The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 1940 -216 runs again after 15 years!

I finally got a chance to work on my '40 3/4 ton this weekend. The guy I bought it from had it for 15 years and never tried to start it. It was complete so I decided to give it a shot. I spent last week redoing the brakes so I could tow start it. I put on a fresh rochester carb and wired a gas can to the grill. Added new points and a 6 volt battery,and thats it. I was planning to tow it but had to roll it to the bottom of the driveway first. I popped the clutch and it fired. Not only did it fire but continued to run on its own and idled. I turned around and drove it right back up the hill. The whole neighborhood came out of their houses. What a blast.
Now for the bad news. The block has about a 6 inch crack under the freeze plugs and is seeping water. There are two pins in it where it was repaired in the past. Anybody tried to fix this problem? Other than that the engine had good compression and ran quiet. After a minute of running it didn't even smoke. I ran it for about a half hour and drove around the block a couple of times and it shows no signs of burning any oil.
Brian Davis

That crack sounds like the kiss of death. Clean it and cover it with JB Weld. Run a low pressure radiator cap and stop leak. I worked a Case tractor with a crack like that for ten years. Watch for water in the oil. You can have fun with this engine while you look for a replacement.

most 216's are supposed to run with a zero pressure cap anyway.

As Kedso and Paul Harvey said, try JB Weld. It works for my slightly cracked 261 block (I know, I'm lucky).

If you have a 216 or pre-54 235, I think you should have a 0 lb pressure radiator cap (if I am wrong, you can bet we will get a response here).

Tim

Cool another LIVE one

I've fixed cracks like that with Devcon Titanium Putty....Works good!!!
Buy a tub and try it
Rought the surface and clean it
Apply putty and while its setting you can texture it with a wet towel til it looks like a casting
Works with 'Stock' racing parts too!!

That crack can also be welded. Any good welder that is worth his salt will use low temp rods and do a good job. You can solder it for a temporary fix. Just drill the ends of the cracks so it doesn't keep on cracking. Sometimes it is more important to keep the orignal engine than put something new in. I have had blocks welded where they have put them in a brick kiln and heated them up to around eleven hundred degrees(bright red) and hot welded them. But then we didn't throw things away like they do now, we fixed it.

My '40 has the same defect ,, so did my '39 .... yes its terminal .... the block cracks there 'cause the water gallery is blocked at that level with rusty crud . It is very hard to clean it properly to do a neat repair , the block is rusted thin there .
Having said that ,,,, I have been running my '40 like this for years , just keep a close eye on the water level .
On the '39 , I welded the crack using castiron rods ,,,, today , a mig would be a better deal .. I only welded it cause the crack was so big ( 8 " ) . Sealed it with some chemi weld
Confused ? ...... :p never mind , fix it if you want , or , leave it if you want .

I welded a steel pedal bracket to a cast iron 53 bellhousing for my pedals on my 46 to bolt to. Heated the cast iron up with a torch around the weld area so it would not crack when welding.

May work the same for welding the crack in your block.

Mark

You got a good motor with an external crack

SLAP ON DA PUDDY!

I have one of the oldest American Automobiles
Made in 1897.....it had a crack like that in a One-off Motor.....Putty!
I even won best early car at a bigtime show out here....yes bigtime! US to haul the car in the back of the 39

KW block sealer! get it at the parts store,follow directions to the letter.CLEAN,CLEAN,CLEAN!.I sealed up a crack between the valves in a 235 that way!
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.I learned that from an anchient mechanic who used it to seal a cylinder wall rust through leak on a Honda Civic!
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Then use some of Jims putty to beautify the outside fo appearance!

Mechainiac,
I gotta ask. Why would anyone want to repair a Honda Civic? I thought euthenasia would be a better option!!!

Well, the old guy who told me about KW block sealer also told me I could go search for more old trucks per mile with a honda!
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Seriously, it was not my car but it was the only transportation the lady had and the rest of the car was in good shape for a honda.
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The early Honda civic cars were prone to having thin cylinder walls and if they rusted from the water jacket into the cylinder, it will/can hydrolock the engine. :rolleyes:

You can't kill a Honda.

You can't kill a Honda engine or drivetrain but the sheetmetal is pure crap that still rots out instantly and the front struts rip through the hood in 5 years.I had a 216 in the big truck that had the rusted through block(crack). Just putty it up like Jim says or two tubes of the Aluminuma seal stuff did the trick for mine.

Yes my family in Europe told me that was the reason there weren't too many Japanese cars driving around. Ofcourse around here we have no rust. Both my Acuras are 15 years old and are in showroom condition with 200,000 miles each.

My family has had many hondas. All went over 200k miles. I have a civic wagon that has 280k miles now and have had it since new. Only replaced the timing belt, clutch, starter and alternator once.
It still runs good and passes CA smog. Brian

Hmmmm,,,,,,, I am sorry I mentioned Hondas
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I Often wondered how a thread got sidetracked,,,must be the A.D.D.(attention deficit disorder)in all of us!