Posted by Dan (NH) [173.9.49.14] on Thursday, May 08, 2014 at 09:18:20 :
A while ago I picked up that old '46 dump truck PW that a tree had fallen on for parts and have been parting it out to make way for yet another '47. I was impressed with the condition of the engine "looks anyway" and decided to take a night off from pulling parts and look into the engines mechanical condition to see if it would run with a little love. The previous owner said he thought the rod on number 5 or 6 was broken, but that it had been so many years since he had it running he couldn't remember for sure. Not wanting to waste too much time, the first thing I did after getting it in the engine stand was drop the oil pan. All the rods were there and connected as they should have been. I was pleased they were still attached, and even though the rods are a little looser than I like, it would work without making too much noise. I did find that every one of the exhaust valves were stuck wide open, and suspect that is what he was hearing and running into last time he ran it. Not a problem I thought, should be a quick fix, I'll have this thing running lickety split for sure!
Thinking that was my first mistake, as the night slowly got worse from here. I worked the valves free from the rear of the engine forward while the engine was still upside down in the stand, prying gently using the exhaust manifold as a fulcrum. Most of the valves came loose and started working well with oil, except number one cylinder. The last valve proved to be my demise. I started applying pressure, then more, then more to the point where the fear of breaking the manifold clean off dashed through my mind. That was the point where I stopped and placed a well cut piece of oak block in the right spot to transfer the pivot point directly to the engine block. Put the pry bar back in the sweet spot and applied a "little" downward pressure and POP! Woo-who, I though until I looked closer. Turns out I snapped the valve stem off right at the start of the valve guide. Dam it! Now I have to pull the head.
So I started looking over the engine a little more and found the distribution tube is a clump of rust, which has since collected in the water pump. All the freeze plugs have holes in them created with my index finger.
At least the starter works well, and the mechanical fuel pump is there with the shroud. There is hope!