Hey all. I'm still a little green and am seeking the wisdom of those who are knowledgeable on a 216. Backsto is I moved my wife's great grandfather's truck to my home and am going through it to restore it to original. Everything seems pretty clean aside from caked on dirt and surface rust. But the truck has sat for at least 10 years. Wanting to make sure the engine isn't siezed. I have 2 questions. 1. Ask u can see in the picture there is a slot in the crank pull and it seems like I am supposed to put a bar in there to turn the crank. Is that the proper procedure after removing the spark plugs and distributor? 2. To manually prime the engine people say just stick a screw driver in the dist. Hole and turn w a drill. My question is flathead or phillips. And also how big? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
pull the plugs use marvel mystery in the cyls. rock it back and forth in high gear if the motor moves go ahead and use the starter.
The "slot" in the crankshaft pulley is there for cranking the engine with the crank handle that originally came with the car. By the mid-30's, hand cranking wasn't used much, but the set-up was still used to make the old timers feel comfortable, in case the starter failed. You can turn the crank using those "ears" with the spark plugs in or out, but I'd make sure the coil was unhooked before cranking it, unless you are prepared to have the engine start. Hand cranking is also useful for timing the engine to get the embedded ball in the flywheel lined up to the pointer. You can remove the distributor and use a flat blade rod on a slow moving electric drill (CW) to prime the pump and get oil throughout the system. After you get the distributor removed, get a piece of drill rod, the same size as the distributor shaft and grind a flat to match the blade on the end of the dist. shaft. I'd suggest getting a copy of a Motor's Manual or the Chevy shop manual covering that engine - well worth the money it costs. You might also visit the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America (VCCA) website and join their chatroom, especially if you're restoring the truck to original. -Bob
Thanks guys. This info definitely helps. I was planning on using marvel mystery oil but wanted to make sure the engine was free first before wasting my time. Don't worry about the coil. No battery means no problem for now. This was a western kansas farm truck. Bolts are coming off like magic. Haven't broke one yet. I'll kept you all updated on my progress. Thanks
If you can find a 300lb gorilla, You can get him to turn the engine by hand by way of the balancer((gripping the balancer and pulling/pushing)if I remember it correctly the CR should be around 6:1) Soak the cylinders down with some sort of penetrating oil if you really do think the engine is seized. Pull the valve cover as well to make sure all valves are working as you spin the engine. if you can't spin it by hand(or if you're not a 300lb gorilla), try what paleot said what with rocking it back and forth in the highest gear.
I am a 330 pound gorilla, so I might be able to turn by handn but am equally lazy. So I'll probably rock back and forth in high gear.
Go ahead and remove the distributor, if you want. Timing is easy on those engines. There's a small steel ball embedding in the flywheel, which can be seen through a peephole in the bell housing on the p***enger's side. Set the octane selector on the distributor to "0", crank the engine to line up the ball to the pointer in the peephole and set your points to just start opening. Get the engine running and fine adjust the timing with a timing light.
If you would rather not to remove the distributor, and having to mess with re-timing it, You could tow it in high gear to circulate the oil if the engine will turn freely. Squirt some oil in each cylinder and leave the plugs out. Tow for ~1/8 mile. I would suggest you add a quart of kerosene to the oil first to try to get congealed sludge freed up. Drain the oil/kerosene and fill with fresh oil. Adjust the points, replace the spark plugs and try to start with aerosol starting spray into the carb. Be advised that the gas tank likely has gas turned to shellac inside as does the carb and should be cleaned, and fuel lines flushed out before running much.
If, by saying you're "green", as in auto mechanics, I would NOT advise you to remove the distributor. It's not like taking a tire off, then reinstalling it. The reinstallation of the distributor must be accurate, dist. gear and cam gear must mesh correctly, the dist, drive must mesh correctly with the oil pump. Anything other than a perfect reinstallation will affect the operation (or not) of the engine. Your call, of course, but that's my two cents.
True, but how else is anyone going to learn?? Find TDC for the #1 piston on the compression stroke. This is an important skill right there. Mark distributor body by scribing a line on it and engine block. This will make getting it back close to the same ignition timing. Pull cap off, note/mark where rotor points carefully. Pull distributor and note where rotor points as it turns when removed. If he does this carefully it will start right up no problem on reinstallation. I say jump right in and learn this stuff first hand, it's the only way it will sink in and become second nature.
Why do you want to remove the distributor?? It's not like the V8 and it's not going to do anything for "pre-oiling". The 216s have a splash lubricant system which is not full pressurized. Best thing to do is buy some fogging oil, remove the plugs and spray the fogging oil inside the cylinders. Change the oil and add some Marvel Mystery oil or Rislone engine treatment and turn it by hand, using that slot on the pulley and a pry bar or pipe. If the motor is turning easy, replace the spark plugs and turn it over with the key. Expect to see smoke and if it starts, let it run for awhile and then change the oil again.
Don't forget these engines would run about 5 PSI oil pressure, hot, on a good day, so if you remove the valve cover to see if you have oil flow over the valves, there will only be a miserable trickle coming through. These splash oilers are fairly friendly if you goof up, but as others have said, get your hands on a workshop manual, (even a p***enger sedan book is OK, they used the same motor up to about '53), read , learn, and then once you have mastered the art of finding TDC, you can fool around with distributor, timing, etc.
