my 235 just started bending pushrods!! I was thinking I had a leaking head gasket and after sitting all night the cylinders had water seeping in , but after reading a bit im wondering if varnish isn't causing the valves to stick . the car was dead for 40 yrs before I swapped the 216 for a 235 . the 235 had been sitting for 20 yrs and was stuck . diesel and time got the mtr. turning . got it started and didn't sound bad on the ground , but had a miss .after checking I found flat exhaust lope on #3 . so , bought a new cam ,and lfters .put it together and ground ran it for probably hours . smoke quit . oil pressure was good . no lower than 20 psi idling at about 500 rpm s and 30* as soon as rpms increase . running without a fan and a old , small leaky rad. it didn't get to 200 # . so in went the mtr . tank after 40 yrs was obviously bone dry ,and plugged . blew till the compressor wouldnt blow anymore , and got it clear . dumped 5 gal. in and running off the tank. drove around the house , down my cntry road several times . just running better every time . put my glass packs on a couple days ago .ran around the house a hour or more. all fine . next morning its got a miss . intake #5 jumped off the rocker . put it back . running fine again . I ran it for a hour or so ,watching the oil ,wtr gauges . all fine. next morning I have a miss again ! #2 now ! pushrod went pretzel on me . had to heat it to get it almost straight . runs perfect for a hour . ok . fixed . this morning #2-#4 so I guess if its not to late 3 or 4 pushrods ,AFTER I buy/install a new gas tank . I cant get it thru my head , but varnish is the ONLY thing it can be??? my 2 fuel filters , before the pump and carb. have very little debre , but look like rusty rad, water is running thru !! so .any opinions . besides how stupid I am !!?? did do right on my new tire choice though ?
The problem is most likely the valve guides. Unless the pistons are hitting the valves, which I feel certain they are not, the valve stems seizing in the valve guides is about all there is. You have been treating the 'symptoms' not the 'cause'. The push rods are not at fault. Pull the head and take it to an automotive machine shop and have them inspect and correct the problem. Ray
Yes......as has already been suggested.....you most likely have valves sticking in the guides and the pushrods are the weak link. I have had several 235's with stuck valves initially after long storage. I have always lucky enough to free them up and keep them free. I used a combo of penetrating oil and atf in a squirt can. Squirt at the valve stem/guide area. I took the rockers off and tapped the ends of the valves with a brass hammer over the period of several days. You may get lucky by getting the engine running and then using squirt can to heavily lube the valve stem/guide area with really good oil combined with carbon remover/top engine cleaner to remove varnish or crud. If not.....head needs to come off. Have fun.
I would do like @Hnstray said. But at the least pull the head and have a look disassemble and clean it all Have you had the side cover and oil pan off!? Was under the valve cover dirty and muddy? As has been said, do you have the valves set tight? These engines can run with the lash on the loose side, probably better for an engine that’s just waking up.
I would fix the bent pushrods and put a bunch of Marvel Mystery oil in the gas and some in the oil and see if that stops the push rods from bending and the valves from sticking. If not then pull the head.
as I said , I replaced the cam and lifters ,so, yes I had the side cover off . the mtr. is VERY clean inside ! I think I will try my old recipe off laqer thinner and diesel .ill remove all pushrods and fill the intake with the mix and let it set for a few days while im waiting on my new pushrods and gas tank .then ill remove the plugs , replace the pushrods and crank it over .! could/ should work . and yes the valves where set at 8 in. and 20 exhaust . as I said the mtr ran great for hours until I ran it off the orig. tank and it set over night . the mix of diesel and laq. thinner was taught to me by my dead father inlaw .he lives! its what I used in the mtr in the first place when it was froze after setting 20 yrs . .just figured out how good it is .the whole reason for the laq. thinner is to dissolve the varnish !! he was a diesel mech . since before dirt, and taught me much . he told me to marry for money and luv can work its self out later also .,after I married his daughter though . next time!!!
