VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 216/235 pcv install link

http://www.speedprint.com/deves50/pcvinstall.php

There are dozens of links showing chevy 6 owners going to a pcv setup. No one has had a bad experience that I've found. The websites say the orginal vent tube is really an undercarriage oiling system. This may not be for everybody. I'm getting desperate tryiing to fix the dripping on the floor. I ask some of the chevy dealers service mgr.s and they all said the same thing. You can rebuild the engine or do whatever you want, it's still going to drip oil. That's just the way it is. Maybe the pcv setup might work. Interesting article anyway.

I just share my Depends with my old '50, 216. Makes us a lot more welcome when we go to visit a friend and park on their newly paved drive way.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

That is bad when you have to tell guys that you'll have to park in the street because your ole chevy will drip all over their driveway.

Old Chevys are like old Harleys. If they aren't leaking oil they don't have oil in them.

When you have a reasonably tight engine gaskets, like after a rebuild, the order of leaks will generally occur this order:

a. Rear main. That's why they put a hold in the flywheel cover. Chevgene has suggested a fix for this. Take note of it when you have have access to the rear main cap.

b. Side pan. It is vertical. With the spacing of mounting bolts/screws, and without help of horizontal (to pan edge) backing plates, the distance around the pan is not adequately closed. Although the oil return holes in the block are below the pan's bottom edge, oil will accumulate on the inside of the pan and gravity will do the rest.

c. Valve cover gasket. Second to the side pan only because of the gravity thing.

d. Vent tube. It becomes saturated because of crankcase pressurization owing to ring wear.

e. Timing gear cover. Because the gears are lubricated, it will, over a long time, develop a drip. Usually it has a relatively tight seal.

f. Front main. Almost never leaks. It acquiesces this duty to spot driveways to the rear main. Gravity again, I think.

g. Fuel pump. In a tie with the front main.

Note: I may have missed something and the order may be debatable but as I said at first, generally this is the order I have found them to leak.

Solutions other than what Gene has suggested are:

a. A piece of cardboard.
b. Drip pan or buckets.
c. Don't park on concrete driveways at friends houses. (See piece of cardboard above. But that's embarrassing also.
d. Don't go to friends houses who have concrete driveways.
e. Go to friends who have 216s themselves. Park anywhere, they understand and won't be able to tell when a new spot has been left or not.
f. Change friends.
g. Depends, as previously suggested. Hold them in place with bungee cords or borrow some bailing wire from your F--d friends. They'll have plenty and won't even have to look for it. Used in such bulk and so often, they'll know right where it is.
h. Never ever start your new rebuild. Don't even turn it over to get it fired. And, don't put oil in it. Oil will eventually trace the threads on the oil pan plug. Just put it together and then leave it alone. Trailer it and push it into position when you arrive at your destination. Then after your visit ask you friends to help you push it back on the trailer. True 216 friends will understand and help you without complaint.

"h" above is the only sure way to avoid drips.

Charlie

Wouldn't it be easier to install a PCV and a small hose going into the intake?

Maybe, I don't know. It may, however, produce an unintended side effect in that it may help "blue up" your exhaust discharge. That way when you visit friends, you'll not only still leave a spot from the rear main, you'd trail blue smoke on departure also. Even considering that a-cheating 57 235 engine you have, I believe you'd be merely chasing a more severe internal engine problem that needs addressing more.

Instead, of the PCV get yourself a tomato soup can, punch two holes in the side at the top, run some baling wire through holes and hang it just below the vent tube discharge/outlet. Place soup can so that it can catch drips without covering end of pipe. Do trial and error until you get it right. Empty can as necessary.

Charlie

BTW: If the can should fall off and land on your friends nice, white, clean concrete driveway just as his missus's red hat club members are showing up in their Lexus 460s and Beamers. Just leave without comment. Then, if asked about it later, deny, deny, deny.

Would bean can work? If I do have a serious engine problem and it blows or gets to smokey to drive, I'll rebuild the orginal 216 I have so I'll be more correct. Until then I guess I'll start hunting for a really good looking bean can. GRIN

Hey Charlie, funny you should mention that nice white drive way. I was out garage sailing one sunny Saturday afternoon with my 1950, 3604 which my friends call “the Valdez” and a sign drew me into a very high class gated community of estates set on 3-5 acre size lots. You know the type, 6,000 square feet three stories high, four car garages, etc. The beautiful spotless white curved concrete drive lead me up to the 40 foot apron in front of the four car garage with the usual his and her Mercedes parked in their stalls along side the new Vette. I shut her down and stepped out to peruse the tables of goodies and BS with the ladies for a bit. Not finding anything that reached out at me screaming “TAKE ME HOME” I left them with a smile and a hardy “have a good day”. Started the Valdez up and as I backed away I saw this dinner plate sized coal black puddle where she had marked her spot. Needless to say I made my escape rather quickly before they had a chance to jot down my license number and send the blotto police after me.

You joke about the can, but I actually did have a plastic urp cup wired to the breather for a while just to see if that was where all that earl was coming from that was blackening my freshly painted bottom side. It wasn’t, I got nothing in the can after a couple of weeks of monitoring. The front and rear seal were the main culprits as expected this time round. The VC, side cover and oil pan are as straight as you can get them, clean, with new cork and not overly tightened. I’ve always affixed the gaskets to the sheet metal with Permatex or Indian Head and leave the cast iron side bare. http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/115069445/large But after a few weeks the cork becomes saturated and begins to weep, not drip, just weep which necessitates a little wipe down every week or so. Still you can see that the block almost always stays damp because of this, so I don’t think it’s possible to have a completely dry 216 unless like Charlie says, you never put oil in it and push it onto the trailer.
After the initial clean up when I first brough her home, she stays pretty clean. With a total of 60,000 miles on her things are getting a bit loose, she chugs more oil than a salor does beerr and the main seals are leaking pretty bad. But all that is in the process of getting fixed this winter. A makeover is going on as I write this. A fresh bore job with new alum pistons, getting her rods reworked and touch up the crank. I’m not going to try to seal up all of the “weeping” that is normal to a Stovebolt but I’m sure she will be much more welcome when I go visiting this summer then we were last. http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/121449455
But, enough for now, I need to go do some real work!
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL