The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop '52 216 -Startup after rebuild

I was lucky enough to source a reconditioned 216 engine for my 41-42 3/4 ton truck.
It hasn't been run since a professional shop rebuild.
Talking to old Geezers around my town, they all say I have to do things regarding the engine oil feed before I start it up.
One comment was "Make sure the oil galleries are filled".
The sump pan reads to the full marke on the dipstick, is there anything else?

Anyone have a clue what they mean?

Unless you know it's fresh oil I would first drain and refill the sump. As to the oil galleys,the idea is to remove the valve cover and turn the engine over without actually starting it to make sure the oil is reaching the valve train.

I believe your 52 is a low pressure splash engine. If so the oil galleys (troughs) are in the oil pan. The rod dippers scoop oil out of them as the engine rotates. If they don't have oil in them the rod bearings could be damaged from running dry. The dipstick showing full won't tell you if the troughs have oil in them or not. The troughs sit well above the oil level in the pan. The best way I know of to prevent damage is to use a good assembly lube when putting the engine back together so the bearings won't be running dry, waiting for the troughs to fill. Someone else may have a better idea but for me, not knowing if assembly lube had been used, I'd pull the plugs so the engine will crank faster (the oil pump will pump oil faster), and crank the engine for a while without the key on. Don't crank it more than 30 seconds at a time so you don't get the starter too hot. Do that a few times to get some oil to the troughs then run the engine slow at first when you finally do start it.

I agree with the idea of changing the oil, and the filter if the engine has one. And don't forget an extra quart of oil for the filter. Then, to ensure that the oiling circuit is full, including the oil filter, take the distributor out and drive the oil pump with an electric drill driving a flat-blade "screwdriver" adapter until you see oil coming up to the rocker arms. That may take a minute or so, but is nothing compared to the time you will spend if you run the engine with dry bearings. Cranking the engine with the starter and without ignition will do the same thing, but it takes a long time, and if you don't open the throttle part way, and leave the choke open, you may flood the engine and complicate your life unnecessarily.

Before you remove the distributor, take off the distributor cap and turn the engine until the rotor points straight to the engine, and mark the engine with that location. When you remove the distributor, notice that the rotor will turn slightly ahead of or behind your engine mark as the distributor disengages from the cam gear. When you put the distributor back in the engine, turn the rotor ahead or behind your engine mark, as appropriate, turn the oil pump shaft until the slot aligns with the distributor tang and the vacuum control points in the same direction it was originally, then slide the distributor into the engine. If the distributor doesn't seat properly, indicated by the rotor not aligning fully with your mark, remove the distributor and turn the oil pump shaft a little for better alignment, then slide the distributor back in. If the rotor points ahead of or behind your mark and the distributor is fully seated, you are off a tooth or more with the distributor. Remove the distibutor and turn the rotor opposite the direction you were off with the mark, then align the oil pump shaft with the distributor shaft and install the distributor again. You will know everything is right when the rotor points to your mark, the distributor is fully seated, and the vacuum control points where it should. Then hook everything up and you should be able to start the engine. You will have to set the ignition timing after all that, but you would have to do that anyway.

This takes a lot of words to describe, but the process is really not that hard- you just have to watch what you do. But then that's easy to say.

Ok, after reading all this, maybe Tiny's idea of cranking the engine with the spark plugs removed (ignition off and a good battery) is a better approach. Then you don't have to be concerned with flooding the engine and getting the distributor correctly installed.

Harvester

You are supposed to run the cam in at a high idle (1500 - 2500rpm) for 20 minutes. Then shut it off , reset the tappets , change the oil if you are really anal about it , then drive it , :-)

Say Dusty, now that I'm thinking about it, have you sent a good picture of your door art to Woody Vondracek, aka; Czechman, at http://www.pbase.com/czechman/door_art
I think he's got a good project goin there, we should all help him support it.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

You sure don't want to do that until you know the oil troughs are full.

Im a firm believer in taking a NEW engine to max 1500 rpm's ...blippin the throttle here na there and keepin the rpm's changing ..dont stay in one spot ...till it is at operating temp ...shut it down an set back , have a cold drink or 3 of your favorite beverage ...an let it cool down to room temp ...do again next time go to 2000 rpm ...repeat cool down ...one more time too 3 grand ...let it set over night ...an after that ...Run it !
broke in many engines that way

That's fine but the point is you don't want to do that when the rods aren't getting oil. In this case the engine was rebuilt before he took possession and the owner isn't sure if there's any oil in the dipper troughs or if assembly lube was used. To keep from roasting the rod bearings it should be run slowly long enough for the troughs to fill with oil before running it up.

Yes, get the oil circulating, one way or another, before you start the engine. Noisey tappets are one thing, but noisey connecting rods are another matter, entirely.

Harvester

It would be good also to get it on the road for 20 or 30 miles and put a load on it. I have taken a 100 mile + trip to break them in right.

It would be good also to get it on the road for 20 or 30 miles and put a load on it. I have taken a 100 mile + trip to break them in right.

I liked Harvesters idea on spinning up oil pressure with a drill.
Years ago I made a dummy distributor for that from an old junk one that I could attach a drill to.
But you got to mark the location of the motor before pulling the dist.Like put it at TDC on no.1 firing or whatever you choose because you don't want it 180 degrees out after you stick the dist. back in.
I always did it this way on a fresh motor,that way you can see the oil pumping,plus I wanted to know if I was good to go before going through all the work of dropping in the motor.

"You sure don't want to do that until you know the oil troughs are full."

Of course not Tiny , he's not even going to start the engine till he works up some oil pressure , Zacca asked "is there anything else" my added info was for after it was first started , in the interest of securing the cam run in.

If the engine was correctly assembled then the cam will have the appropriate cam lube on and it only lasts a short time before it is wiped off , hense the need to get oil flowing before startup , then keeping the engine running so splash lube is fired around inside the block to lube the cam/lifters adequately.

If the oil pump is working , and there is no reason for us to assume it is not , then the troughs will be full from a few seconds after the engine is running such is the volume of the oil pump. The pre priming is to fill the oil galleries and give a wet surface to the bearings for the initial rotations of the crank.

No arguement from me , more oil is good.

THANKS for that advice guys, I have a friend down here who worked on these engines when he was trained as a motor engineer by GM Australia in the 1950's, so I'm going to run all of this stuff by him and get him involvd.

I'm impressed by the quality of the knowledge being passd down, you can view this engine at http://groups.msn.com/ZaccasStovebolts

And nice to hear from my buddy SW_Radial again!

I'VE ALWAYS TURNED THE ENGINE OVER RAPIDLY, WITH THE SPARK PLUGS
REMOVED, AND WATCHED THE OVERFLOW PIPE AT THE CENTER OF THE
ROCKER ARM SHAFTS AND HAD SOMEONE ELSE VERIFY OIL PRESSURE
ON THE DASH GUAGE. WHEN I WAS SATISFIED, I CRANKED IT A FEW
MORE SECONDS, AND CALLED IT GOOD. IT WILL THEN START UP
SAFELY AND QUIETLY, ASSUMING YOU HAVE THE ROCKER ARMS FAIRLY
WELL ADJUSTED.......

I've taken all of that info on board, I'll keep you guys posted.
Cheers,
Zacca

Zacca
I visited your photo site and reviewed the pictures of the 216. Great looking engine; so clean and new. I'm jealous. Good luck with it. In the picture of the rod cap removed I can see they have been machined for insert bearings - which is great - but I cannot see the hole in the rod cap that aligns with the oblong hole in the bearing to let the oil in. Does the oil pan still have the troughs and nozzles? The caps still have dippers, but has the crank been drilled for oil pressure to the rods? If so even better. Proceed with caution and that motor will probably last another 55 years.

THANKS Frank,

http://groups.msn.com/ZaccasStovebolts/new52216engine.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=128


The sump still has channels and nozzles, I placed three pics right at the end of Page 2.

1. The sump had no oil in it when we picked it up, except a small amount of heavy, yellowish-looking oily/greasy substance, that could be what the earlier part of the discussion about 'grease' is.

2.Close-up external picture of the Dippers.

3.Close up of a hole located on the outside of the slipper in the end of the '"V" of the dipper.

So oil being forced in here, has to go somewhere...maybe not enough volume to the bearing.

That's something we're going to check more thoroufghly.