So I work out of state, i wasn't able to cruise to the Salt flats this year. So my wife packed up our 2 sons and our 51 fleetline with a 235 , powerglide combo and made the 117 mile trip. She arrived no problem on the way back she started over heating she pulled over let it cool down, and called me to tell me what had happened long story short I told her let it cool down and finish the trip home. She was about 10 miles away and phew! Steam everywhere. Pulled over and had it towed the rest of the way home. When i got home from work I pulled oil plug and out came the waterfall then the oil. So then i pulled the head and discover this.....I know the 3 possible situations blown head gasket, cracked head, or the worst cracked block! I hope it's not the latter. So has anyone had this happen to them, is there hope? I am a D.I.Y. kind of guy. Until i dont know what I'm doing. Ha ha, also I had just replaced water pump and filled with pure water (was too cheap to fill with antifreeze until i knew it wasnt going to leak) Did I kill my baby? Sent from my SM-G965U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Fairly common for 235 chevs to have cracked heads. Take to a machine shop and have them magnaflux the head.
You should have been able to look at the gasket and tell if it was blown. Missing piece. Awful wet in the back there. Good place to look. Remove the gasket. Clean the deck and cylinders and look at everything. Look closely in the exhaust ports.You should be able to find it. Turn the motor over and clean and dry the cylinders on the chance they are not rusted really bad by now.
Interesting that #1 does't look to be affected at all! Number 2 piston has signs of detonation. The rest are so rusted up it's hard to tell what's going on; why so much rust, even scale rust? The head gasket looks OK, except for maybe between numbers 4 and 5; there's a slight "line', but not a burn through (???), and on either side of the water p***ages of number 2, on the manifold side of the block. Distributor and stater solenoid have signs of getting "steamed", or hot water on them. Would't think a block/head would suddenly let go, but if so, I'd blame it on the head; maybe if the block/head froze, but you'd have know about that if you were driving the car before this trip. Hunt down a 261, rebuild, and install. I only say that, because a V-8 swap means the entire drive-train must be swapped out, and the car looks pretty much original, other than the intake manifold. With the amount of water damage/rust, the engine will need to be rebuilt, probably a new head found/rebuilt, and the car is 68 years old now. Good luck. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
I looked at it when i pulled it off, thinking i would see a blow out. But i cant see one. Sent from my SM-G965U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
This happened on the 10th of this month, i didnt get home until the 13th, didn't pull the oil plug until the 16th, drained fluids that day, left back to work just got home last night. Pulled the head this morning and discovered this. So it sat for over two weeks before i could actually pull the head. That could explain the scale rust...... Sent from my SM-G965U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
you have a great wife to take your ride out with the kids for a long ride - she had enough to be concerned with, much less a bad motor - hope that you have rewarded her for hanging in there with this adventure - even if turns out to be a cracked head pull motor and rebuild or replace it - or put in a big can of Bars cracked block seal
I have never seen one rust so bad so quickly. I guess that is what straight water will do. At least number 1 looks good! Tommy
What part of Oregon are you from??? Im working near La Grande. Sent from my SM-G965U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I think I got lucky! How many women do you know that would pack up their kids and travel over 100 miles in an old car with no a.c. in August. Im guessing not many. She's the one that tells me how many car shows there are on the weekends. She's beating herself up pretty bad about it overheating. But i tell her dont worry about it was bound to happen. It can be fixed. At least she looked cool cruising down I-80. Sent from my SM-G965U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Another thumbs up to your Wife, she's a real trooper! Straight water sure didn't help your cause, but maybe it was on it's way out anyway. ***ure her it wasn't her doing (and take her out to a nice dinner). Glad she was darn near home when it let go rather than 100 miles out with the kids...
Get a Spot Check kit and try it on the head and block surfaces. You need the one with the cleaner, penetrant and developer. They work pretty well.
Not to hijack the thread but every body hot to put a SBC in it but the same people will admit that Fords 300-6 is a great inline would have a cow if you wanted to replace a 235 with one.
