The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop pull the engine?

The timing gear gave up the ghost in my 54 235. The usual pistons connecting to intake valves, valves bent, connecting rods bent. Bits of fiber gear in the oil pan.

My dad and I disassembled it, and I took the head in to have the new valves seated, checked for cracks, etc.

My question is, should I pull the engine and have it dipped/flushed out or whatever to get the any bits of fiber gear out, or am I safe thinking that whatever fiber gear there was ended up in the pan?

I'm tempted to pull it, just for the excuse to make it as close to new as possible, give it a new paint job and such.

Thanks for your input!

The timing gear failing should not have caused that kind of damage. I woonder if something else failed first and stopped the cam from rotating. That is a pretty long list of damage.

never saw a 216or235 with a fiber gear

My experience with fiber gears was in later model GM V/8 engines.They spell trouble with a capitol T.when You put that puppy back together get the steel gears.I am surprised that engine didnt start knocking before the gear let go.Usually the fiber gears will wear,and let the chain slap around,sounds like a bad lifter,and sometimes allmost like a rod knock.

OOPS! My mistake! The PUSHrods were bent. Sorry! That would have been some major damage if the connecting rods were bent.

The engine is a 235 full pressure lubrication, and had a fiber gear...obviously, since it failed! My dad has seen a few fiber gears in these engines.

The light duty v8,s had plastic teeth on the cam sprocket. The stovebolt 6,s had a fiber gear on the cam & steel on the crank gear. They didn,t use a chain. I would assume you got all the particles out if you had the front cover off & the pan off. Make shure the screen on the oil pump is good. If the head is not done yet now would be a good time to have hardened seats put under the exhaust valves.

From what I have read, they were supposed to use a fiber gear in the 216s and 235 car engines. Most of the writeups refer to the aluminum timing gear in the 235 truck engine. When you get the machine shop to press on a new one, they should press it on until the clearance between the spacer, cam and gear is correct.

Wrenchbender Ret,
So, if the screen is good on tghe oil pump, I shouldn't have to worry about particles throughout the engine? The front cover and pan are off and cleaned out. The head already had hardened seats and new valve guides put in not too long ago.

That,s the way I would go with it. you might pull the side cover & check in there. There is not much left after that.

Thanks to everyone for your input.

About the timing gears, yes, truck engines (at least 216s) came with fiber gears. In about 1975, I bought a non-running 1950 3100 one-owner pickup. Due to my Dad's wisdom, we pulled off the distributor cap and turned the engine by the fan. The rotor didn't turn. A couple of teeth were gone from the timing gear. I replaced the timing gear and it ran like a champ.