46 Merc PU Engine overhaul

[e-tek]

Some of you boys will recall me having some issues with antifreeze in the oil of my 46 Merc (Flathead V8). Over the summer I flushed the rad, added IRONTITE and changed the oil with oil treatment every 3 weeks. It worked, as every time I used it it purred like a kitten and ran well.
Unfortunately I decided to take it for one last "dump run" without changing the oil and worse, without checking the rad - my first mistake. At the dump I noticed the oil pressure very high and then the temp rose....turned it off to let it cool and added some water. It barely started, but since we where on our way home I persevered.....that was my last mistake. Half way home (it's only 10 minutes each way) she shut down with a thud Seized it - DAMN!

Mrs. E-tek had to come and tow us home.....

Anyway, end of summer is here and it's time to tear it down to find and fix the isssue. I'll add updates along the way (and as usual - encourage others to show their projects in progress!!!)

First things first - removing the hood. In a one-man operation, ingenuity is king!

The tell-tale GOOOOO...

 

[rickairmedic]

E-Tec sorry to hear about your 46 taking a dump but I know she is in good hands and will be running like new or better before Spring .


Rick

 

[tdkkart]

What ever you do, don't go here:
http://www.flatheads-forever.com/

 

[e-tek]

What ever you do, don't go here:
http://www.flatheads-forever.com/

*******!

 

[e-tek]

Yesterday I got the engine and ****** loose (looks like it hadn't been out for a REAL long time!) and hung it to drain until today. Today I pulled it out and put it on the stand. Tomorrow I'll tear into it and see what damage I did on that last ride....stay tuned!

As crappy as it looks, it ran like a top. Sh!tty that it developed that water leak...sh!ttier still that last ride was a ball-buster! Oh well, when I'm done it'll have a cherry engine in a patina shell - maybe I'll really jazz it up, hot rod it too - it'll be cool to pop the lid at a show and have a nice mill surprise people!

 

[Torque1st]

At least you don't have to worry about "torque-to-yield" fasteners!

 

[crashbumper]

Is that an L24 in the background with round top SU's?

 

[e-tek]

Is that an L24 in the background with round top SU's?

Yesiree! Now that the Challenger is done, I'm doing a 71 240Z this winter.

 

[tdkkart]

*******!

You're welcome!!!

 

[HOTFR8]

E-tek, that is going to look sweet when done. I think you have a great project ahead of you Opening that bonnet when done will be the best show off.

 

[crashbumper]

Yesiree! Now that the Challenger is done, I'm doing a 71 240Z this winter.

Restore, or race?

I just sold my 260Z to a friends dad. L28ET turbo swap. From what I have heard/seen from local Datsun guys, most who plan motor swaps and racing go for 260 and 280's, while the 240's are now almost exclusive restorations. The 260 and 280's have thicker metal, more spot welds, and are stiffer due to the start of crash regulations. Their values are starting to go up, and now that 240z's are mostly resto's, their value is getting higher still.

I can't wait to see it!

Also, the flathead looks great!

 

[e-tek]

Thanks guys!!
Interesting stuff there Crash. When I built Mrs E-teks car, It was 15 years ago and I was working on 25 year old assumptions, that is, use the light 240Z body, but swap in the L28 engine. It was reasonably good on the straights, but we had a lot of work to do in the corners. There was a guy with a 510 that ran 13inch wide slicks all around - he would just drive by everyone in the corners!

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

That is such a cool truck!

 

[e-tek]

Here's the start of the tear down - my aplogies if there's too many pics...

Next up - the big reveal!!!

 

[Torque1st]

Goober slime everywhere!

You are having WAY too much fun!!!!

I hate to tell you I helped rebuild one of those back in a college auto tech class. That was a LONG time ago...

 

[A_Pmech]

Mmmmm!

Chocolate milkshake!

 

[ddawg16]

ETek.....a little shake in those shots....it's either too many beers or Ms ETek is standing in the corner distracting you.....

 

[tatra]

she is distracting him by yelling at him to leave the truck alone and work on her zed...........no that's not what we call it here in the north, it's how we pronounce the letter........

 

[Poncho Villa]

Here's the start of the tear down - my aplogies if there's too many pics...