No intent to make you feel worse about it, but I think you know the answer. In the future, don't be cheap about the antifreeze! Have the head pressure checked, I think you'll find it's cracked. How many miles on those piston's & rings? Can you do an in-frame overhaul in that car? Or will the engine have to come out? I'd pull the pistons, check the bores, see if you can get by doing a cheep re-ring like Squirrel just did on his Hudson. New head, new rings, hone the cylinders, roll in some bearings, and get it back on the road.
If I owned that sedan and had some bucks to throw at it AND did my own work I would be tempted (dependent on how you use the car) to look for a Big Olds, Caddy, Pontiac, Buick from the '60's. I know that it opens a can of worms because of upgrading braking, steering, suspension, choice of trans & rear ends, etc. but if you use the sedan for "trips" it would have an unseen on the road WOW factor and a reason to show off with hood opened. And that's coming from a Chevy motor fan.................................... PS, I will put my money where my mouth is and if your interested in selling and moving on let me know!
A 50/50 mixture of water/antifreeze will raise the temperature at which the coolant turns to steam (overheats). Lack of antifreeze didn't "cause" it, but it did allow it to occur at a lower temperature, which may have been avoided. That is fact.
Coolant has rust inhibitors in it for this reason. Heat speeds up rust. You not only have no rust inhibitors, you also have plenty of heat. Antifreeze also raises the boiling point, keeping the coolant in the radiator where it belongs. This is very important for old vehicles with low to no pressure radiator caps.
I'd like to keep it i6 for now, maybe v8 later on down the road.... I do have a 49 fleetline for sale... I'd like to keep it i6 for now, maybe v8 later on down the road.... I do have a 49 fleetline for sale...if interested...[emoji6] Sent from my SM-G965U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
When your wife "Pulled over and had it towed the rest of the way home" was it still running or had it stopped running by itself? I'm wondering about hydro lock and that causing a bad bottom end. Just check it all out. It's very likely that the fluid was blowing out and wasn't building up while running and only ac***ulated after shut down. I'm also glad your family wasn't subjected to sitting in the heat for a long period of time. God bless.
How the hell does one get water in five holes out of six unless he didn't drain the block when he pulled the head? 1 or 2 adjoining cylinders yes, but 5? Hopefully you got the water out of the cylinders and soaked it down with WD 40 to hopefully cut down on any other water on top of the rings and or soaked it down with something else. I'd say that if the block checks out you will need to do at a minimum a clean up bore job to build it back to something that is reliable for your wife to drive or for you and the wife to take the family any distance from the house. The hone it and slap a set of cheap rings in it like Jim Did the Hudson is BS in this case and two entirely different situations. He stuck the car together for an event where bandaided together cars is just about a requirement. Aot of those cars don't even go home with the drivers after finishing the event if they finish. This is the family cruiser that needs to be able to reliably cruise with the family in it. I'd agree that a 261 might be a better way with the extra power it might provide but a well built 235 that is treated right is pretty reliable. First thing is to find out why it overheated and ****ped out though.
I don't care to argue with you, but it's fact that millions of engines were repaired exactly as I described, and in fact was my first real rebuild of a car engine on my first car (same Chevy L6 too). Years ago it was a fairly common practice. Now you may not agree that is a proper way to go, so be it, that's your opinion and that's cool; but the truth is many, many engine repairs done like that have gone for many thousands of additional miles. It really depends on the extent of wear in the bores, or any damage from overheating. If the pistons grew too much and galled the cylinders, that's a different story. You don't know until they come out of there.
Thanks for the offer on the Green '49 BUT I had my eye on the black one! The Black one looked like a guy could buy p*** the upholstery & paint shop and stick to what I can do, engine swaps, trans, suspension, etc. etc. I have a friend that likes the '49's and is looking for a complete project I will p*** info on to him. Good luck on your 6 cylinder project!
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