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My first Pilothouse


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11 minutes ago, The Oil Soup said:

Sounds like it has a stuck valve from sitting a long while. 

Sure does, my latest flathead I was lucky enough to take off the tappet covers and discovered it was the intake stuck open. I pulled the plug, lubed the crap out of the valve from both ends and gently worked it down.... 

 

my other four flatheads..... had to pull the head 
 

Glad to see your back at it Travis ?

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 While moving it up to the garage I couldn't resist taking a few pics of the truck in the sunlight with the Meadowbrook in the background.

 

Waaay in the background is the now abandoned project that delayed working on the 1 ton. Its an 84 BMW that's been in my wife's family for 30 years. Salt ultimately claimed this one, too much hidden rust all over to feel safe putting it back on the road. 

 

Truck is in the garage now, will start working on it this evening after dinner and when the heat breaks a bit.20210717_164409.jpg.dcc6d0cc7ed43a724829d32da636ecda.jpg

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I decided to take the tappet cover off before pulling the head just to have a look at the valvetrain. Got the inner fender removed, acres of room to work now! Then sprayed some degreaser on the engine and scraped all the crap off the tappet covers and surrounding areas before removing the rearward cover. It appears the valves for cyl 6 are moving freely. I turned the engine over and confirmed that both valves are opening and closing as the tappets move. It's also very evident this engine wasn't very loved. Lots of carbon inside. I've seen worse engines, but it's still not great looking. Looks like pulling the head off will be next. Maybe the dead hole on 6 is why the truck was parked?? I will check compression on 6 one last time before pulling the head. Maybe the valve was stuck open, but cranking the engine and sitting for a few hours allowed it to close on it's own?? Probably wishful thinking.

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Travis, check valve adjustment. 
could be one isnt closing. I would just check to see if it has  clearance. 
#6 in my 218 is dead too,i want to pull head and check cyl wall and piston. It was siezed, and im thinking either the rings are stuck or broken. Pumps oil out vent at 50 mph. 

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@Tooljunkie, checked valve clearance this morning before I started doing anything else. Exh had .009 , intake had a buildup of crap that I could see taking up the space between the tappet and valve stem. Got a .004 in and worked my way up until it was cleared out ending up at .009. I didn't have a helper today so instead of my thumb, I put a compression gauge on 6. With all the spark plugs out and the gauge on 6, I cranked the engine for about 10 seconds and listened for the slowdown when 6 would hit the compression stroke. Nothing. Tried cranking again and saw the oil pressure gauge climb a bit, so that's a good sign. After about 10-15 seconds of cranking, number 6 hit some compression! I removed the gauge, shot a bit of oil in each cylinder and turned the engine by hand a few revolutions. Then checked for spark and had nothing. Cleaned and set the points and we have spark! Gave the plugs a quick hit with a wire brush and threw them in. Cleaned up a few corroded plug wire terminals and connected everything back up. Grabbed a bottle of gas and squirted it down the carb. Had my wife run the key and starter and it fired! Let it run for about a minute or two, feeding it gas from a bottle. Wife reported the gauge showed 40 psi oil pressure. Not much smoke from the exhaust, and no strange engine noises. I think we've got a viable engine! The wells by the tappets have some sludge in them as expected. I'll clean them out along with dropping the oil pan and giving that a good clean out too. I drained the oil, other than being really black, there wasn't anything alarming to see. Spent a good amount of time today scraping decades of crud from the sides of the block and pan rails. 

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I ran my 218 for about a month,and decided it needs rings at the very least. When i get a chance im going to pull it apart and see if its worth fixing. I like the way it ran,but it needed more work than i wanted to put into it at the time. I need to fix up a flathead for the next project. 

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On 7/18/2021 at 6:31 PM, TravisL17 said:

@Tooljunkie, checked valve clearance this morning before I started doing anything else. Exh had .009 , intake had a buildup of crap that I could see taking up the space between the tappet and valve stem. Got a .004 in and worked my way up until it was cleared out ending up at .009. I didn't have a helper today so instead of my thumb, I put a compression gauge on 6. With all the spark plugs out and the gauge on 6, I cranked the engine for about 10 seconds and listened for the slowdown when 6 would hit the compression stroke. Nothing. Tried cranking again and saw the oil pressure gauge climb a bit, so that's a good sign. After about 10-15 seconds of cranking, number 6 hit some compression! I removed the gauge, shot a bit of oil in each cylinder and turned the engine by hand a few revolutions. Then checked for spark and had nothing. Cleaned and set the points and we have spark! Gave the plugs a quick hit with a wire brush and threw them in. Cleaned up a few corroded plug wire terminals and connected everything back up. Grabbed a bottle of gas and squirted it down the carb. Had my wife run the key and starter and it fired! Let it run for about a minute or two, feeding it gas from a bottle. Wife reported the gauge showed 40 psi oil pressure. Not much smoke from the exhaust, and no strange engine noises. I think we've got a viable engine! The wells by the tappets have some sludge in them as expected. I'll clean them out along with dropping the oil pan and giving that a good clean out too. I drained the oil, other than being really black, there wasn't anything alarming to see. Spent a good amount of time today scraping decades of crud from the sides of the block and pan rails. 

Sometimes these old flatheads can surprise us.  The PO of my 48 B1C bought the truck at an auction; engine seized.  They got it unstuck and running; I got it running even better.  73 years old, doesn't smoke, doesn't run rough... it's pretty amazing.  Glad you're making progress!

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Made some more progress today. Got the inspection shields off the bellhousing and found an almost never ending mouse nest. It was even packed into the pressure plate and springs. Got it all dug out and removed. Then moved onto the oil pan. Got it removed, it basically fell off when I loosened the last bolt. One of my favorite automotive smells is the inside of gasoline engines, especially older engines. It may seem strange, but admit it- there are automotive related smells you love too!

