I almost hate to post this, since I've had one issue after another in the last year, but here goes- the '56 235 in my '51 has a total of around 30-35k on it since it was rebuilt by a professional rebuild shop before I bought it from the previous owner. The PO had the truck for decades, and was himself the owner of a shop before he retired and continued(s) his first love, which is restoring model A's &T's. Anyway, I've had this truck for about 8 years now, and it's been my daily driver until last spring when it stripped it's timing gears. (Been driving my '04 Silverado 3500 4x4 diesel in the interim). You all have been a big (giant, actually) help in that. I had a local shop do the change out on those gears, formerly the soft ones and now metal, and when I first got it back, it seemed to start willingly, with a little choke and throttle play, but it seems to "drag" when trying to start. Once started, it does fine, except for this weird sound coming from the engine, and specifically from around the center of the block, best I can tell.
So, last week I called up the shop that my wife and I have used for the last 15 years for oil changes and tune-ups, especially before I retired and was working long hours an hour away. Anyway, Steve, one of the two owner operators of Accu-Tune in Farmington, Missouri (shameless advertisement for the boys, there), who loves working on old cars and trucks, ("I NEVER get to do the fun stuff anymore! All these new cars are boring!") to see if he would take a listen and see what he thought.
I had already put in new plugs, rotor cap, points, condenser, coil (in case the old one was weak and causing the starting issues, and even a new resistor just in case. After that, I adjusted the valves, which I'd not done since I acquired it. (Two intakes were tight, one exhaust was a little loose). I'd just replaced the plug wires not long before the timing gears went. When I got to the shop, he was pulling a customer's car around, so I asked him to jump in and take a ride around the block to listen to what I was hearing before he looked at it. To me, it sounds like a can rolling around in a cardboard box (closest description I can figure), with a little 'roughness' like metal rubbing, but not screeching. I told Steve that when the shop that changed out the timing gears checked the cam shaft, he said it looked brand new and didn't need the new one I had sent along 'just in case'. (I'd asked Steve and Matt if they would do that job, but they said they weren't set up for the job, so I took it to my diesel mechanic and he did it) I left it with Steve and called him at the end of the day. He said he checked the timing (it had gotten to be an ordeal just to get it started, and I wanted him to adjust it if necessary), and said the dwell and all other possible checks were fine, aside from a slight adjustment of the carb, which I forgot to reset after messing with it. He was really surprised, he said, when he looked down one of the pistons after pulling a plug and found it so shiny, clean and looking nearly new. He couldn't believe how good it looked. So, after all the good news of what wasn't wrong with it, he said he couldn't tell me what it was, but said he was concerned that there may be something going on with the crank shaft.
So, what might be the deal with the crankshaft, or does anyone have any clue about other issues that may cause this noise? I've been on here many times leading up to this post, and have gotten a lot of help and information (thanks to all, especially Hotrod Lincoln, who seems to come to everybody's rescue with just the right answers). And when I first posted about the day I fired the truck up at my daughter's and it revved up when I started it (way up), and I immediately shut if off due the high rpm, only to have it never start again. Cranked, yes. Start, no. At that time, I was told to check the push rods and cam shaft in case any damage was done on that high rev start up, even though it was only running for 3-4 seconds before I killed it. As I said, the shop that replaced the gears said the cam looked brand new. I'm pretty sure I told them to check the rods, and the side panel that exposes the push rods was opened, because they installed the new gasket I left for the job. (I furnished all gaskets, gears and camshaft and oil, and told them to call me if it needed rods or anything else. It didn't). So now, the one thing that I didn't ask them to check, the crank, or something down I that area, is sounding not good. I'm more of an "exterior" shade tree mechanic, so the guts and deep stuff are foreign to me. My fear is that even if I was able to do a job in there, the cost in time, money and cuss words if I messed up or missed one thing, it would be expensive to re-do, and I am not a fan of re-work in any area. So, I'm now in a pickle on what to look for or do next. I still have a buddy who has a complete 235 he's willing to let me have to install in the truck while I have mine rebuilt, but he's busy all the time, and it would be done when he could get to it. He's a retired Ironworker, too, but he's got a house rehab, a property to maintain and a son changing out an engine going on now.
My big question- What the heck is making that noise, and what might it take to fix it? I wish there was a way to record it and let people hear it, but I don't know how to do that. Sorry for the long thread here, but I figured I'd better get everything in so it would be clear. Thanks for any help, fellas. I'm stumped and so is my mechanic buddy.
Lee
