VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 1951 chevy 216 engine/water in oil

I have 500 miles on a complete engine rebuild i took out 10 quarts of antifreez and oil I think the copper oil line that goes through the engine block might be the problem how can i fix it! THANK YOU

You need to do some more experimenting to make sure where the leak is. If it is the "through the block" line it must be replaced. It must be water tight at both sides of the block.

Just noticed you are a new member to the forum. I would like to be the first to welcome you aboard and we are glad you chose to check us out. Don't be bashful with your questions. Someone will give you and answer.

Are you a member of the VCCA?

I did check the head gasket but it looked good how do i make sure it is seald good dose it need to be soldered

no i am not yet. am very slow on the computer just learning THANK YOU

You can run a compression test on each cylinder and that should help to determine if the head gasket is leaking.

I did that looks verry good

I did looks good

I would bet its leaking from the line behind the push rod cover. Remove cover and inspect.
You can purcahse a line and fitting kit from the Filling Station that does not require soldering.

If it's water in the oil, how does a leaking oil line become the problem? Does the oil line pass through a water jacket? If not, then It seems a leaking oil line woutd only effect the pressure to the rocker assembly.

Maybe its the other way around: oil in the water. But I can't figure that out either.

Ten quarts of water in the oil pan means five quarts of water from the cooling system. Thats is a heap of water leakage and would have lowered the water in the engine to below the pump thus an overheating problem.

I don't think we have the full picture here. Maybe Dave can give us more detail.
Charlie

On the 1936 207 and all US 216 engines the rocker arm oil line runs through the center of the block between #3 and #4 cylinders....which is through the water jacket. Can leak at the fittting on the right side where it (the oil line) exits the water jacket. This unfortunatly is behind the side cover.
If the head gasket was leaking that amount of water into a cylinder the engine would hydrolock due to a cylinder being filled with water + a trail of steam would be coming out of the tail pipe if it did run.

If the 3/16" oil tube itself is cracked or holed where it passes through the water jacket, oil would leak into the cooling system when the engine is running and the oil pressure is higher than the cooling system pressure. When the engine is stopped, some water might leak into the oil tube, though I'm not sure how much. If the rocker arm oil feed line drains back to the sump when the engine is shut down, then it's possible that a considerable amount of water would leak into the sump. However, if the rocker arm oil feed line does not normally drain back when the engine is shut down, then probably very little water would leak into the sump.

It seems most likely that if the source of water in the sump is from a leak in the rocker arm oil feed line, the leak is probably at the pass-through fitting rather than from a breach in the oil tubing itself. The right side pass-through is a simple pipe plug with a 3/16" hole drilled in it, into which is soldered the oil tubing. There are two possible leaks there: the pipe threads where the plug is screwed into the block; or, a cracked solder joint. The latter seems most likely. The left side pass-through is a compression type fitting with a pipe thread into the block. Any leakage there would be visible.

It is normally recommended to replace the complete rocker arm oil feed line if it requires repair. The replacement oil line kits that I've seen use a compression type fitting on both block pass-throughs, which should work fine.

The biggest threat to the integrity of the rocker arm oil feed line is bending and re-bending the line, usually the result of removing and replacing the cylinder head. The copper tubing work-hardens when bent, and can crack on re-bending. Or, if it is in contact with the cylinder block or head or the pushrod cover after assembly, engine vibration over time can wear a hole in the tubing.

A couple years ago on my 40 1/2 ton pickup, when I adjusted the valve clearance, I noticed the rocker arms looked pretty dry. On removal of the pushrod cover, I found the rocker oil feed tubing completely parted. In the interest of saving time, rather than replace the entire line, I cut a 1" long piece of 1/4" copper tubing and soldered the two ends of the existing feed line into it like a coupling sleeve. It worked fine, though I would replace the whole line at the next engine overhaul.

Mark Yeamans
VCCA #35724

I think Mark has captured the essence of the water leak. Good dissertation.

Thank You verry much you are verry helpful. DAVE

I am having this same problem and I know the line is leaking aroung the soldered fitting. Is there a way to resolder this fitting or does the whole thing have to be replaced.

Thanks

I bought a 52 and the seller said "there is a oil line you will need to fix soon" and I replied "why". He said the line keeps breaking. Upon inspection I found he did not run the line through the side cover in the proper place and it would rub the pushrod therefore would rub through in time. Make sure it runs in the bulge in the side cover. I replaced the entire line and soldered the fitting to the line.

As stated above, the kit is available from Filling Station without soldering.

Thanks for info. I will most likely just buy the kit and replace the whole line.

Thanks. I will order it. Just for info purposes, it appears that this oil line runs from one side of the motor to the other through the water jacket. On the passenger side it comes out and goes up to the rocker arms and on the drivers side it connects to the oil pump, which draws oil up out of the oil pan. Is that correct?

The line is not easy to fish through the second hole. What I did was put a straight wire through the holes then place the tube over the wire and push the tube through. With the wire you can line up the second hole.

hello..im 14 and im new to this site.iv had a 51 chevy 1 1/2 ton in the family for 30 years and i recently pulled it out of the barn and relized what i thought was the cylinder head cracked because of a bunch of water in the oil it sat in the barn for 10 years do yall think that the oil line being busted could be my problem