@buick bill .....'filling the intake with the mix' will not get "the mix" where it needs to be. It's an 'overhead valve engine' and the only thing fluid in the intake will touch is the valve heads, not likely the upper reaches of the valve stems and guides. And, while the exhaust valves may be less likely to be sticking, I wouldn't bet the farm they can't/aren't. If you don't want to pull the head (1/2 to one hour max) then at the very least, follow @tractorguy 's suggestion to remove rocker assemblies and squirt plenty of fluid into and around the valve stem and guide interface and beat on them with a brass or plastic dead blow hammer, or a real hammer with a block of wood between the hammer head and valve stem tip......repeat as necessary. Ray
well I feel like I dodged a bullet . 6 bent pushrods . the valves were welded . but soaked intake in the mix .and sprayed free all on the stems .still stuck .used a rubber mallet . nothing . ended up using a hammer .then they wanted to stay open .kept working on them turning by hand . and finally got them free .cranked it for several minutes with no plugs . put a quart of marvel in a gallon of gas and started it . let it idle for several minutes thenput the mix in 4 gall. and ran for a hour . alls good if it doesn't stick again after it cools .ordered new pushrods and a tank . im sure it did nothing any good but seems fine . on bent but halfass straightened old rods
just keep replacing them. that's what my Mom did with her first car, a 1931 Chevrolet coupe some time in the 40's. I got all my mechanical ability from her. my Dad was useless.
Cool! My mom was a decent enough cook, and seamstress, RN, but her early Chevy knowledge was sorely lacking. She did tolerate us kids and engine parts, go-karts, mini-bikes, motorcycles and dare devil stunts (she didn't care for Evel Knevel at all for ...some reason) without comment though now that I think about it.
My Mom at 21 had a '29 roadster with a Winfield head & carburetor, she had a neighbor (Pete Dias) who was an Indy mechanic in the Brickyard garages. My Dad was a truck driver that HATED hopped up cars. They married for 'Love'... LOL
well thnx for all the advice. all is good after a couple hours run time .and hot cold cycles .all the bent pushrods are spinning .and hopefully ill remember not to under estimate dry , old ,stinking varnish again . but the sad thing is im certain ive done very similar things in the past . im sure sick of the smell . it stays in yout skin as well. ive had a hard time wrapping my mind around what 40 yr. old dry gas can do , but its fact , not fiction!!
The new ethaonal fuel we have today breaks loose the dirt vatnish and other deposits in the tank and fuel system. Ive seen plenty of farm tractors with bent intake pushrods. you could pound the valves open and the would slowly creep up and close. I straightened the pushrods with a hammer. Used three and one oil on the valve stems and got them freed up. then started the engine and lubed the valve stems while it was running. cleaned the tank. and add a bit of two cycle oil or diesel to the gas. the glass settlement bulb is a real bonus for trapping sediment.
that's pretty much what I did ,but the hammer dosnt seem to get them real straight so I have 6 new ones on the way . found them for $40.oo delivered so it could/should have been much worse! I had a see thru filter in front of the fuel pump and another in front of the carb . so I could see what was going on and very little ,next to no debris . just rust color to the fuel . the main thing im worried about is the break in on the new cam . probably a couple hours tops running time before the bs started and another hour or so before I figured it out .but its a toy so will see very limited use . after I get them done , usually BEFORE I get them done the new wears off and I hardly rotate the oil!
Is it possible that as the engine runs longer some carbon deposits may be coming loose and they get between the valve and the piston randomly?
Hey Bill, I'm pretty confident but it has nothing to do with the engine itself. Believe it or not, the new fuel is dissolving whatever varnish remained and possibly still remains in the tank, and as the engine runs it builds up between the valve stems and the guides. And then you get more bent pushrods. The best thing you did so far was to put the Marvel Mystery Oil in the fuel. Maybe that'll do the trick. But the varnish won't stop migrating until it's been completely dissolved. Sent from my VS835 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
yes that's EXACTLY what it was . straightend the pushrods as wellas I could .new ones will be here today .worked the valves loose . all 6 .ran the marvel super concentrated . no damage somehow . wont be run on that tank EVER AGAIN .old varnish never goes away !! should have already new . but never again . ps im sure it did nothing any good!!
Not using that tank anymore. That's good. I've had this problem with an antique tractor. The varnish eventually melted out, but that's a relatively small tank. It still took a while. Sent from my VS835 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
You would think that the varnish would just dissolve in the new gas and not be a problem. Not so. Sent from my VS835 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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