FREEEEEEDOMMMM!!!!! all, everyone's advice was good. I removed the spark plugs. used some marvel mystery oil. let it soak. over night. next day. i gave it a couple of rocks and nothing. I sprayed a little PB blaster in each port to break anything up further, waited a little bit, gave the engine block some light taps with a mallet. Then my wife decided to join me in rocking it in high gear. it broke free and spins freely. going to add more oil to it later to make sure its loosens up. After that, im going to remove the oil pan, clean out the old oil. reinstall with some fresh oil. rebuild the carb, and see what happens. hopefully i can get to it by this weekend. Ill let you all know if it works! thanks for the help everyone!
I don't know how much you know, so if this is something you already know, forgive me. If you remove the distributor to prime the oil pump, note where the rotor is pointing. 3:00, 5:00, 9:00, etc. It MUST go back in and point the same direction,. AND you MUST NOT turn the engine while the distributor is out. The distributor is in sync (timed) to the engine and the proper position of the pistons and valves, so that the plug fires when the piston is close to the top of its travel and the engine runs. If you change the relationship of the pistons without the corresponding change to the distributor, when you put the distributor back into the engine, they (the engine and distributor) will no longer be in time. Not the end of the world by any means, but you will have to re-time the engine and distributor to each other again. To get the distributor back in, turn the oil pump shaft with a screwdriver so that as the distributor goes down and rotates, (you will have to compensate for that) it will properly engage the oil pump shaft. Whew. All very simple, basic stuff. Have fun.
Be careful when removing the sump as these have a row of "squirters" which aim a jet of oil from the pump up into the bottom of the piston and cylinder. If they are mis-aligned you will get problems. From memory there is A threaded fitting which connects this squirter ***embly to the rest of the oil system.
thanks belair, definitely will be making notes and marks on everything, even the oil pump slot position to make sure everything goes back together without a hitch. ill have to be sure not to bump the fan while turning the oil pump, i think im past the main hurdle of "am i screwed?" with the turning of the engine, now its just getting everything set up.
It's not a show stopper. Don't let anyone intimidate you. Learn how to rotate engine manually so as to find TDC on the compression stroke. Then you can remove and reinstall the distributor whenever you want, however you want and it will start right up when you do.
Getting closer. Engine spins free and smoothly now. Drained old oil. Was black but no sludge. And put new oil. Got to rebuild carburetor. File the points and got a new fuel pump on order. Couple weekends and this guy should fire up hopefully. [emoji91] Half the job is s****ing all the old dirt off. If everything pans out. I'm off to the brakes which will cost an arm and a leg since the drums are 8 lug and obsolete.
Update. Hooked everything up. Engine didn't even think twice about starting. Not bad after sitting 28 years Sent from my SM-G930V using H.A.M.B. mobile app
I just bought a 50 chevy that's sat for a long time, how long I don't know as owner is deceased. So I'm also searching for information. I did pull plugs and fill cylinders with WD40, got a gallon at Harbor freight. I've allowed it to sit for weeks while getting a knee replacement done. But now the next step. I removed the radiator to get at the crank better. I've got that same weird connection on the front but I've seen it before as a kid on a tractor you could crank when battery is dead, but I'm not cranking it, heard if it kicks back you can break a arm. But all I want to do is make sure it is free, turns over. I thought of filling engine with automatic trans fluid and letting it sit. BUT looking that up they say it can hurt gasket's, So I'm going to fill with the 20w30 oil to factory level, not over fill and fill the oil filter container. Then pull the distributor but marking it as to put it back exactly same place. Straight screwdriver cut off I guess and use a drill and turn clockwise. How much I don't know but I'll watch the oil filter container and see if it's pumping into oil lines. Praying for that. I'll use a bar to turn the crank and maybe a pipe wrench. I'm retired from 60 years in autobody and finally get to do my own car. Some mechanical experience but I'll learn with this car. The body wasn't bad, but it's covered with rust but what was important was any rust holes and it didn't have any, good. Remove the rust with a sander and treat the metal, epoxy prime, sand smooth and reprime with hot rod black. I'm looking for wheels, just looked it up but says corvette wheels won't fit?? I've used them on a 49 chevy. So I'll check that out, I want to do all the old 50's custom tricks I saw as a kid. I'm as fancyhog@yahoo.com
The provisions for hand cranking can also be handy for cold weather starting. Rolling the engine over by hand a couple of times will help to free up the cold oil. It can be helpful on cold engines especially if it's been sitting for a few days in freezing temps and your 6v battery and starter aren't in peak condition. But you have to make sure that the engine will not try to start while hand cranking unless you have had some experience doing that before. And few people have that experience these days. Make sure the ignition is turned off. To be double safe (or paranoid) pull the secondary wire out of the coil and place the end of it somewhere safe where it can't pick up an errant spark from the coil (if the ignition happened to be left turned on). Or just pull the coil wire out at both the coil and distributor ends and put it in your pocket. Also position the crank handle so you're only pulling it upward, never pushing it down. And hold the handle loosely so you can quickly release the handle if something goes sideways.
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