The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Pulling the engine on a 1951 4400

So my truck starts and runs quickly and quietly and does not smoke but lacks power on even the slightest grades and overheats in those cases. Consequently, my mechanic friend talked me into pulling the engine and replacing all gaskets and seals as he suspects the overheating is a head gasket issue and it leaves oil puddles wherever it is parked. It did not leak oil badly when I got but has gotten worse so I said okay, lets do it. He has the radiator and hood off and seems unsure of how the engine will come out easily. My only experience with pulling an engine was on my 1950 3600 about 40 years ago. If I recall, I just unbolted it from the transmission and motor mounts and out it came. The 4400 does have a PTO on the transmission so I'm not sure how different it may be. He is also dealing with 69 years of accumulated grease and oil on everything so can't really see what is going on there. Is there anything he needs to know about this particular configuration?
Also, a friend of one his friends offered him a rolling chassis that is supposedly from a 1953 1 ton with dual rears and a two speed rear axle. I'm not sure why, but I bought it as the engine is supposed to be a recent rebuild and has nicer wheels than mine. Would that chassis have a 235ci engine if original?
Thanks for any help, comments or suggestions!

The '53 chassis is not adding up if it's stock. The only 53's with a 2-speed rear would be the 5000 and 6000 Series 2-ton trucks...they both had the 235 engines.

What size are the tires on the '53 chassis?

Mike B

That may be true on the chassis. The friend of the friend of the mechanic did say the trucks are all the same from 1947 through 1954 and I know that's not true.

Pulling the engine is pretty straight forward. Support the transmission, I took off the the cover from the floorboard and used a 2x4 and a short chain to support it. Remove the 4 transmission bolts, then the 2 bolts for the bell housing mounts and the front motor mounts. Removing the radiator will make it much easier to get the engine out

I would pull the engine and tranny while they're bolted together, especially on an open driveline bigbolt. Much easier to get the tranny stabbed back into the clutch with the engine out of the truck. You would of course have to disconnect the u-joint at the rear of the transmission and remove the top cover and shifter of the tranny. Definitely remove the radiator, and possibly the radiator support.

Could it be a simple timing issue? Does it backfire any when giving it gas under uphill load? I'm no mechanic, but I don't let any mechanic "talk me" into anything. I will take a recommendation after proper diagnosis.
One of our Stovebolt members is famous for saying "test, don't guess" and not shotgunning parts without knowing what is truly wrong. That is some of the best advice I have seen on this site, as many members start throwing parts before they know what the problem is.

To me it sounds like a lot more diagnostic work needs to go into your situation before you start pulling anything.