Hi all I just bought a 41 chevy sedan 2 door. The guy started this project about 25 years ago had the car taken apart and the engine rebuilt and converted to insert bearings. The car has been inna garage for the past 25 years or so with the engine and drive train put back in the car. The engine now appears to be stuck, I have put marvel mystery oil in the cylinders to soak. Is it true that a newly rebuilt engine will stick quicker than a non rebuilt engine? I want to keep the original 216. Where do I go from here? Thanks
People rave about a 50-50 mixture of acetone and ATF as a penetrating oil. I say put plenty of that in the cylinders and wait maybe a few weeks and then with the plugs out try to turn it. Put the car in high gear and rock it back and forth and see if the engine turns,, good luck
I’ve never heard that before (new vs used). But you have to determine what is “stuck”. Could be valves, rings, etc. is the engine in the car, or out? (To eliminate a transmission issue). Do you get any engine movement? I’d****ume the 216 is like the 235’s I’ve had, so nothing to put a socket on, but I had a 235 that the transmission had been removed. For years I thought it was “stuck”. I told a buddy he could have the bellhousing for a T5 swap. To get to all the bolts the flywheel has to be off. Tough on a stuck engine. As he fanagled himself to start unbolting the FW to the crankshaft, as he was wrenching on it the engine turned over. Good thing, no idea his plan to get to the upper FW bolts. Maybe a strap wrench in the crank pulley/etc?
While you’re waiting for the mystery juice to do the trick in the cylinders. Take the rocker arms off and see if the valves all retract, and then take a rubber mallet and smack the top of the valve/valve springs. If you feel/see a bounce then the valves are free. If one is stuck it will thud instead of bounce. That will eliminate the valve train as the culprit. Also if it’ll turn over will the rocker arms off you know it’s a valve.
How much does a gasket set cost these days? A hunnerd bucks or so? I'd take it apart and check it all out, and replace whatever else might need replacing. As for rebuilt engines getting stuck easier than old engines...it kind of makes sense, with all those freshly machined and cleaned surfaces just inviting rust, they have no old protective layer of oxidation to help preserve them. Sitting for 25 years is hard on any engine, even if it's in a climate controlled environment. Any humidity will condense inside it.
Acetone and MMO (Marvel Mystery Oil). let it soak. Get one of those scopes that attaches to your phone and look into the cylinders to see how bad they or if they are rusted. More Acetone and MMO if it leaks past and time are your friend if the cylinders are not too rusted. Gently rock it every few days after a couple of weeks. If it breaks free rotate it completely then more acetone and MMO. Spin it at the flywheel with a big flat screwdriver or bar. If after a month of soaking and rocking then it will be time to open it up.
Did it run after the "rebuild"? So it's stuck, you made sure the problem is internal to the engine, i.e. starter not jambed, etc. If atf or diesel ( best) and breaker bar doesn't free it up in an hour of effort,****uming it is rust in bores, at most, stop. If it never ran, and the owner just parked it, who knows if it has a mixed up main cap or some other mechanical****embly mistake. If it doesn't turn over after the above procedure it may be better to pull and inspect. If you waste 2 weeks of soaking pushing in gear and rings turn out to be broken junk and rusted bores it still has to come apart.
Like 302GMC said. Jagmech has a good point, too. Personally, I would pull the head to see what's going on in there. BTW, the 216 is not junk. They were tough reliable old engine when used for what they were designed for and properly maintained. You need to learn the skills of bearing scraping and shim adjustment.
216 if running well is indestructable. Slow, but indestructable. If it has been converted to insert bearings that is one good step, but it is probably a low-pressure "dipper". I have resurrected a couple of these "stuck" engines by squirting some oily goop down the bore (thin oil, ATF, anything thin and vaguely oily), and by using a big lever on the front pulley or ring gear, just move the engine a few degrees each day, squirt more into the bores, come back a few hours later, turn a bit more, and you should have it turning. If you can't move it that first few degrees it may be seized, then it's time to replace your boat anchor with it.
72.03 From Amazon for a full gasket set from Felpro Amazon.com: FEL-PRO FS 7276 B-2 Full Gasket Set : Automotive That is cheap insurance to know what you actually have engine wise. Actually you should be able to save a couple of bucks by getting it though the local O'Reilly's Fel-Pro Full Gasket Set FS7276B2 | O'Reilly Auto Parts (oreillyauto.com) Don't go buy a gasket set from some********* outfit that says it is rare and doubles the price. t
I have opened "sealed up" old engines and have found surprising damage done to cylinder walls by mouse pee and poop. So there's that. Good advice to pull the head so you can load it up with MMO or whatever you like. My dad used a combo of MMO and kerosene with success.
The 216 is a good engine , they get flak as they are low pressure dipper engines . But will run forever . As @squirrel said get a gasket set and tear it apart , if anything you get to see what you have and make a determination of where to go. Peace of mind and all that jazz .
A while ago I bought a "stuck" 8ba flathead. I poured a 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone and let it sit. I then attempted to rotate it with a breaker bar. It finally began to turn and after some time of partial back and forth turns I was finally able to get it to rotate freely. It had a truck pan so I dropped it to change the oil so I could try to get it running. Along with the sludgy oil there was a dead mouse. Dumped some new oil in it and it fired up with decent oil pressure at idle. Sold it but I did suggest to the buyer to pull the intake and look for mouse nests. Don't know if he did or not. The engine didn't have an oil fill tube when I got it so I'm guessing that's how the mouse got in.
I'm in tear it down and clean it up camp. Even if it frees up with penetrating oil and time the rust will still be on the bores. And will become a lapping compound working on rings and walls. Probably with no immediate damage, but will surely shorten the engines life. Better to remove the rust with a hone and start clean.
My last engine with the mouse inhabitants left some seed hulls, no poop or pee this time. They pulled some duct tape off the exhaust manifold and found their way in. The lifter valley had a pretty cozy nest made up of pink insulation.
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