Engine trashed or not?

[Furno68C20]

I got a 67 292 for free. But I think the engine is trashed. I pulled the oil plug and 3 gallons of water came out followed by oil. I tried turning it over but it’s stuck pretty good.

Wondering if it’s trashed or not.

Thanks.
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[truckster]

At a minimum it's going to need a complete rebuild. The crankshaft and rods will be rusted, and you'll probably find water in the cylinders as well.

[Steeveedee]

It was still holding water. Maybe it froze and something cracked. Have you looked to see if the freeze plugs are intact, or maybe pushed some or all of the way out?

['68OrangeSunshine]

Too bad if it's AFU.
Even if the block is rusted, the head might be salvageable.
Pull the oil pan off and look at the crank and rod bearings.
How about motor mounts? 292 Passenger Side motor mounts are getting rarer.

[jumpsoffrock]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

How about motor mounts? 292 Passenger Side motor mounts are getting rarer.

You mean the replacement rubber or the reused metal mounts? sounds like something that should be readily available.

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by jumpsoffrock

You mean the replacement rubber or the reused metal mounts? sounds like something that should be readily available.

You would think , But readily available is an understatement , The drivers side is the same as any 250 mount ,The passengers side is it's own animal and they are getting harder to find .

[Furno68C20]

The expansion plugs look to be intact or not pushed out.

I’m going to take the head off and oil pan to inspect the crank.

I did get the passenger mount with the motor. Score!

I was thinking maybe filling the entire engine up with diesel and letting it sit for a few days. Then try to turn it over.
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[jumpsoffrock]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

You would think , But readily available is an understatement , The drivers side is the same as any 250 mount ,The passengers side is it's own animal and they are getting harder to find .

Now I know, if I ever see one in a junkyard I'll grab it for someone who needs it.

[VWNate1]

Until you open it up you'll ever know .

Diesel fuel allowed to soak a few days then *gently* try to rock the crank back and forth by the damper .

I'm close to throwing out all my old 292 engines and parts .

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by jumpsoffrock

You mean the replacement rubber or the reused metal mounts? sounds like something that should be readily available.

The metal. Kind of ''knee'' looking.
''Readily available''? Is this your first 292?

OK. So you got a 292-only Passenger-Side Perch for free. Might be worth something...

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by VWNate1

Until you open it up you'll ever know .

Diesel fuel allowed to soak a few days then *gently* try to rock the crank back and forth by the damper .

I'm close to throwing out all my old 292 engines and parts .

Why not put a 292 in your '69?

[VWNate1]

I really wanted to and bought two of them, one was bored out to .040" and had rusty cylinders and an .030" crankshaft, (really nice pre smog cylnder head though) the other one was a later model GM "Target" replacement engine made in Mexico (very good quality these are) ut life got in the way and now I'm old and disabled, it's all just junk I no longer want to deal with .

[jumpsoffrock]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

The metal. Kind of ''knee'' looking.
''Readily available''? Is this your first 292?

I've never owned a 292.

I think I'm really having a hard time adjusting to the fact that even with as common and high-production as these trucks were/are and that many many of them are still on the road...

...that some parts are impossible to find or rare.

I figured all parts for these trucks would be dime a dozen; and I'm wrong( 292 mount, door panels, emblems, C30 rear drums, etc)

Originally Posted by VWNate1

I really wanted to and bought two of them, one was bored out to .040" and had rusty cylinders and an .030" crankshaft, (really nice pre smog cylnder head though) the other one was a later model GM "Target" replacement engine made in Mexico (very good quality these are) ut life got in the way and now I'm old and disabled, it's all just junk I no longer want to deal with .

LOL Tell me bout it brotha. I daily drive my ford with an engine that isn't "preferred" nowadays(223 I6) and I want to keep it stock for simplicity; The engine in the truck has had a lot of problems that can't be solved. A local friend with a few core engines passed on and I got my chance at two of them: GREAT!

Bought them and brought home, tore the head of of both and found that one is .040" over, and the other is .060" over. Tore the rest of the .060" engine down and found the #5 main bearing is fragmented and all bearings are worn to copper but not scratched; cylinders have almost no ridge. All journals are already .020" under.


