The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop dead 261 - help!

i've got a thread about my '59 viking 60 in the Big Bolts forum, but this is engine-specific now, so figured i'd ask here. hope that's ok.

so on the trip home - about 40 miles - after sitting for many years and being fired up and tuned a bit, i lost all power and thought i'd locked the engine. looks like it threw a bunch of oil on the passenger side way forward, around the semd of the block and bottom of the pushrod cover i think. bottom end turns over (starter will move truck in first) but the top is dead still.

any clues what i blew up? took the valve cover off tonite to see the lack of motion, will start with either pushrod cover or timing gear cover tomorrow eve. did i freeze up and snap a cam or something maybe? either way, it sure as heck ain't gonna run like this.

make that SEAM of the block and pushrod cover.... and dock me 2 points for lack of typing skills!

I am pretty sure the 261 came with metal timing gears and the chances of losing a gear are pretty slim I would think -

Does the distributor turn? Can you pull it and check for damage to the distributor gear?

Oil leaking from the lifter gallery might mean the drain holes are plugged and the lifter / cam interface went without lubrication = flat cam now.

So if dist turns and no action on the valves = flat cam.

If dist doesn't turn, sounds like the came busted . . .

More information required.

thanks for the clues! hadn't considered a flat cam, tho this thing DID sit long enuff there may be blocked oil passages that didn't show in how it ran at idle. and you can't hear crap while driving the beast! would explain the slack in the pushrods as well. will see if i can beat dark and take a look further after work tonite. distributor turning is an easier reference than taking the cover off, that's for sure.

ok, more info. engine turns over, fan turns as well so i'll assume no broken crank..... but distributor doesn't turn. can turn the rotor about 1/4 turn back and forth by hand, and it springs back to position, without much effort. definite noise, clunking as things turn, from the front, passenger side.

then the rain starts, so done for the evening. didn't even get to start tracking down why my speedo doesn't work.

Dont bother cranking it any more - you just risk further damage. The cam shaft is broken toward the front of the motor, if the dizzy is not turning, it is also not pumping oil (which in this case might be a good thing as you would likely be pumping chunks of metal around)

Pull the oil pan and have a look at the cam - also pull the front timing gear cover, you might see the cam gear just floating in space.

igh, kinda what i figured

shall i assume that means the back half (or more) of the cam is likely frozen in the bearings?

doesn't sound fun in any case.

It sounds more like you've stripped a couple of teeth on the timing gear. While a broken cam is a possibility, I'm going to guess there's a tooth or two missing from the cam gear, and the crank is turning in the gap created by the missing/stripped teeth. Even metal gears can and do wear out, and I believe even a metal gear is made of aluminum in some cases.
Jerry

With a couple of broken teeth, one would ask what the clunking sound is. I wonder if the cam is stopped in such a position that is is getting whacked by something when it is turning over. All the more reason not to turn it over any more.