QuestionDick,
Thanks so much for your previous answers to my questions about not having spark. The engine is running now, and when it runs I am AMAZED at how smoothly it runs. Just about no vibration of any kind. Pretty impressive!
I have two questions.
(1) When the engine starts it often starts roughly, with some shaking, a 'ticking' sound from the top end, and some smoking. Then (30 seconds or so) it will suddenly quiet down and run very smoothly. I'm suspecting a sticking valve maybe? I added a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil to see if it will free something up. Do you think I'm on the right track here?
(2) There is a noticable ticking (slight slapping) sound that seems to come from the water pump. One sound, not two different ones. The pump seems to work OK, and the temperature gauge sits at about 60% on idle.
I'm very curious to see what you think about these. I hope to have the car running on the road this summer. Thanks again,
Jay Faubion
(1949 22nd Series Deluxe 8: 2262-9-57462)
AnswerI agree, these are remarkable engines, even the 288s. The reason is that the flywheel and crankshaft are incredibly heavy, and once they get spinning, they tend to smooth out any inequalities in the individual cylinders. The 288s are actually extra nice to drive, because they are shorter stroke engines than the 327s or 356s. They 'rev' more willingly, and give a pretty impressive response to the throttle.
These are mechanical valve lifter engines, so some noise from the valve train is normal; however with the valve cleanance set to spec, even these are very quiet engines, normally.
Valves sticking in the valve guides is a fairly common problem with this type of engine, especially if the engine has habitually been started and run for a short time, not long enough to dispell all the combustion product gasses from the crankcase.
Especially when the engine has very low milage since the last rebuild, so that the guide clearance is minimal, this sticking is VERY common.
Yes, adding a powerful detergent additive to the oil may clear this up, but more likely, you are going to have to pull the valve covers off the side of the block and spray some powerful solvent on the valve stems as the engine idles. GUNK brand carburetor spray cleaner is particularly effective at removing the varnish type buildup on the valve stems.
If this doesn't cure it, the only way to fix it is "off with her head!", so you can pop the valves out and get at the valve stems and guides directly with a solvent and a stiff brush. Certainly, since your problem is only at startup, you should try the easy way first. And be sure to run the engine for at least a half hour every time you start it.
As for the water pump, this could be many things - some serious, some just an irritation. To rule out anything serious, with the engine off, grab the fan blade and try to feel for any play in the water pump bearing at all - push the fan blade toward the radiator, then back. If you feel any slop at all, it's time to rebuild the water pump before you launch the fan into the radiator, costing yourself a lot of grief, and not a little money.
If you don't feel any monkey motion from the bearing, next time you hear the noise, spray a little WD40 on the pulleys as the motor idles - if the noise clears up immediately, you've got a noisy fan belt. Not to worry, most of them get this way with age. The noise will come and go - if you hold a bar of Ivory soap against the moving belt once in a while (Be careful!), the noise will go away for weeks at a time.
I look forward to hearing about your joy at driving this car. If it has overdrive, you have a great highway cruiser, but even without overdrive, it is a great around town car - surprisingly easy to handle and capable in normal traffic.
Dick