What means this you say, "too many pics..."?

 

[e-tek]

ETek.....a little shake in those shots....it's either too many beers or Ms ETek is standing in the corner distracting you.....

I see they ARE shaky!!! Maybe I should be using the tripod (or not take the pics when Mrs E-tek is trying to convince me to come inside!!)

What means this you say, "too many pics..."?

Serious? (likley not...) but: pics=pictures.... brrrreeee-ha!

 

[JOHNMAN]

I believe he was referring to only 6. Definitely not "too many". Or perhaps, he meant there can never be "too many" pics.

 

[Poncho Villa]

Serious? (likley not...) but: pics=pictures.... brrrreeee-ha!

No - I wasn't serious!

I really enjoy pictures in these posts and I definitely don't think you can add too many. Thanks for humoring me though!

 

[Poncho Villa]

I believe he was referring to only 6. Definitely not "too many". Or perhaps, he meant there can never be "too many" pics.

You sir are correct.

 

[Jay H 237]

I like watching threads like this, especially with unique vehicles.


Does anyone know how many Mercury pickups were made? I would hate to imagine how many are still in existence, let alone those in stock form.

 

[e-tek]

The 1946 Merc p/u was the second least highest production run (2nd "rarest" year) , in which 4700 Mercs & 34000 Ford P/U's where made. The next "rarest" year is 1956 when 4300 Mercs and 13000 Fords where made.

Mercs where only made in Canada, so have become VERY popular wih US and overseas collectors. I would imagine VERY few are left in this kind of "original" shape - which was the previous onwers, and now my - reason for leaving it as is. The brakes and wiring were restored by my old friend who pulled it out of the bush and now I'll be doing the engine/******. I'll also have to do a few things to keep the body intact and stop any structural rust from decomposing important bits - but otherwise I plan to leave it looking "original".

 

[rickairmedic]

E tec simply due to its rarity I would go through that truck and bring it to like new condition. I would keep it mostly stock though as you said the Mercs are rare if I remember correctly they were only offered from 46 through 72 and as said only in Canada . I would love to find all the Merc trim and tailgate for my 63 F100 Unibody to clone it into a M100 but heck even a Ford Unibody tailgate isnt cheap I would hate to see what a Merc one would cost in decent shape LOL. I will be watching the rebuild on yours .



Rick

 

[bgott]

Clean up and pickle that numbers matching engine and then go find a 255 C.I. " real" Mercury engine. There was a 337 CI flathead used in Lincolns and big Ford trucks but I have no idea if it's a drop- in. It wouldn't hurt to have the extra power, you know, for passing and such.

 

[tatra]

in case anyone interesred here's one with a safety..........slap some plates on and drive it home............around here anything with a safety and a godd heater is worth 1000 bucks easy...........
http://winnipeg.kijiji.ca/c-cars-ve...ickup-trucks-1963-Merc-100-W0QQAdIdZ161338135

 

[e-tek]

As much mud as is evident everywehere, you'd think it'd be easy to see where the water was getting in from....here's some picks of todays tear-down. I've yet to see the problem...
For an engine that has not been apart ina while (save for the heads being off 2 years ago for gasket repalcements), the cyclinders are all in good shape and the valves aren't overly carboned-up. Nothing came apart on the bottom end (as far as I can tell), although I did hear some clunking when she shut down...

If anyone can see anything I don't...please chime in!

One item of interest is this plugged water pump outlet, which could've caused some overheat issues, but not sure if it let water into the oil:

Cool to see how everything is tie-wired on these engines:

 

[Torque1st]

A blocked pump outlet can build a lot of pressure even at relatively low RPM's. Check all the gaskets exposed to the outlet pressure for signs of failure.

It looks like you may be able to just clean it up and throw some new bearings and gaskets at it.

 

[e-tek]

A slight mistake in my research number....I now find they are even MORE RARE than I posted above....here's the numbers from a Merc truck site:

Production Figures for Mercury Light Trucks (****1/2 ton - 1 ton). I'm still trying to find out more reliable 1/2 ton only numbers.....but if you guess at even half to three-quarters being 1/2 tons, thats very very few indeed.

