So...decades ago previous owner deactivated a cylinder to use as an air pump to inflate tractor tires. Now, that lifter is stuck in the up position. Dead miss and wheezing sound. I've tried GENTLY tapping it back down, to no avail. Going to pull the side cover and see if I can rectify the situation.
Soak it good ,maybe will get a good result Marvell mystery oil might clean it up enough .Someone might have a other secret recipe for freeing it up .Also check the valve ,you should spray some by the valve and valve seat.
It is happy to be there, for sure. Cleaned surrounding crud aand sprayed it down with P Oil. Tried to GENTLY rotate the lifter. Nope. Going to let it sit and try later.
Everyone has a "secret sauce" so here is mine. ATF(the GM stuff, I don't know the Ford stuff) mixed with acetone. 50/50. Let it sit and tappy tap tap. Repeat and repeat. What you probably have is some rust bonding in the bore. Pull the oil pan off and turn the engine to the cam heel for that lifter. That will give the biggest gap between lifter and cam(just a safety tip). Squirt some up into the lifter bore if you can. No abrasives, and no rush. It can take days. Squirt, soak, and tappy tap tap. Cool beer seems to help.
Good luck, seems like you got the info you need. I just wanted to comment on the use of that cylinder to air tractor tires. Ha. Ive never heard of that. I think its ingenious. Ha.
Last edited by glenns towing; 06/22/20213:16 PM. Reason: missed a word
It's not uncommon to convert an engine into an air compressor. Thousands of Model A Fords were modified like that to run jackhammers by running the engine on two cylinders and compressing air with the other two, but it required a special cylinder head. I've also seen a 302 Ford V8, and several flathead Ford V8's converted that way. It would require a bunch of modifications other than just disabling a valve to get fresh air, instead of an explosive fuel/air mixture into the tires! Nothing like launching a John Deere into orbit with one little spark!
Several years ago, I had a tire inflator that was installed in place of a spark plug to pump air, but it had a rubber bladder and a one-way check valve, and it didn't put the fuel mix into the air hose. It just put the unburned idle mixture for that cylinder down the exhaust pipe. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Well, according to the nursery rhyme, "The Cow Jumped Over The Moon"- - - - -but that was because Farmer John had cold hands one frosty morning! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Update.... Finally got the lifter out. I made a puller to get it started on its way to freedom. These lifters are LONG. Thought I was pulling a wisdom tooth. It was grungy. Cleaned it up, checked the bore and cam lobe, lubed it with white grease and it slid down all by itself. Put the side cover back on. Grrrrr.... Going to let it sit a day, fire it up, warm it up, set the valves. Then, BRAKES ! !
Did you happen to check the bottom of the lifter for wear? If you can put a straight edge like a machinist's scale across the bottom of the lifter where it contacts the cam, it should be slightly convex or at least flat. If you can see daylight in the middle, it's worn out, and the can lobe will be toast as well. If all you're interested in is getting the engine running, no sweat for now, but if you intend to do more than drive the truck on and off a trailer at a car show, you'll need to do some major surgery soon. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Always somebody to remind you of the ONE thing you forgot to do.... ;-)... I already found silver dust in the oil when I changed the old runny mess, so major surgery may be a foregone conclusion.
I'm in the process of modifying a 216 to run roller lifters, and possibly hydraulic ones if I can get the oil supply passage for the lifters drilled accurately the full length of the block. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Always somebody to remind you of the ONE thing you forgot to do.... ;-)... I already found silver dust in the oil when I changed the old runny mess, so major surgery may be a foregone conclusion.
Look at the bright side. With the "silver dust" in the oil, it will make the decision to do a complete teardown, thorough cleaning and replacement of most moving parts an easy decision. Its pricey, but the feeling of having a brand new Stovebolt engine in your truck is priceless.
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
Getting a little Babbit metal in the sludge layer in the oil pan on a 216 isn't always a disaster. Unlike replaceable bearings, the rod bearing clearance can be tightened up by removing a later or two of the shim pack without doing a full rebuild. Back in the dark ages when these engines were in daily drivers, dropping the oil pan and adjusting the bearing clearance was a routine procedure. The Babbit metal in original equipment rods is MUCH harder than what's used in reconditioned rods, and the OEM rods tend to last a very long time as long as the oil clearance gets corrected regularly. 216 main bearings also have shims, but those can be replaced if they get worn badly. The big problem with swapping main bearings with the engine is in the vehicle is the fact that the crankshaft must be lowered about 1/2" or so for the bearing locating dowels in the upper bearings to clear the counterbore in the block. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Well, it checked out. It now runs on all six (first time in 20 or so years), all lifters and pushrods rotating. New engine time will happen when this one gives up the ghost. ;-) For now, a Krylon rebuild.
Congrats! Your Krylon rebuilt engine looks great! Hope you get years and years of service out of it! Gotta ditch that funky coil though!
Phil Moderator, The Engine Shop, Interiors and Project Journals
1952 Chevrolet 3100, Three on the Tree, 4:11 torque tube Updated to: ‘59 235 w/hydraulic lifters, 12v w/alternator, HEI, PCV and Power front Disc Brakes Project Journals Stovebolt Gallery Forum
