The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 47 216 oiling query

Folks -

A newbie here, signed in under the wife's moniker...

We are thisclose to buying a 47 5 window 3100. I've been poking around for several days on various links (the "we love chevrolets" blog is the BOMB).

If I understand correctly, 47-53 216s all had dipper lubrication, no pressure, no oil pump... Is this correct? If so, how the heck did they get oil up to the rocker assembly and valves?

I have also seen a couple of references to "partial pressure" lubrication. Can any of you folks fill me in?

If I ever had to replace the 216 with a 235, what would be the best 235 to swap? Is there a particular year or serial number range?

Thanks in advance,

John Moorhead

John,

In 1947 216/235 engines, the rods did not receive pressure lubrication but the rest of the engine did.

A description of the lubrication system in your engine starts at the lower right of this link.

the 216 engine lubrication, described in the link works very well. I would not be worried about it being inadequate for daily use. That being said, these trucks were designed to work, not cruise at modern interstate speeds. with my 216's I cruise around 50mph at the most, sometimes pushing a little bit over that to help clean the cylinders out. I never push the rpms over 3500 in my trucks. If you follow the maintenance and operating guidlines in the owners/service manuals the 216 will last you the life of the truck. Most people that convert them want more speed.

Hope you decide on your truck, they are a blast to drive, maintain, and own. I am always finding new design features that just amaze me with how well the advance design trucks live up to their name.

I too was worried that the 216 was "unusable" from reading many posts before my purchase. But now that I have it, it is a blast to drive. One thing I don't understand, the sedans had the 4.11 differential. I can't belive that people in the 40s & early 50s didn't drive them fast as possible. I've talked with my Dad and Uncles who grew up in the 30s and they drove everyting flat out. I know they couldn't do it all day, but they'd do it for an hour or more at a time. If every 216 couldn't handle high speeds, Chevy's would have had a horrible reputation - but folks loved them back then. What changed? Now the 216 is called "unreliable" and not tough?

It is just a misconception, and it comes from people who are not very mechanical and can't figure out why the speedo says 80 or 90 yet they can only cruise at 50. That is probably one of the main reasons. Get enough people that say you have to change to a full pressure engine and the next thing you know I have numerous spare 216's that I got for free or for next to nothing in the barn

so maybe you should change and just drop that engine off at my barn

(SORRY TO HIJACK YOUR POST)

to help clean the cylinders out

Clean out what?

gremlins

actually I like to take them a little higher than where I normally cruise to clean the cylinder walls.

I was a bmw/ducati shop guy awhile back and the Ducati engineers showed where cylinders would build up material on the cylinder walls when run at constant rpm over a period of time(like suburbanites buying an italian racing bike to cruise the interstate and to the local watering hole.

So what they recommended for us was once the engine was at normal operating temperature to get the engine rpm over where they would normally be for short periods of time each time you operated it to clean the cylinder walls(probably the rings as well).

I have done it ever since and my cylinders stay nice and clean.