Year -Total
1946 - 2074
1948 - 2714
1949 - 8526
1951 - 8889
1952 - 8581

BTW - someone said above Merc trucks were made until 1972, but the last Merc M100 1/2 tons where made in 1968.

 

[ddawg16]

A blocked pump outlet can build a lot of pressure even at relatively low RPM's. Check all the gaskets exposed to the outlet pressure for signs of failure.

It looks like you may be able to just clean it up and throw some new bearings and gaskets at it.

If there was oil in the water but no water in the oil, I would agree.....

I'm betting on a rusted water passage that broke through to the inside....if there is no oil in the water, then water pressure pushed water into the engine....

No way I would clean it up and slap it back together....unless the exact cause was found....

 

[e-tek]

Ya - I'm guessing cracked block....I'll be getting it magnafluxed, then either having them weld it or looking for a replacement block.

 

[nate379]

I have done head gaskets on a few engines where I couldn't tell for sure where it was leaking. Set of gaskets, put it back together and all was well. Got lucky maybe. I didn't pull the motor though, no reason to.

 

[Torque1st]

If there was oil in the water but no water in the oil, I would agree.....

I'm betting on a rusted water passage that broke through to the inside....if there is no oil in the water, then water pressure pushed water into the engine....

No way I would clean it up and slap it back together....unless the exact cause was found....

He has a blocked water pump outlet which may produce the water in the oil as pictured.

If I remember right he pressure tested the cooling system and found no leak at normal operating pressure, but I could be mistaken. I have slept a few times since the original thread. He may have a high pressure leak thru a gasket or crack. I assumed he would magnaflux everything when he cleaned it up before reassembly. Personally I like doing postmortems on engines. Doing it by pictures is difficult tho.

 

[e-tek]

He has a blocked water pump outlet which may produce the water in the oil as pictured.

If I remember right he pressure tested the cooling system and found no leak at normal operating pressure, but I could be mistaken. I have slept a few times since the original thread. He may have a high pressure leak thru a gasket or crack. I assumed he would magnaflux everything when he cleaned it up before reassembly. Personally I like doing postmortems on engines. Doing it by pictures is difficult tho.

Hey Torque - I like doing the post-mortems too. This is the first time I've done one on-line though! You are right about the previous pressure test - it was done and seemed fine at the time. But since theat time, the amount of water entering the crankcase has been incredible. It also seems to enter when sitting. In a week of two I can loose a gallon (!) of coolant to the crankcase!

And yet, from the pics below, still no sign of obvious damage - either causing the water entry, or showing damage because of it...

I rotated the short block components and noted nothing binding or grinding, so the metal bits are STILL a mystery as well. The couple of bearings I did get off today (#1&2 caps) looked pretty good. Today I spent most of my time reaming the carbon lips off the cylinders, so tomorrow I should be able to finish the disassembly.

 

[hetkind]

I would look for a spun main bearing...

Howard

 

[ddawg16]

Actually E-tek.....that bearing does not really look that good.....first off, too much copper showing....it means the top layer is totally gone......and there is a lot of pitting....I wouldn't even think of trying to salvage them....mic the crank....it will most likely need to be turned and you will need to go up a size on the bearings....

If you are not finding anthing obvious, then start thinking internal passage rusted through.

How much oil was showing up in the water? Did you say that you would get water in the oil with it just sitting there....and yet the pressure test was ok?

 

[Torque1st]

Very strange, but I have to go with ddawg on the bearings. -They are long gone. There is some scoring visible also which may also be in the crank.

Once you get everything cleaned up it will be easy to pass a little light down passageways and see if anything is rusted out. Once a gasket seal is gone it is easy to push more fluid past it.

Do you have any pics of the metal particles?

 

[e-tek]

There's no way I'd EVER try and save bearings! I'll take it in and have them measure/polish or hone as necessary - block and crank. If the block is hooped and they can't weld/repair it, I'll replace it. There's no shortage of flathead blocks our there!

As for the broken bits, here's a close up of what came out after the oil drain. Oddly, the only clue I have yet are the bolts that hold the oil pump drive to block. They are really rough on the egdes, like something smacked them and broke off bits - but not large enough to be these bits....