Eightbanger

Well since my 53 arrived on my door step 4 mths ago i've rebuilt my Bendix Treadle brake unit, rebuilt the Carb, new brakes all round and removed the oil pan cleaned and painted it and fresh oil and filter, and stopped the leak on the power steering fluid reservoir with a new gasket set.

But it was only today that I removed the valve covers for the first time....and my heart sank, I'm shocked at the mess it's in and that i've actually had it running, so disheartened.

Rocketowner

Proof of negligence of keeping the oil changed. I have seen them look that way many times . First ,drain the oil again, and if it hasn't been run very much since you changed it ,save it.With the drain out put a large pan (underneath the plug ) , take a small(probably 1/4" wooden dowel or wooden pencil)and locate the oil drain back holes in the lower corners underneath the valve covers.Pushing the dowel down into these holes should open them so the oil can drain back to the pan. Using a small rubber spatula, clean out all you can into a container to be thrown away.
At this point ,you are ready to start spraying with carburetor cleaner, and the remainder should drain down through the return holes and go into the pan you've placed below. Not a fun job , but it's about the only way. I would then run it a hundred to two hundred miles and change the oil and filter again. Happy Motoring and congratulation on your Bendix rebuild and all other repairs. Larry
Happy Motoring , Larry

Eightbanger

Now i've been ready to throw the towel in thinking it's all bad, and you have lifted me back up and given me some hope again....Cheers Larry your a good guy.
Im off to buy some carb cleaner....

TripDeuces

A perfect example of short rides where the engine never gets hot enough to burn off the moisture inside it. It's always a good idea to take them for long rides now and then. (100-150) miles.
You can see every spot where moisture sat and the rust set in.
If you're thinking about scraping that out I'd invest in a wet/dry vacuum and follow along as you scrape. Don't let that get down below.

Rocketowner

Nigel ,if you have access to a parts washer, you might want to remove the "rocker arm assemblies ,tag them right and left ,and return them to their original location when finished). and wash them in it,then you would have easier access to remove the other crud. I would wait about opening up the return holes ,until the other ares were as clean as possible. X2 on the Trip Deuces idea on the wet or dry vacuum ,just make sure your spouse don't try to use it later to vacuum the curtains. Larry

Rustbucket2

I have use Kerosene , it works great. As Rocketowner said, first clean out the return holes, and put a big pan under it , to catch that stuff.

oldcutlass

I prefer to plug the oil returns and keep that crap out of the engine. I use varsol or kerosene, parts brushes, scapers, and soak the rags to wipe the rest out. Then I use a shop vac and vacuum the returns as I clear them.

I have seen much worse engines than yours.

Tedd Thompson

I have seen a Y block ford that had black jelly sludge level with the valves with no clearance on any part unless it was moving. That engine was cleaned up and ran for years.

You have to remember many people ran non detergent oil in the fifties and long trips were a once or twice a year thing back then, short trips were the norm...... Sludge happens..... Tedd

Eightbanger

Thanks for all the replies, I've been outside cleaning like crazy, 6 cans of carb cleaner and lots of scraping and wire brushing and i'm happy to report it looks a whole lot better, I sprayed it down with WD40 just to lube it up a little after the cleaner.

I dont have a wet vac so I just used the one for the house and put a fresh bag after...lol I hit a dead end with those return holes, I thought that I was going to be able to rod them through all the way into the engine....

I think this car hasn't run in a very long time, the gaskets for the valve covers were ancient and very brittle and broke into little pieces, the inside of one of the valve covers has two tiny holes were the rust and moisture has eaten through.

MDchanic

I would recommend removing those rocker arm shafts and disassembling them (making certain to keep everything in order), then carefully cleaning and lubricating the moving surfaces and reassembling - it is very likely that in the process of cleaning off all of that gunk, you drove lots of fine grit into all of those bearing surfaces, and, now that everything is more or less clean, you need to get it out.

Looks great, though!

- Eric

Eightbanger

Thanks Eric, I was considering that but I remember when I had to replace a couple of bent rods on my 454 for the install I had to learn how to set the lash etc and I wasn't sure if taking this apart it would be the same...not familiar with an engine as old as this....it doesn't look like there is anything to set, the bolts are probably seized to hell.

MDchanic

Nah, hydraulic lifters, no lash, no settings.

And I would bet all of those bolts come right out.
Remember, the rust and gunk were on exposed surfaces - the threads of those bolts have been lubed for 63 years.

- Eric

mpolds

The weather "across the pond" can't be perfect yet either (although probably a lot better this time of year than some other years!!),
So you still have a good solid month to make that Olds more road worthy --
and when the real nice weather hits,
You are going to feel splendid about what you've done!!!!
Cheers, Craig............

Rustbucket2

30 pounds of sludge removed, now car is lighter , will go faster.

Eightbanger

Ok, thats good news Eric, i'll take the lot off and go into detail.


Thank you Craig for the words of encouragement my friend.


LOL, It's certainly should run better.

MDchanic

I hate to say this, but, while it will probably be more durable, you probably won't notice any difference in operation at all.
This falls within the definition of stuff that's well within the operating tolerances of the (extremely tolerant) engine.

You will definitely feel better, though, and that's really why you have the car anyway, right?

- Eric

Eightbanger

Extremely tolerant is right, how that poor engine still ran is beyond me...and yes that's why I have this beautiful car.