Sometimes you can't win for losing.

[Furno68C20]

Originally Posted by VWNate1

Until you open it up you'll ever know .

Diesel fuel allowed to soak a few days then *gently* try to rock the crank back and forth by the damper .

I'm close to throwing out all my old 292 engines and parts .

Put 5 gallons of diesel in the 292 last night. Going to let it sit for a couple of weeks. I’ll try to gently turn it over clockwise and counter little bit at a time.

I’ll give an update in a few weeks. If it’s still stuck I’ll start to tear into it.
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[BigBird05]

At the price of diesel, save and filter it when you drain it out of the crank case. LOL.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Jumpsoffrock -- Sorry if I came off sounding elitist. Everybody's gotta start somewhere. I bought a truck in 1973. I liked the truck. It had a 292. I got used to it.
I rebuilt another 292 in 1976. I was at MCAS Yuma, and rebuilding engines was just about all there was to do in that town in the summer. Being military, I was getting 10% off the Chevy dealer on parts and 20% off shop work. We were Avionics techs, but my buddies styled themselves as Stock Car Boys, so I got a lot of help with that first rebuild. That engine lasted me 25 years and ran for 250,000 miles. In 1977 getting parts for the L-25 292 L6 was easy. The dealership had everything, but you could get a lot more in the junkyards.
The second build-up, 2002 - 05 was more challenging. I had saved my original engine and preserved it in surplus military crates. 25 Years later the contents were surprisigly pristine. Some things were starting to get scarce. Harmonic balancers with the 3 grooves were all gone. Sheet metal -- timing cover, valve cover, oil pan, side lifter covers were harder to find. Stock L6 shift linkage parts, NLA.
Now, 20 years later, the L-25 logistics situation is critical.

I remember a Chevy parts counter guy telling me the ''292 was Chevy's best kept secret.''

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by VWNate1

I really wanted to and bought two of them, one was bored out to .040" and had rusty cylinders and an .030" crankshaft, (really nice pre smog cylnder head though) the other one was a later model GM "Target" replacement engine made in Mexico (very good quality these are) ut life got in the way and now I'm old and disabled, it's all just junk I no longer want to deal with .

I have two 292 cores myself. I know one ['67] I ran the piss out of for 250,000 miles at .030 over. Cyls #3 and 4 weren't firing. The other one is a '63. I have not torn them down, but I wonder what they're like inside.

[Caddylackn]

I am wondering how 3 gallons ended up in the crankcase? If it had a blown headgasket, the water would of end up in a few cylinders but not the crankcase unless a piston grenaded. If the motor was running, it would still not get three gallons of water in the crankcase without hydrolocking. A fully cracked block at the water jacket could get water in the crankcase but it would have to be running awhile to get 3 gallons in it and most of this would be coolant, not water. The oil would look like milkshake if it was running with water in it.

Most likely the motor was outside in the rain without the valve cover on it. In that case the motor was left outside before the rain so it was probably junk before it filled with water. If the motor was good, somebody would have covered it.

I wouldn't bother with this one, except for some spare parts. With three gallons of water in it, the crank was fully submerged and now is junk. The block probably too. If you are patient you will find a better motor for cheap if you keep looking. I probably come across about 4 per year for sale for less than $250 and I am not even looking for them.

[Furno68C20]

Yeah i hear you. Its more of an experiment to see if diesel fluid really does un seize an engine. This 292 was sitting outside for years uncovered. the only hole i can see where rain water got in was the oil filler cap was missing. i bet water also got though the side plates too.

Im happy with getting the passenger side mount at best plus a few other things like oil pan, front cover and balancer.

tonight i'll try at it again. Its been a few days.

The engine was on a 67 c20 frame with 64-66 helper springs at the rear, must of been left over 66 parts since engine is dated January of 67 and great solid trailing arms. Truck lived most of its life in cali so frame good.

[VWNate1]

Back in the 60's, 70's and 80's I salvaged a lot of stuck engine by filling the cylinders with fresh diesel fuel then letting them soak week then *gently* turning the crank back and forth .

I learned the hard way to never, EVER try to force it once it began to turn a fraction .

I'd never scrap a bad engine without looking inside it first ~