Hi, new to the forum and thanks for having me. I have a 2.0l Mondeo diesel, 2010, 150K. Last week the oil light and engine malfunction warning came on and within a few seconds the engine stalled. Oil level was fine. The engine sounded jammed when trying to start again. I have since stripped out it down to the camshafts expecting to see broken rockers etc but all seems good. I have removed the timing chain and belt expecting the crank shaft to turn but it only moves slightly before locking up and it is very hard to turn. Any ideas what to check next? Could it be a stuck piston? I have also dropped the oil pan and the crankshaft seems to be intact.

I did have trouble removing one of the injectors. There was a lot of carbon build up in that general area, I have read about it being called the 'black death'! Could this have been the source of the problem? 

On the verge of letting it go for salvage but any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks. 

The short answer is the engine is seized up and is now scrap. 😧

33 minutes ago, quinnpod said:

Last week the oil light and engine malfunction warning came on and within a few seconds the engine stalled.

The oil light has nothing to do with oil level, it is an indication of oil pressure failure. You have generally less than two minutes to switch off if you are to stand any chance of saving the engine.

If you’ve removed the timing belt and left the cams in place, surely the crank won’t turn much before the valves hit the pistons.

3 hours ago, RL123 said:

If you’ve removed the timing belt and left the cams in place, surely the crank won’t turn much before the valves hit the pistons.

The cams are out and all of the valves seem to be up where they should be. 

18 hours ago, unofix said:

The short answer is the engine is seized up and is now scrap. 😧

The oil light has nothing to do with oil level, it is an indication of oil pressure failure. You have generally less than two minutes to switch off if you are to stand any chance of saving the engine.

Yeah I understand about the oil level vs oil light. It just seems odd that there was only a few seconds warning before the engine jammed up. All of the rockers are intact and the springs all appear to be back in their closed position. Is there a handy way to remove the cover thats restricting the view up into the crankshaft? I can see one big end but the rest are covered by a light sheet that doesnt seem to be removable?

There is no easy/quick way to remove the cover.

Since you have already dismantled most of the cylinder head you may as well go the full way and take the head off. The situation you are now in, is the engine is broken and even if you are able to repair it you will most probably have to take the cylinder head off to check for damage.

Do these use a chain driven oil pump?  If so, is the chain still intact?  The pump might have seized.

2 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Do these use a chain driven oil pump?  If so, is the chain still intact?  The pump might have seized.

yeah chain driven and its still intact.

6 minutes ago, unofix said:

There is no easy/quick way to remove the cover.

Since you have already dismantled most of the cylinder head you may as well go the full way and take the head off. The situation you are now in, is the engine is broken and even if you are able to repair it you will most probably have to take the cylinder head off to check for damage.

Thanks, I might as well when I'm in this far as you say (remembering how it all goes back together might be an issue though!).

Just now, quinnpod said:

(remembering how it all goes back together might be an issue though!).

Lots of photos and a Haynes workshop manual, and of course 'trial and error' !