215 V8 Teardown

[Guest ambr607]

I've decided to pull the motor and trans primarilly to clean, inspect, and install all new gaskets to fix the leaks. The motor was rebuilt a few years prior to the car going into hibernation so I don't anticipate any major mechanical issues requiring a rebuild. The bottom of the motor is covered in oil and I suspect the rear main seal (probably the original rope type) is the primary problem. Talked with Mark at aluminumV8dot com and he's sending me the complete kit (with modern main seals) along with instructions and recommended sealants to do the job right.

Any of you who have taken apart the 215 please share your insights. Here's hoping for no broken bolts or stripped threads! :cool:

[Stripgear]

Steve,

When I rebuilt my 215, I got it all together except for the last head bolt. I had the torque wrench at the absolute minimum in the manual. I could feel it was going to strip, but what are you going to do? I pulled the head and helicoiled it. Put it back on, and another stripped.

At this point I wasn't happy. I didn't want to do this again at 1000 miles, with the engine in the car, so I pulled it apart and helicoiled every last one of them.

I don't know if that's over kill or not, but that was ten years ago and I trust my engine.

If you want or need to helicoil the head bolts or anything else, you need to get the long ones as stated in the thread repair section of the shop manual. Mine had to be ordered.

Scott

[Pete Phillips]

Notwithstanding Scott's comments, the torque guidelines are very important. Do NOT over-tighten anything on these engines.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

[JohnD1956]

Putting it back together is one thing, taking it apart another. Not saying you'll run into stuck bolts but if you do, recently Mark Shaw shared an informative article on using a 50/50 mix of Acetone and transmission fluid as a replacement for penetrating oil. I used this on some pot metal parts attached to a hood and trunk lid I had off my old car, and in storage for over 30 years. I have to say that it worked great!

[Larry Schramm]

If you would like to see a good write up on alumunim engine blocks and head bolt repair the mos current would be to look at the installation of time serts in the Cadillac Northstar engine. Most of the technicians that work on these engines tell me that if they R&R the head they timesert every head bolt hole in the block. This is the GM recommended repair for stripped out threads in aluminum engine blocks. Here is a link for more information.

++ TIME-SERT Threaded inserts for stripped threads, threaded inserts, thread repair stripped sparkplug's, Ford sparkplug blowouts, threaded inserts threaded, repair stripped threads, stripped threads, inserts threaded inserts, Ford spark plug repair,

Here is the GM discussion. http://www.timesert.com/html/approved-GM2.pdf

[Guest ambr607]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll have a better idea of how far I'm going to take it apart once I get it out. Too much leakage to ignore!

[McDar]

I have both the Buick and Olds 215 engines. The Olds is the turbo charged Jet Fire version and was a bit problematic on head sealing. I learned that champhering the head bolt holes and replacing the bolts with studs solved the problem and eliminated any thread wear to the deck threads. Get some anti sieze and use it on every thread that involves a steel bolt going into aluminum.

[Guest ambr607]

My Jeep is gone so I have nothing else to wrench on. No more excuses! This weekend I stripped the front end down to the inner fenders in preparation for the trip to the body shop. I intend to pull the engine and 4 speed as a unit. Any tips? What lifting points to use etc?

[Guest brh]

First of all, a high five to you for getting another Buick back on the road. That being said, if you are going through the trouble to pull down the engine to replace gaskets and such, how much more will it take for you to take it down and make sure its in specs?? Reason I mention this is, you stated this car had been sitting and you fired her up with a lot of smoking. I'd hate to see you go through all the effort and trouble, just to find out later down the road you have a stuck ring, scored cyl, etc. Sorry if I am being a PIA, just hate to see that happen.

[Guest ambr607]

First of all, a high five to you for getting another Buick back on the road. That being said, if you are going through the trouble to pull down the engine to replace gaskets and such, how much more will it take for you to take it down and make sure its in specs?? Reason I mention this is, you stated this car had been sitting and you fired her up with a lot of smoking. I'd hate to see you go through all the effort and trouble, just to find out later down the road you have a stuck ring, scored cyl, etc. Sorry if I am being a PIA, just hate to see that happen.

I probably will take it apart and check everything. If the engine builder was related in any way to the body guy dad used I'm sure there are hidden issues The smoke was from the mouse nest in what was left of the muffler. My original plan was to leave the heads in place to avoid stripping threads, rotate the engine upsidedown on a stand and replace the main seals by lifting the crank just enough to get them in but while I'm in there I might as well go all in. Maybe hone the cylinders and re-ring the pistons since it's been sitting so long.

Anyone who has ever torn down the 4-speed let me know what I ought to do to it for preventative maintenance while I'm there.

[Guest ambr607]

Well, got her down to a bare block. Crank, cam, and bearings all look good. Taking the heads to get them cleaned, checked, guide sleeves if needed, and new style seals. Block will get cleaned and checked out as well. No signs of abnormal wear at all. There was one main bearing cap bolt that didn't take near enough effort to break loose. So far so good.

[Guest ambr607]

The block has never been bored and the wear was right at the limit of what new rings could compensate for so the machine shop is going to hone it to +.020. The crank had been turned before but only needs polishing so I'm guessing the last overhaul ('77?) was due to spun bearings.

So the old motor will get new pistons, rings, and main/rod bearings just to be safe. Plus 3 pushrods - had a few with slight bends. My box on D&D's bench keeps getting bigger

[Chet0213]

I know this is an old topic but I am new to this group.  I recently(3 month ago) purchased a 88’Rotus R8,  the first production model.  This is a lotus super 7 styled car.  My father worked for Rotus so this car is a dream come true for me since I grew up in the factory playing with these things.  So my car has a 1962 Buick 215 built by D&D.  Sad news is it was driven and parked about 15-20 years ago by the original owner who fell ill.  His family found me and I picked the car up to find the motor not wanting to turn at all.  I had stripped completely down and found 2 cylinders were fairly corroded.  After 2 months of being patient with pentrating fluids I finally got the pistons moving and am in the process of removing the pistons and crank.  From my caliper readings I believe my engine had been bored to .030” over.   With the little bit of pitting I wonder how much I can safely go with another bore.  I find oversozed rings up to .060 but I am not sure what would be considered the limits of the bore.  Can anyone help me out?   If it’s able to just get oversized rings this thing will be completely gone through and have everything soec’ed and replaced for many more years if reliable service.  If not It will deeply saddens me to have to possibly look for a rover replacement.  Thanks in advance.