The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Lady StoveBolter needs Advice 216 issues

Hi All ..I need advice.. I bought a 53 3600 in Jan and drove it every weekend until two weeks ago.. ran great except burned a lot of oil but no smoke... started knocking light sounds at first and only when under gas but now it is knocking when idle so I parked it ... I took to my mechanic and he pulled each plug to listen and said that he would need to take engine apart to find out how minor/major it is .. In meantime I found another complete 216 incl radiator and other parts for $250 (local) and purchased it - actually found and purchased two engines(one 49 and one 52) .. we bench tested the 49 and it started right up and purrs BUT it smokes a LOT (maybe needs a ring job ? is that major?) .. so we are planning to swap parts and bench test the 52 ... hopefully we can swap engines if it is good. Frustrated ... some have even said just run the truck with the knock ... it will probably go for a long time ..It still has good oil pressure and runs fine - except for the soft knock (not loud) ... any advice? Any way to determine if it is something minor without taking the engine apart?

You may want to check and see if it has a bent pushrod. A bent pushrod can make lots of noise and is not an expensive fix.

Don - Thanks for input ... Is there a somewhat easy way to check this without disassembling the engine?

just pull the valve cover off and run the engine.

...bent push rod...

Thanks for the video - that is interesting and helpful ... but pretty sure not the issues ... doesn't sound that way .. sounds more like coming from lower end of the engine - not upper

An experienced mechanic should be able to listen to it & get an idea what is knocking. If its a rod it will not run much longer. If it is a piston slap or wristpin noise it will probably run for a long time.

The most common failure of a 216 is the rod bearings.
If the original pistons have not been replaced they are cast iron. These are very heavy pistons and with today's highway speeds the heavy pistons are very hard on the rod bearings.
I would suggest shorting out one spark plug at a time, or pull one wire at a time, and see if the knock changes.
I suspect it will.

Dave - My mechanic did what you mentioned with the spark plugs first thing when I brought it in ... no change in the knock.

Looks like things will be ok now as the '52 engine bench tested just fine today ... a swap is in the future ..:)

I suspect we will take the existing engine apart just to diagnose but keep both the 49 and the existing engine for spares .. plus all the parts .. I do have an extra 4 speed tranny (good since that is what I have) and also the 52 came with a 3 speed tranny ... which I don't need ... in case you know someone who may wish to purchase?

Thanks all for your help ... If I do find out for sure - I will post it ...Jeanie

The 216 is a babbit bearing motor, meaning the piston rod bearings are poured into a cavity. This was a normal thing back in the 30's and 40's but nowadays its almost impossible to find an engine shop that can pour babbit bearings. If you INSIST on keeping the old 216 babbit motor, and I have a project I too insist on keeping original, then they make piston rods with conventional new style rod bearings you can replace your old babbit rods with. This will make the engine much more reliable, but then also understand that motor has a SPLASH oil system.

There are small cups on the bottom of the piston rods that fill with oil from the pan and in the maelstrom, splash oil all over the lower engine. IF you are lucky. Almost every truck from 47-55 I see these days has the newer style 235 motor (54-62). They are a perfect bolt in solution that gives you conventional rod bearings as well as a pressurized oil system that doesn't rely on splashing.

Just trying to give you options. Lots of people love their 216 babbit splash oilers. They were made from the 30's to the 50's so lots can be said about their longevity.

Thanks Dave ... others have also suggested the 235 as an option .. but think I will stick with the 216 for now .. if I keep having issues, I will definitely consider that ... but kind of want to stay as original as possible and since I already invested in two more 216's, I probably will stick with the plan to just swap engines and put in the '52 one that checked out well. I was even able to get some neat parts from the 49 .. like the old splash oiler BIG air cleaner (really neat) and the clear bowl gas filters ... guess we will be putting these on as well ...
Learning lots from you guys - thanks all for the input ...

Hey Jeanie -

I applaud your desire to keep your truck "original." Congrats on the new gas filter and air filter.

You will probably need to replace the gasket between the bowl and the body of your glass bowl fuel filter, especially if it is cork. When they dry out, they shrivel up like a corn flake and will never flatten out again.
> Dried out gaskets

Does your glass bowl gas filter look like either of these?
> Durex 986640
> Durex 986128

If so, I have a pdf pattern of the gasket for each that I can send to you. Heck, I'll even cut one and mail to you.

If your oil bath air cleaner is like mine, here is a post about the decal that I used on it ...
> My Quest: Decal for Oil Bath Air Cleaner

You might want to clean the engine and paint it before you install in your truck. Many 'Bolters say that dark gray engine paint from The Filling Station is a good match for the original color. Search for Stovebolt threads on what was painted, or call me.
> Filling Station engine paint - avail in can or aerosol.

By the way - since you have all of those 216's, maybe you could use them like Tommy Ivo used Buick nailheads!
> If one is good, then four is better

- Lonnie