The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Thoughts on the 216

A friend of mine is trying to convince me that I should take out the 216 that my 52 has in it and replace it with a 235 because of the oil w/splash vs pressure in the 235. Is this something that should be bothering me? Is it that big of a deal? I tried to do a search and came up with 40 pages that had everything but what I wanted to know.

Thoughts?

If the 216 runs ok then I'd be inclined to run it into the ground ( you might be surprised how long that will take ). At that stage you can then make a decision. Even then there are options for the 216 ie alloy pistons and getting it machined for inserts instead of babbits. It also depends on how you use the truck. I regularly take the 41 on a 500mile round trip. I use it most days and travel 8 - 10000 miles a year in it. Change the oil on a regular basis and the little 216 will last a long time.

All the best

Bob

Good to know Bob. I was wondering how usable my 41 will be - once its back on the road with new brakes and a new bed (and as of this evening, new windshield frames as well

I hoped to use it with the original 216 as its lasted the previous 67 years

Will definitely leave it as is for as long as I can.

I love my 216. I've read some vintage racing reports and it seems the hotrodders of that era prefered the splash oil engines over the pressure engines. Many claimed they were more reliable. Keep the oil changed and don't try to set a land speed record with it & it'll last forever.

The 216 seems to always get a bad rap...mostly by uninformed people. I wouldn't think of changing out a good running 216 for a 235. I would probably choose a 235 if the "babbit pounder"
needed a rebuild though.

Being the engine only has 27K miles on it, I really don't think that needs to be done. Also how often should I change out the oil? and what weight is recommended. I know I can find that on the manual pages, but I figure I was responding to the note and would put it.

Thanks
Steve

The manual recommends (from memory, someone correct me if I'm wrong) 20 weight winter (below 50 deg), 10 weight below 20 deg, 30 weight summer. That was before multi-vis oils were invented. There have been many acrimonious threads about this subject. A search will get you more than you want to know. I use 15-40 with an API SL or older rating. The new SM rating can be hard on flat tappet engines because it doesn't have much zinc in it. Some say it's OK if you don't have a hotrod engine. I'd rather not take the chance. You can buy aditive from GM if you can't find SL oil. I change my oil every fall. I put about 2000 miles on my 38 per year.

1952 Engine Lubrication Information

1954 Recommended Oil Viscosities

I use 15-40 or 20-50 oils in my 235 and 261 engines. From now on, I'll look for ZDDP in the formulation.

Jackyl , sorry to hear your friend had a bad run with a 216.

My '40 has been the daily driver and work truck for 10 yrs and is totally reliable , I take care not to thrash it too much , run Castrol Magnatec 10w 40 and change it twice a yr. That is about every 3000 miles.
I have added a pertronix ign to improve ign reliability and got a pleasent wee improvement in mpg.
Previous pickups I have had , I have never been able to get the same economy from a 235 as I have from the 216.

Like Tiny , mozzie , etc all say , just drive it nice and it will take care of you too.

The 15-40 is a good weight oil. Usually used in diesels. I use to use it in my International Scout IIs and pick ups. I used, for a short time the 20-50 but it circulates too slow especially in the morning, was harder to pump and I used more gas with it. 10-40 or 15-40 is probably the best weights to use unless its below freezing. Then I would and do use 10-30. When my new 292 is broke in it will get synthentic. Possibly Amsoil or Mobil 1. I have used Texas refinery and it worked very well. Its a moly based oil. Just my nickels worth.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post. I was starting to feel pretty bad about my old 216. She runs nice now and looks like I can look forward to many more good years!

Man I couldn't agree more with the previous replies. Based on the information that I’ve gotten from the custodians of my 1950, 3600, who by the way were the ones that bought her new in ’50, the engine has not been torn down. It is the original engine, and I did do a valve job on it when I got it because of a burnt valve, but that doesn't really have anything to do with the basic engine, probably more to do with a maladjustment then anything else.
If she's been running for 58 years like a lot of her siblings so I never understand why people are always giving them a bad wrap.
Being a 3/4 ton with a 4.57 gear the engine feels about right at around 45 mph and will run all day at that speed with 15 lb of oil pressure. There are times I'll run her at 50 but only for a few miles and on the rare occasion I'll kick her up to 55 but she's a screaming' up there so I don't do that to often. I sure do wish I could find that elusive 4.11 thought.
Good little engines in my book when ya take care of them.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Did all of these 216s come without oil filters? Mine is in a '46 1/2 ton.

The filter was an option. The dealers installed most of them I believe.