The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 216 Bummer

removed my front fenders, grill, radiator support, and radiator from my 1952 chevy pu this last weekend. i am getting ready to pull the 216 this weekend and thought i would remove the inspection cover to check it out. holy sh*t 2 of the push rods are bent about a 1/2". this is not a good sign. when i pull the engine i will go thru the whole thing. i was told this engine was running. but i became concerned when the oil on the dipstick looded new and the oil from the filter looked old. any thoughts of things i will find. thanks.

Slosh the valve guides with some product like Rislone or Marvel Mystery Oil and let them soak for a while. Then you can check to make sure all of the valves are free. Sounds like a couple are stuck. :p

The flow through those old filters was very minimal at best, and when they plugged up, probably none. I have found water, and sometimes pinhole corrosion in the cannisters due to the corrosive stuff that ends up there. Running too cold, incomplete combustion all can contribute to moisture and acidic residue ending up in the filter cannister. It's a good little project to hot tank the cannister, inspect its integrity and the restriction orifice on the inlet if there is one. GMC's have a very tiny inlet orifice, which must have been intended to control the flow to prevent the filter flow from bypassing the engine lubrication functions.

I wouldn't worry too much about bent pushrods. The 216 in my '52 had 4 bent pushrods. I loosened all the rockers and sprayed them good with WD40 and worked them back and forth and slid them side to side until all the gunk was gone and they were free.

I straightened, rolled, straightened, rolled (repeat a few times) the pushrods till they rolled smoothly on a flat surface and re-installed. That was a year ago and they are still working good! Motor runs great, no clatter from the head or lifter gallery, I am happy!

I agree with Ken, your old 216 may not be as bad as you fear. It can all be fixed. Inspect all the valve train, rockers, shafts. Crank over slowly and see what's happening. It's surprising what some WD-40 can do. Or other penetrating oil/solvent products like liquid wrench, Kroil or PB Blaster. I used a spray product once called Deep Creep. Hose down then valve stems and everything under the valve cover with something and let it soak...

When I got my old '52 it had been sitting in a garage for 17 years! One of the valves was stuck open and the pushrod was off. I just asked myself "what would dad have done?" I sprayed them all with liquid wrench, let it set awhile and then got a hammer out! I tapped a few times with no change and finally smacked the valve hard. It popped loose. I oiled them all again, put it back together and fired it up. It had no power for about 50 miles (not in one drive of course.) It eventually smoothed out and purrs like a cat!

Good luck with yours... just have patience.

Jim

Thanks Guys I will try the Kroil trick and let you know how everything comes out.