 

Anyways, no big surprises in the pan. Less sludge than anticipated. However, there's a silver buildup in the bottom of the sump about 1/8 to 3/16 inch deep. I can scrape a valley through it and it holds itself up for a good while. Rubbing between your fingers it has a bit of a gritty texture to it and somewhat tacky feeling. Its not magnetic either. My immediate thought when I first saw it was bearing material, but there is waaay to much of it. Then I thought possibly zinc additive or some other oil additive buildup over the years. Your thoughts?

 

Also, check out the coolant heater that was under the hood. I haven't seen one like this before. It was plumbed into the block drain and T'd into the top side of the water pump where the heater hose hooks up. I will not be putting it back in, needless to say.

 

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I think I have that same heater for the cooling system!  It came in a box of stuff removed from a 48 or 49 Dodge sedan.  Wasn't sure at the time but had my suspicions it was for winter use, at night, to prevent freezing.

 

Dick Hultman

Pgh, PA

46 WC & 57 FFPW

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3 hours ago, 46BulldogDodge said:

Wasn't sure at the time but had my suspicions it was for winter use, at night, to prevent freezing.

 

 

It also makes starting easier in winter. I've seen a lot of different style coolant and block heaters living in MN, but never this style. Always fun to see something new.

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11 minutes ago, Young Ed said:

I'd say that gunk in the bottom is lead from old school leaded gas. 

I thought of that too. Think it's possible to have that much buildup in the oil pan? Maybe lots of years running rich or regularly flooding the engine? The oil didn't smell of fuel or rancid gas. The color definitely seems like it could be lead. Good thing I didn't taste it!

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5 minutes ago, TravisL17 said:

I thought of that too. Think it's possible to have that much buildup in the oil pan? Maybe lots of years running rich or regularly flooding the engine? The oil didn't smell of fuel or rancid gas. The color definitely seems like it could be lead. Good thing I didn't taste it!

That's a small amount usually there's 4-5 times that much in a worn out engine. 

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10 hours ago, TravisL17 said:

It also makes starting easier in winter. I've seen a lot of different style coolant and block heaters living in MN, but never this style. Always fun to see something new.

 

Tank heaters like that are fairly common. I've seen several on tractors and construction equipment. I can't say I've ever seen one on a car or truck though. 

They circulate heated coolant by convection. The lower connection feeds cold coolant into the heating tank and the warmer coolant rises out the top to return to the engine. Probably not the most efficient, but they do work. 

Edited by Merle Coggins
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Progress update - Pulled all the stuff off the left side of the engine today and removed the core plugs to clean out the crud from the engine block.

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Plenty buildup down at the bottom of the block. Check out what was behind door number 4!

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I need to flush the block out without making a giant mess in my garage. I'm thinking a kiddie pool under the truck should work well. I've included some pics of the core plug removal tool that I made a couple years ago when I did this to my Meadowbrook. I drill a hole in the core plug and thread it with a 1/4 20 tap. Then put the tool across the plug and thread the bolt in. The bolt pulls the plug towards the tool and deforms the core plug a bit. Then I can either pry the tool off the engine with a screwdriver/prybar or grab onto the curved end of the tool with a pliers and use the tool to pry the plug out. Most of the work is done by the bolt so it doesn't take my effort to pop the plug out.20210722_134356.jpg.bcc10aa53c6dae1f46ddc0a059b4e717.jpg

 

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I also started soaking the manifold bolts with penetrant. The exhaust manifold is badly cracked on number one. I think I have another manifold to replace it. 

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Your sump sludge could be anything, as long as ya don't eat it or rub it in your eye, it ain't much to worry about.  I pulled enough out of my '49 that it was as big as a softball...my guess was that West Texas dust drifted in thru the porous draft tube setup, combined with steam vapors and lingering hydrocarbon mist, to accumulate over time to leave that treasure for me to experience :rolleyes:

 

That much crud in the water jacket does not surprise me...a wire coat hanger to snake out the crud while flushing with a garden hose is your next tool to fabricate  :cool:

Edited by JBNeal
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18 minutes ago, JBNeal said:

...a wire coat hanger to snake out the crud while flushing with a garden hose is your next too to fabricate  :cool:

Already got that tool made! Along with a long set of picks I bought a while ago. Some of the sediment gets pretty hard and takes quite a bit of force to break it free. What are your thoughts on the water distribution tube...let it be and see how it cools, or pull it out now. Are they prone to clogging up or do they corrode and fall apart? I haven't pulled the water pump yet, but do intend to replace it along with removing the radiator so I can back flush it. I've never pulled a water distribution tube, I've read on here that they can be real stubborn. 

 

Just picked up a plastic kiddie pool today. Gotta do some shop cleaning then the water sports will begin!

 

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Remove only the loose stuff in the water jacket for now as you'll never be able to get it spotless in there...scrape out what ya can and leave the heavy scale, odds are it'll stay put for a long time.  The water distribution tube should probably be examined thoroughly, at a minimum a hook fabricated to probe each tube outlet.  If the tube is solid without any obvious signs of deterioration, then ya might can get by without yanking it out...but don’t be surprised if it sounds a little crunchy around #6.

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When I stripped my block down and pulled my freeze plugs, I had it on the engine stand flushing with the hose, and pressure washer at every entry point I could hit.  Rotated to different angles, and saw more crud come flowing out.  After finally getting the water tube out, I took it off the engine stand and stood on front and back with spacers under it and continued the flush process.  Ultimately, I think I flushed it 8-10 times before crud stopped coming out and water was semi clear. 

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