Jump to content

Noicy Buick 32-87 engine


Guffin

Recommended Posts

My Buick 32-87 engine is noisy on one or two valvs. I have adjusted all valves to specification but it is still noisy on one or two valves (?). Especially at idling at low rev a knocking sound is heard. I think it is not a bearing as bearing knocks are usually heard at higher rev and no load. Can this be because of a worn camshaft roler? Is it easy to change the rolers? I am pritty handy with my Hupp sidvalve engine but I am not so familiar with the Buick using rolers. Can repair be done with the cylinder head on?

Jan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you Joe. It encourage me. Is it just to pull the push rods up? I had the top off two years ago and I did not dare to pull out the posh rod. I tried but did not pull hard enough to get them out.

The engine also take a lot of oil when running fast (around 60). If then lifting the foot from the accelerator, there will be a large smoke cloud after the car. At normal driving there is no smoke. Is it more likely that poor valve guides cause this rather than poor rings?

Jan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 87 engine has the push rod held into the roller lifter with a "C" clip. When you remove the side cover , you will see what it takes to get the push rod loose. The roller lifters are in cages that can be unbolted from the block and removed quite easily. It could be the valve guides, but it can also be the rings. Does the engine seem to have enough power??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, the engine is really powerful and the car accelerates well despite the rear end has high speed gears. A nice feature is that the car makes 11,8 mile/gal (2liter/10km). I think that it is good for such a heavy car. I have a functioning pree-heating system (combined controlled from dash and the accelerator) and I think this helps save gas. The cylinder head is from a later model (33-35?) with slightly higher compression. My Hupmobile -29 consumes as much despite being a smaller and lighter car.

Jan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found rollers and pins at Egge so I will change maybe in winter. First I will do the interior. I think you are right about rebuilding the engine. It is very heavy and my garage is too small for taking it out.

On more modern cars I have seen some rubber (?) thing put on the top of the valve guide to prevent too much oil to go that way. I will make a compression test and if it is good it must be the valve guides causing the oil consumption.

Thank you, Joe, for your advice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A knock on no load or on deceleration could be wrist pins. Compared to other cars of theis vintage Buicks were notorious for wrist pin knock. I know of at least twenty people personally who tried to fix this problem and it always came back. In my personal experience 29,000 miles seemed to be the limit before the new pistons and pins knocked (always just one or two pistons usually 3 and six). This happened three times in one car. The third time I let them knock as a mechanic had told me to do the first time and drove the car oveer 100,000 miles without the knock geting any worse. The only cure seemed to be to use jobber pistons and pins. Egge's worked perfectly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What is "jobber pistons"? A make?

I think the design is poor on the Buick. The pin is clamped to the connecting rod so the piston bearings are not pressure oiled. It is more clever made on my Hupp -29 where all bearings are pressure via a full flow oil filter.

Jan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest carlnut50

May I offer a suggestion about the noise if it happens to be valve noise.My cousin has a 1927 Buick that had noisy valves despite careful adjustments.He tried to quiet them and I did too.What we found is the rocker arms were worn unevenly where they contact the valve stem.A feeler gage being flat bridges over the dipped out place and you end up with alot more clearance than you thought causing the noise.They can be reground with the proper radius.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Jobber" refers to parts made by a jobber an outside manufacturer. Not a complany that regularly or ever supplies parts to a manufacturer like GM. Egge for example in California is a jobber who makes many engine and suspension and steering parts but does not supply OEM parts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The valves are new and the rockers looks fine. The annoying knocks are heard when the car is standing still and engine is idling at low rpm. When increasing the rpm these knocks disappear. It can, of cause, be a wrist pin knock as little oil is thrown up to the pins at low rpm (not pressure fed).

Nice to have some people to "talk" to. Here in Sweden these cars are rare and there is none to get advice from. I bought this car from a SE Mi BCA member three years ago. It is a very nice looking car but too much bondo repairs. You can see it at the Members Gallery p11. Thank you all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...