Engine start up

[Jim Mercer]

Hi All,
A friend of mine has a F15A,Cab11 which hasn't run for about 25+ years.It still has the original engine which is not stuck.He has flushed the crankcase out with Diesel fuel,replaced sparkplugs and sparkplug wires,had the radiator boiled out,and the distributer is currently being worked on. When the plugs were replaced,oil was squirted into each cylinder as well.We would welcome any suggestions on what else should be undertaken before we attempt to fire the engine up.Of course new oil,oil filter,antifreeze etc. will be added before an attempt to start it is made.Thanks in advance for any ideas on this.

Jim

[Pete Ashby]

Jim

It would be worth checking the compression, you may have stuck rings which when you start up may fail and cause you all sorts of mega problems. If your compression reading is 90/100psi + on all cylinders at cranking speed with the plugs out you should be OK.
If not fill the low cylinder with an easing fluid wait and try the test again.

Pete

[chris vickery]

My experience w/ most flathead motors is that they all stick one way or the other, especially after many years of idle sitting. Low compression is not neccessarily uncommon nor dreadful. If the rings are sticking, she may loosen up after a short run. Compression can be regained initially by adding some engine oil to each cylinder and replacing the plugs before firing. Worst case scenario is that your motor is NFG anyway and going to require a rebuild so trying to start it up really isn't much of a gamble. I have a M37 which had an apparently bad engine and crappy compression and found it to run better and better the more I run it. Like the Ford, it is a flathead as well and as such is subject to the same demons. Good luck.

[rob love]

If an engine has been sitting that long it might be a good idea to pre-lube the lubrication system. This means you have to find an oil outlet such as the feed line to the external oil filter, and pump oil into there using some form of an oil pump. This will ensure the bearings get a healthy feed of oil prior to run up vice the wear (or even possible self-destrucion) that will occur during the 30 seconds to several minutes it takes to get oil up to pressure. This is reccomended even for a new engine which has just been installed.

[Snowtractor]

Quite common in Diesels and hot rods are oil prelube pumps to reduce wear and tear on startup, as Rob said. You could probably use the oil pressure sending unit point to inject oil also.
Sean

[Phil Waterman]

One of the guys in our club has been collecting Chevys for a long time and he cautions that because of the dipper lubrication system it is wise to drop the oil pan and clean out the sump and particularly the splash sumps. He says that he has had the little thin steel dippers be damage by hitting heavy sludge in the dipper pans. Of course the result of these dippers being bent or plugged with sludge can mean a destroyed bearing if not scored crank.

But then again you may find what I found on my C60 that the inside of the pan and the dipper trays are clean.

Good luck I hope to fire up the 216 in a pattern 12 that has not been run in at least 25 years this spring. Engine turns over with the crank with the plugs out but I'm going to pull the pan first.

Cheers

[Paul Singleton]

Yes, make sure the oil pump is working. I once bought a 40 Chev that had sat in an unheated barn for nearly thirty years and attempted to start it. Prior to the attempt I changed the oil and found a large amount of clear water in the oil pan, thirty or so years of condensation. Well fresh oil and she started on the first try and NO oil pressure. Upon removing the oil pan I found an oil pump that had been cracked by water freezing in the oil pan. When engines sit for extended periods you never know what you will find. I would definately crank it over without the spark plugs installed to check oil pressure and any odd noises before an attempt at starting.

[gordon]

I'd expect rings or valves to be stuck, regardless of how free it seems to be. Since throwing it over is very hard on the starter, especially if it isn't exactly as it should be, I'd try towing it for a few hundred yards in top gear to check that the oil pressure comes up, and assuming it does just hook up fuel and a battery and tow it again until it's firing on enough cylinders to keep itself running.

Run it at a very fast idle till it's hot, checking all the time, then switch it off, check it, let it cool, and do it again the next day. With an investment of two or three days and a bit of towing you might find that it'll come right back into line without doing anything too drastic.

Gordon

[Jim Mercer]

Hi
Thanks very much everyone, for all the good ideas on starting the
V8 in my friend's CMP.Will definitely use them...probably will wait until things warm up a bit though.Will keep you posted on how the start up goes.Thanks again for your help.

Jim