Jc Deluxe P20 Posted May 31, 2023 Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 i bought a 1948 218 that had been rebuilt but never installed for my 1937 P4 Plymouth business coupe . After starting for the first time i ended up with about 8 qt's water and 4 qt's oil in my drain pan .What / Where do you reckon the problem lies ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jc Deluxe P20 Posted May 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sniper Posted May 31, 2023 Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 I reckon the problem lies inside the engine, only a tear down will narrow it down for you. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Los_Control Posted May 31, 2023 Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 At least you will need to pull the head, maybe dig deeper with a complete disassembly & inspection. Just a thought, My Uncle once bought a rebuilt 218 flathead for a project he never got to. The seller had removed the head so the buyer could inspect the internals & see it was rebuilt. My Uncle bought it & he just set the head back on & snugged up the bolts ..... shoved it in a corner. til he died 30 years later. So whoever has the engine now, It needs a new head gasket & bolts torqued down in order to run it. Is it possible something like that happened to your engine? Or, do you know complete history on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hickory Posted May 31, 2023 Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 With diesel trucks we would pull the oil pan and injectors (plugs in this case) and then pressure the coolant system and watch for the leak That is a lot of water. How long did it run. That should present itself with pressure and watching for leaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hickory Posted May 31, 2023 Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 Then you would know if it is a head gasket, crack in block ect.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jc Deluxe P20 Posted May 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 i don't know the history , i did see the donor car . i took the thermostat out and poured water in , every bit came out of the oil pan . i plan to pull the pan the water passages could have been rusty i took the water distribution tube out in a dozen pieces , miserable job !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Los_Control Posted May 31, 2023 Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 Just now, Jc Deluxe P20 said: i took the water distribution tube out in a dozen pieces , miserable job !! IMHO, that is a red flag .... should have been changed during the rebuild. Since they did not, I would also question what else was done or not done during the rebuild. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan_B Posted May 31, 2023 Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 Well, the place where coolant could leak into the oil system is usually the head/block junction. So, you would likely at least have to remove the head for inspection, as already suggested. It is generally a bad idea to run a used "rebuilt" engine without complete inspection. Unless it was done by a reputable shop, with valid warranty, there could be literally anything inside. I've had a very bad experience with a motorcycle engine "rebuilder", once. The guy never finished the work so I took it to a different shop, which ended-up redoing everything because things inside were badly screwed-up. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jc Deluxe P20 Posted May 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2023 i can close this thread . the source of the leak is above / around the #3 main cap . the rusty area shown in the picture is it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecoozie Posted June 1, 2023 Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 Now you need to figure out WHY it is leaking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Buchanan Posted June 1, 2023 Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 4 hours ago, Jc Deluxe P20 said: i can close this thread . the source of the leak is above / around the #3 main cap . the rusty area shown in the picture is it . So how is water getting into the pan?? More questions than answers..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hickory Posted June 1, 2023 Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 Seems like it would be a crack between two cylinders. I hope not but a possibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D35 Torpedo Posted June 1, 2023 Report Share Posted June 1, 2023 Tough break man. Must be a crack ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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