First a thank you for the help about the oil pressure in the previous post. It calmed my fears alot. That in mind I got really adventurous today and went on a 30 plus mile round trip in the 50 panel. Also since the last post I found out that the engine is not the stocker, but a newer six with an oil filter and has been rebuilt two owners ago. I haven't been able to check the engine number as it seems to require removal of the starter and I just haven't been able to get time to do it yet. Back to the trip. All started out well with the engine starting right away. Going through the gears was fine with a rattling noise with the clutch out and the trans in nuetral. With the pedal pushed in the rattle went away. After awhile(ten minutes) it seemed like the engine had a real bad rod knock so I backed off the gas and it wasn't as bad. Further down the road and longer into the ride I started to think that it might be the clutch making the noise. As I accelerated briskly the noise/vibration would subside but would return as I let off the throttle. Needless to say I am concerned that a: The engine was not rebuilt properly or b: I need to address the issue of the clutch. or c: anything else I need to check. Thanks again in advance. Gordon
One thing it could be is the throwout bearing is not being retracted all the way off the clutch fingers when the clutch is out. Try hooking the back of the clutch peddle with your toe and pulling it back towards you a bit to see if the noise goes away. I have heard a similar problem, even with a new throwout bearing and I found that the clutch return spring had popped off and the peddle wasn't coming all the way back. It releases fine so the clutch worked, but the bearing was still riding on the fingers and vibrating when not being used. I hope it is that simple.
Have you _serviced_ this beast yet ? many times the tranny is simply low on oil as they drip , nothing you can do about that . after your drive was the time as oil changes should always be done HOT . Valve adjustment is -always- necessary too , compression test and timing check and so on.. -Nate
It sounds like you have a clutch issue AHRMA,but there may be other issues as well here.Sometime an egnine will not knock under load,but will at idle/lower rpms.You might want to check out the main bearings.Looks like a teardown is in order here.
Thanks fellas. I'm leaning toward the clutch the more I think about it. More info on the motor. Number behind the distributor is 02I8879F55XA. A 1955 motor I think but am not sure if out of a truck or car. The head has 3836848 GM13 and at the top of the block B62 848 850. Any info would be appreciated. Nate you're right. I should have been prepared to change all the fluids when I got back. I will be next time. Gordon
O.K. , you have the latest and -best- 235 cylinder head on it so if the oil filter lines are tiny little suckers like the line leading to the oil pressure gauge , I'd say you have a 235 , let's not rip it into tiny pieces just yet , some diagnosis first , shall we ? . Nowthen : it still has breaker points ignition and -you- don't have a heart pacemaker , right ? Start the engine and with the hood up rev it up a bit , not terribly fast , just like you were driving it at 45 MPH or so , do you hear any rattle/knocking from the engine ? no ? good . now snap the throttle shut and the instant the engine begins to loose RPM's , if it has a bad rod bearing , you'll hear it go " knocknocknock " a few times before quieting up again . If it does , slow the idle speed _way_ down untill the engine is barely running and the knock should show up again ~ now pull one sparkplug wire off at the distributor cap and see if the knock stops ~ it did ? that's the bad cylinder . It didn't ? O.K. , plug the wire back in and try the next one . Be aware you might get a tingle as you unplug the sparkplug wire , it shouldn't hurt you unless you have a pacemaker or electronic igntion ~ DO NOT make this test if you have either one of those items ! . If none of this results in a knocking noise , drain and refill the tranny and do a MAJOR tune up including a compression test , if you don;t have the tools , no worries as Sears CRaftsman (or Osh for cheaper) tools can all be bought for less than a mechanic will charge you to tune it up and _YOU_ will prolly do a better job as all the guys here will show you how to do it correctly , O.K. ? . If it knocks and has over 20 # hot oil pressure @ idle , you may well be in very good luck and -not- need to tear it down to repair it , it all depends and you must do some detective work to see what's what . -Nate