Rocketowner

You have it looking 100% better than it looked to start with ,but you need to get those return holes cleaned out thoroughly.I don't like to use metal ( like coat hanger wire ,or a welding Rod,) but if you don't get those opened the oil will start to puddle up and start the whole process again. Larry

redoldsman

There are a couple things I will offer. You might consider removing the intake manifold and then the valley cover which will give you access to the lifters and the top of the block. There has to be lots of sludge in there. It really is not that bad of a job.
Erick offered some good advice on the rocker arms. These things were notorious for getting clogged and not oiling. Keep the pushrods where they came out which is easy with two pieces of cardboard with holes punched in and numbered. If you disassemble the rocker arms and shafts pay close attention to the how they came apart. I would do one side and complete it before doing the other side. You will also want to clean the shafts out because the oil comes into the shaft through the cylinder head into one of the rocker arm shaft supports. The shafts have holes in them under each rocker arm where the oil goes into the rocker arm. Now here is the really important part. Very important. The holes in the rocker arm shafts face down toward the cylinder head. Don't ask me how I know that but it was an expensive and frustrating lesson.

1969w3155

There are stiff, round brushes that do a decent job on cleaning those oil passages, I would think that you would be able to find something on your side of the pond.

Eightbanger

Your right Red, I've gone this far it would be prudent to go the distance and investigate whats lurking under the Manifold, Im impatient to get her out on the road but as I go through repairing and replacing I keep discovering new horrors, I only removed the valve covers to fit new gaskets, and I've not dropped the pan on the Hydramatic yet.

Cheers for the link, I'll definitely invest in a set of those.


P.S This is what I found at the bottom of the Oil Pan

My442

I would run diesel motor oil thru it for the next 3/4 oil changes.

It will help clean up the inside of the engine.

Rocketowner

X2 on 1969w3155's idea on the brushes.You could probably find the correct size in a gun cleaning kit. Larry

MDchanic

They don't have any guns in the UK. Queen took 'em all.

- Eric

Rocketowner

Eric ,maybe she missed a few gun cleaning brushes,and he should be able to buy them cheap . Larry

MDchanic

I dunno - could be like being caught with a bong, but no weed: "gun paraphernalia."

- Eric

Eightbanger

lmao....crazy dudes.

tru-blue 442

Made me laugh out loud.

64Rocket

Well, what progress have you done so far?
Did you change the trans fluid?
Have you got it back on the road yet?

Gene

Eightbanger

Gene, the trans fluid was changed just the other day, filter cleaned, new gasket and spray painted the pan.
As for the engine, I ended up taking the heads off and starting from there, new engine gasket set from Fel-Pro and a major amount of cleaning of every part I remove, if money were not a problem I would put new parts back as I go, but as it is i'm just painstakingly cleaning everything and reusing.
I took he crankcase vent off and discovered that yet again found something else that was clogged and thoroughly messed up, so more cleaning and painting, and the exhaust heat riser was entirley seized and had been for a very long time, I managed to free that up and ready to reinstall.
Here's where I'm now..

Olds64

Good job on all the cleaning!

I'm amazed that you were able to free up the exhaust heat riser. I had a 64 394 with one that was seized and I had to knock the valve out and take the bimetallic spring off of the side of the manifold.

MDchanic

Wow, Nigel.

VERY nice work.

I've NEVER seen one of those heat risers that was un-stickable, so I am very impressed both by your perseverance and by the condition of the car.

- Eric

Eightbanger

Thanks guys...it took lots of picking away at the carbon build up and tapping the pivot every now and then with a hammer, plus generous amounts of WD40...I have to take my time and try to salvage parts because there's the extra 2/3 week wait for a replacement part when your out there trying to get the job done now, not to mention the expense with shipping and customs to the U.K.

Andreas.Johansson

Great job Nigel, I know how much it takes to remove dirt and gum that been built up over decades...
On my cars I normally remove the complete heat risers and block the cylinder head/manifold although hasn't happened yet on the Olds

Eightbanger

Progress has been good, got everything back together, all cleaned and painted...I decided not to repaint the valve covers and leave them in their original paint for now, thought the patina looked cool.
But had trouble with the replacement Neutral Safety Switch, in the end had to dismantle the new one and use it's parts to repair my old original NSS and it worked fine.
I''m still having problems though as she just won't fire up, i give the carb a few shots of gas and still nothing, then things got even worse as I noticed some coolant dripping from the seam below the exhaust manifold where the cylinder head meets the block on the DS, I pulled the plugs and turned the engine over and coolant shot out of #5 chamber.
So today I had to pull apart all my newly sealed and gasketed engine to remove the DS cylinder head...I think my issue on that side was the confusing instructions in the shop manual for the correct torque sequence it tells me the first 5 bolts to be tightened are the rocker arm shaft bolts at 14-17 lbs, but there are only 4 of those, and the first 5 bolts on the diagram are below the shaft.
She's back together again with no coolant added yet, I wanted to see if she'd fire up but still nothing

MDchanic

Annoying but not unusual, unfortunately.

Right now, it's back to basics: Spark, compression, fuel, timing.

Don't worry, you'll get it going!

It looks great, by the way.

- Eric

Eightbanger

Cheers Eric.
Thing is I never messed with the timing, and she fired right up with just a few squirts of easy start in the carb, after I renewed the leads and plugs when she first arrived so I could get it running, now i'm dumping gas in there and nothing, can't believe it would rather run with the mess it was in when I got it...

MDchanic

... So the problem is probably not fuel.

Check for spark, check ignition timing with a timing light while cranking, confirm good compression, and you'll probably find your problem.

- Eric

CRH

Interesting thread; I hope the 303 turns out OK!

Eightbanger

Thanks CRH, the story so far.....The issue was as Eric said, the timing, it turns out the timing chain had broke because I had attached the fuel pump to the chain cover before attaching the cover to the block, this snagged the pump arm on the eccentric thus breaking the arm and snapping the chain..

So a new chain and fuel pump are soon to be ordered and hopefully she'll be running soon.

Here's the link to the thread where the timing chain problem was discussed and resolved.
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ing-chain.html