The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 216, Rebuild, clean and replace or buy new?

Hello,
Its Lazarus. My latest part of the engine rebuild on the '49 216 has begun. The engine was pulled ( see How to pull an engine ). Today I began dismantling. One of the earlier readers warned that the engine as it comes out of the truck is VERY heavy and will flip over on its back like a rhino flopping in a puddle. It happens very quickly. So watch out how and where you are if you attempt it without removing the head first (like I did). Fortunately, the engine stand held up and stayed on its wheels. I had to use the cherry picker (known here after as the crane) to get is top side again. One note- if you haven't drained the oil pan and blown out the water jacket first watch your feet. Your gunna get wet.

I told you I hadn't done this in a long time.
So next I took off the side panel to the push rods. A-okay. All pushers straight and true. I removed the water pump and fan along with the thermostat housing. The head bolt were next. There are two lengths of bolts. You'll not have to worry about where they go because it will become obvious when they go back it. They are all 3/4 " and will need a breaker bar and a 4" extension to remove the ones in the middle. Pull them out and put them in the valve cover along with the 4 bolts for the cover for safe keeping. I used a stap around the rocker shaft to lift the head. I used the crane and lifted the head up far enough 6" or so to remove the pushrods from the block.

I lowered the head and turned it over to inspect the valve heads. None were burnt and there was minimal carbon present. The cylinder tops had a small ridge that flaked off easily. I set the head aside and inspected the head gasket for any signs of leaks or blow by. I found none. I carefully removed the gasket and used a razor blade to remove any of the gasket remnants.

The water jackets looked good. Not rusty like I had anticipated. There was coolant still it the block before I dumped it on the floor. Rrrr! A small amount of surface rust was present which will have to be addressed.

I rolled it over again to remover the oil pan. Although most of the oil was on the floor already there was still a good inch of gelatinous goo in the bottom of the pan, along with a couple of acorns. I told you critters had made a house in the engine. The rest of the under side was fairly clean. I removed the rod cap on the fist cylinder and found the bearings and crank to be nearly flawless. No visible wear. After removing all the Pistons and examining the surfaces and rings I found only one broken ring. I think it broke when I took the Pistons out. So, I'll need a set of rings.

I removed the oil mp cover and ran the pump with a screw driver up the distributor housing and it spun with very little resistance and pumped oil up and out. I'll just need to replace the gasket from my overhaul kit when the time comes.

If the engine is doing that dead fish flop, you don't have the stand pivot centered properly. I use a piece of 2" by 1/2" flat bar about 16" long and bolt it across the upper bellhousing bolt holes so I can spread out the engine stand arms and move the pivot upward until it's about 3" above the centerline of the crankshaft. That will cure the top-heavy problem and make the engine easier and safer to roll over when you need to. One of my students needed about 40 stitches when a stovebolt engine landed on his foot after flipping a stand over. The kids had mounted the engine and bellhousing assembly together onto the stand, making it front-heavy. The kid was wearing a pair of heavy work boots, which probably kept him from losing a few toes.
Jerry

Lazarus,

If you have a 750 lb or a 1000 lb style stand (no matter what brand), it will be unsafely unstable with any stovebolt engine (216/235/261).

The 2,000 lb style stand works safely if you change around the mounting fingers to bolt directly to the block. This is safe and stable, and allows rotation of the engine/block.

What type/style of stand do you have?

I used Tim's method as above and it worked perfectly.

I'm no expert. But, you might want to measure the diameter of the cylinders as long as the engine is apart. If they are not too badly worn or out of round, I would lean towards replacing the rings and using the engine.

Thanks guys,
I gOt the engine mount mastered. With the head, pistons and all removed it spins with ease. I tell ya, I just love my 2 ton cherry picker. I couldn't have done half the stuff I've tackled so far without it.
I've got the TT and rear end hanging from it now. I'm striping it down to sell if someone know of anyone that needs one send'em my way. I'm taking the TT and spring off for easier transport.

Back to the engine. I ordered a set of rings from Summit this morning. I still need to pick up a cylinder hone. Does anyone have a preference? I've used the drill operated ones before and have seen the huge scrub brush deal with the little balls on the tips. I'm open..
The cylinders have a little glaze on them and with the new rings I wanted them to like each other.
What do you suggest as far as cleaning solvents? I'd also like to take the small amount of laquer off the Pistons. I don't want to clean out all the lubricant. I'm not planning to tear down the pistons or the rocker arm rail. I just want them clean enough to reassemble.

Picking a 216 as your first effort at engine rebuilding is a pretty ambitious project. I hope you have saved the shims between the connecting rods and the caps, and you remember exactly how many there are and where they were placed. That's how the oil clearance is adjusted, as the bearing material is bonded into the rods and caps. The engine won't survive more than a few minutes if you don't get the rod clearance right on reassembly.

Have you measured the diameter of the cylinders to get the right ring size, and also the taper of the cylinders from the top to bottom of the ring travel? A re-ring job might not be possible if the cylinders are badly worn.

I'm going to suggest that you find someone with enough knowledge to make those measurements, and the tools to do it accurately, before you proceed any further. You might be wasting a lot of time and money. The way you're doing it now is a recipie for disaster.
Jerry

I appreciate the "if it's not broke, don't fix it", but I would examine the rocker shafts to see if there's any blockage.

The piston out of the engine are stamped 3835996. GM1 alum. they have 3 grooves and a factory notch in the top. The rods have directional bearing no shims. There are a total of 8 pieces for each piston.
The #1 Pistons top ring is broken

Since you know everything already, good luck!
Jerry

A ball hone will refresh the surface, but can't remove a ridge, taper, or out-of-round - it just follows the walls as they are.