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Oh my...what to do next
#1
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19482255
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Pulled the oil pan off the 48 356 last night finally with lots of advice from all (thanks again for that).

I'll first start by saying that I am quite pleased with the interior of the engine upon inspection. Looks to be remarkably clean and grunge/corrosion-free. Seems the 55K miles on the odometer might possibly be correct, based on the lack of sludge. Sure there's some oil, but it all looks pretty light honey-colored. A good sign I guess. Even the oil intake screen is not grungy at all. Haven't pulled any rod or main caps yet to check bearing condition: that's next.

BUT some extremely unwelcome news awaited me on the floor of an otherwise spic and span oil pan. Everyone remember Jeff's 48 Convertible Victoria post? See his pictures #28 and #30. I'm dealing with the same thing. Fractured/cracked hydraulic tappet lifter body. Can't tell if it's one body or or two.

Is there any way to change these out without pulling the engine and having to remove the damper and timing chain to pull the cam?

I have yet to try and start the engine, but based on seeing this, now I don't even want to try until I get this handled. Any advice on possible next steps would be welcome.

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Posted on: 2015/2/3 15:13
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Re: Oh my...what to do next
#2
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HH56
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You probably wouldn't have to pull the engine but maybe the front clip -- or at least the grill and one fender. IIRC, someone else said even with the radiator out the cam is just long enough so it will not pass the grill opening.

Posted on: 2015/2/3 15:21
Howard
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Re: Oh my...what to do next
#3
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Owen_Dyneto
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You don't need to pull the engine but you will need to remove the damper, timing chain cover, timing chain, radiator and grille. Jack up all the valves and springs and the camshaft can be removed thru the opening vacated by the grille and radiator. Done it a couple of times, not the worst of jobs. No need to remove the front clip or even a fender. The bigger question, why did they break?

Posted on: 2015/2/3 15:22
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Re: Oh my...what to do next
#4
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Wow, that's a relief, thanks for the quick responses! I wasn't ready to pull the engine. Sure I want it looking nice and new again, but that will come when I have less demands on my time from everything else going on in life.

Radiator is already out - check. The grill...HA. I have heard about the time required to take apart these monsters. Is there a way to remove it as one piece or is complete disassembly on the vehicle required?

I'll start P-Blasting all the fasteners. I guess it's somewhat good if a break-down is necessary. Really wanted to get it polished up as well as possible, but was finding it pretty hard to do while assembled. The egg-crate inserts (are they stainless? I can tell they're not aluminum and they don't seem to be chrome-plated) are challenging to polish completely in place.

Quote:

Owen_Dyneto wrote:
The bigger question, why did they break?


Good question - can't answer that without diving deeper into the engine. I don't know for how long this car sat in "storage" (AKA a barn), but it could be anywhere from 20-40 years, and who knows if it was ever started and run during this time?

Previous owner informed me that he got the engine running briefly in January '03 during a very cold spell in Toronto and that he was surprised it started. While he didn't elaborate on the steps he and his guys took to get the engine running (meaning, whether or not they took the usual precautions to wake a long-dormant engine, oiling the cylinders, rotating it slowly by hand, breaking it back in), I think it's possible this damage occurred then. That would explain why nothing else inside the crankcase looks damaged. Even the cam lobe in question (from where I can inspect it now), doesn't look scored or chewed, so maybe the engine only ran for a very short time with the tappet damaged. Maybe the cold temps contributed to the tappet being brittle and simply trying to start the engine without necessary break-in procedures was all it took? Who knows.

Can someone advise me what size socket I'm going to need to remove that bolt? It's ginormous!

Posted on: 2015/2/3 15:55
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Re: Oh my...what to do next
#5
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Owen_Dyneto
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The egg-crate grille dividers are stainless steel and tabbed for assembly; mark them before you remove them as there are several different pieces that at quick glance will look the same but are not. It's been too long for me to recall if you can just remove the tabbed pieces or if it's easier to remove the grill as a unit but I think the latter is easier. It's possible you may have to jog the engine a bit up/down or left/right for the cam to come all the way out but in any case it's pretty simple.

Posted on: 2015/2/3 16:39
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Re: Oh my...what to do next
#6
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Thanks for the suggestions. I'm pBlasting away on the grill right now so I get get it off without any fasteners breaking off.

Did a clean-up of the oil pan this weekend, and well...the top 'compartments' of the pan were clean, but what I thought was the 'bottom' of the lower sump compartment was actually the top of 1/2" thick layer of black-on-top, graphite-grey underneath oil sludge.

Combed though the muck and located two more buried fragments of valve lifter body, as well as one half of a valve stem keeper. Clearly I have more work ahead of me.

Prior owner just informed me that back 11 years ago, they did take some good precautions to break in the engine before starting. This plus what I found this weekend makes me believe these internal injuries more likely happened in the distant past.

Fun times!

Posted on: 2015/2/9 12:37
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Re: Oh my...what to do next
#7
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HH56
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Admitting I haven't looked at an engine in detail for a long time but with the pan off is the bottom open enough that you can use a mirror or direct vision and see the underside of the tappet assys to verify if any are broken?

Posted on: 2015/2/9 12:53
Howard
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Re: Oh my...what to do next
#8
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Yep, I can look up and see at least one tappet with the edge broken off.

I wish I had a long-handled dentist-type mirror. I think I've actually seen them at auto parts stores. Handy for this - may go get one to assess how many i'm looking at, but at the same time, now that I can see one is cracked, that still means I need to pull the cam, so just forging ahead.

Posted on: 2015/2/9 13:27
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Re: Oh my...what to do next
#9
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Owen_Dyneto
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Long handle or extendable handle mirrors are available from multiple sources very inexpensively and are indeed an a very worthwhile addition to any tool box. I might only use it once a year but it's invaluable.

The base of the cam followers are case-hardened and have a slight radius. I'd strongly recommend you have the cam professionally polished (assuming it's in good condition) and if any of the old followers and going to be reused, you might consider also having them polished, depending their condition. But with at least one follower already broken, it would be prudent to give all the others a VERY careful examination for impending problems. I guess you know they were available in oversizes (smallest as I recall 0.002")for use when the bores were refinished, so check the diameters carefully.

PS - just a guess but I suspect the broken cam follower edges were a result of fitting a cylinder head with insufficient valve clearance due to excessive surfacing of the head.

Posted on: 2015/2/9 13:52
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Re: Oh my...what to do next
#10
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Wesley Boyer
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Get yourself a Inspection Camera, Wal-Mart has them. They're great for looking were you can't get your head in.
Wes

Posted on: 2015/2/9 15:12
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