thanks.

 

[vpr5703]

As far as I can recall no, it will not turn the engine. The torque converter doesn't allow the transmission to turn the engine if the converter isn't locked up.

 

[jetman]

no

 

[Dave1027]

Won't work. You need to remove things like the radiator to get to the crank pulley. Maybe squirt some seafoam into the cylinders to free up the pistons

 

[Kruse]

To pull-start with an automatic, you need a transmission with a rear pump. They stopped doing that in the 60’s. Before that, MAYBE.

 

[Opelman]

Not on anything late model. Cast iron Torqueflight will and maybe the Borg Warner units. On the Canyon maybe pull the starter and see if you can get a pry bar on the ring gear.

 

[Oillover]

As far as I can recall no, it will not turn the engine. The torque converter doesn't allow the transmission to turn the engine if the converter isn't locked up.

+1
Same reason why you can push start a manual, but cannot push start an automatic.

 

[thomasflaherty]

Get under the truck and hit the starter with a hammer as someone try to start it. It may have a bad spot on the armature on the starter.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Towing it in Drive even a short distance risks lunching the transmission. Don't do it. Then you need major engine AND major transmission work.

 

[Nick1994]

Probably a bad starter

 

[supton]

I agree, bang on the starter with a hammer. Might bring it around, although it might still need replacing. Am dubious that the motor is locked up, if the air filter is ok and it wasn't in a flood zone, I'm just dubious (yes moisture can get in through the exhaust, but I think it takes years for that route to do the trick).

 

[Insight]

Thanks for all your informed answers. Much appreciated!

 

[brianl703]

Turn on the headlights, if you can, then crank the engine while watching them. If they dim significantly, the starter is trying to crank the engine and it's locked up. If there's little or no change, the starter isn't even trying.

This assumes a good, fully-charged battery....and a vehicle that doesn't interrupt power to the headlights while cranking.

You can use the dome light or the brake lights (press brake pedal while cranking) if the headlights loose power while cranking.

 

[vwmaniaman]

Remove the plugs a squirt some atf fluid down in each cylinder. let it sit that way a few days and try turning it over again with a socket on the alternator. push down on the belt to limit slippage. If it turns over then put rags by the sparkplug holes and try turning it over with the starter.

 

[Soft Cars]

The best way to free up the engine is to turn the engine over by using the bolt on the end of the crankshaft. Remove all spark plugs first.

 

[E150GT]

This may be obvious but make the sure battery terminals have a good connection. My dad just had a problem with his F150 where all he got was a click of the solenoid but no starter engagement. He was under there trying to pound the starter and I suggested he check his battery terminals and cables. Well it turns out he had some corrosion and it made a bad connection. The battery terminals had been corroded for a long time and he just had me rig them best I could a few years ago. A week before his truck wouldnt start he had changed the battery and it worked fine until it didnt.

 

[fdcg27]

If this were a Mercedes 123 or anything they made with the old four speed auto, then yea, you could tow start it. The OM even had instructions on how to do this.
Will not work with most modern automatics.
I'd look at the starter before assuming that the engine is locked up.
A year shouldn't result in an engine locked up due to internal corrosion, especially on a vehicle old enough to have worn in over substantial miles.

 

[Exhaustgases]

Most all old 50's cars and trucks could be push started, because then smart engineers used a "rear" pump that would generate pressure to use the bands and clutches to allow for that. Someone mentioned converter needs to lock up. Not at all, most all older vehicles never used a lockup clutch in the converters.

 

[Kira]

+1 for the starting basics. Connection cleanliness, adequate charge, rap-a-tap tap, attempt a turn of the crank, lube.....
Describe the setting where the Canyon sat.
Always keep your eyes peeled for parts meddling / theft or vandalism.

 

[skyactiv]

Some of the older 3.5 Colorados had valve seat issues. They would act weird and some people wouldn't figure it out.