Restart after 15 Years

[greeno]

Hi All,

This Memorial Day Weekend I thought it would be a good idea to try and restart grandpa's M37 that has been sitting in the barn for at least 15 years without starting. I drained the fuel from the tank, the carb and glass bowl were empty. No signs of varnish. I connected a fuel line to a clean gas tank to the fuel bowl, bypassing the old tank. I also put in new plugs and checked them all for spark (blue!).

Anyways, it cranks over, but I only got a few pops from the engine. My guess is the compression is low/zero since none of the plugs ever got wet even after a lengthy spray of ether through the carb. I know a tbl spoon of oil OR ATF down the spark plug holes has helped to restore compression (unstick the rings)...what would experienced M37 owners recommend in the this situation, oil or ATF? Anything else I should check before giving it another try this weekend?

I've worked on alot of automobiles, but never a rig of this vintage. I don't want to toast this truck, I want to run it.

Pics coming next week.

[m37jarhead]

Greeno:
It's an exciting experience to try to resurect an old vehicle that has been sitting idle for many years.
There is probably a long "laundry" list of things to do before you even try to turn the engine over.
Not the least of which is to drain the old oil, add fresh and also change the oil filter. My guess is that
that the drain oil will be pretty nasty and probably also has water in there too. It would not
be a surprise if some of the rings are stuck and some of the valves stuck in open position, a common
problem with flat head engines. After you change the oil do a compression test on each cylinder.
Take readings during each test.
It is wise to use fresh fuel from an alternate source.
Naturally, you'll also want to clean and gap the plugs, check the points for wear and the point gap.
Might want to static time the distributor too and make sure the firing order 1-5-3-6-2-4 is correct.
No telling who may have messed with the wires.
Those are just some of the basics. Others on this web site can also contribute volumes of info.
Good luck and let us know how it goes...........

[ZGjethro]

New oil in the air cleaner, new oil and fluids all around, new oil filter. Drain the fuel tank, and possibly flush it. I'd be leery of any rubber lines, such as fuel and brake lines. They rot and rodents can chew on them.. I fired up my 52 M37 which had not run four four years a couple of years ago. I first put some oil in each spark plug hole. I had about 125 PSI in each cylinder. I put two new batteries in. It fired right up, and then I realized I had a water pump leak. replaced the water pump, and tried to drive it. No brakes. Replaced the master cylinder and found out the vehicle was not running well. I sent the carb and distributor to M-series rebuild for work and the truck has been running great for the last couple of years

[greeno]

Weekend two of the restart:

I started by checking compression. Found 0psi on #2 and #5. So, thinking it would be good to get to the valve access covers, I decided to pull the intake/exhaust. That burned most of my Saturday! Should have listened to Jerry! I could verify the stuck valves from below, but couldn't get them to budge.

Since I couldn't unstick the valves from the bottom, I pulled the head. Shoulda done that first! I had a buddy tap down the valves and squirt them with PB while I spun the motor. Got the valves unstuck and the head back on before taking some pics and heading home. Next trip - new manifold gaskets, change oil, and try again.

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[m37jarhead]

Greeno: No, you were right to pull the valve covers. It just confirms that the valves are stuck and you'll have to pull the head, which you did.
Compression test also good before removing head. It's always a good idea to try the cheap and easy things first before diving into a mechanical
problem. Keep us posted.
JB

[DCook]

I'm new to the site, and this is my first posting. I had a new post written about my similar stuck valve problem, but saved it as a draft and cannot find it now - Any suggestions? I have a 1951 M37 s/n 80012832 that has not been started for 15 or so years as well. All my intake valves are stuck open. I thought I'd need to pull the head, and plan to when I get a minute. However I have an additional problem as well. I drained the engine oil but got a couple of quarts of clean antifreeze before the oil started to run out. I'm looking for any sources that may need to be checked before I pull the head??
I'm sorry to tag my question on to yours, but your problem is very similar to mine. I hope your experience may shed some light.
Thanks!

[jordankjcm]

DCook,

I had a similar experience with my "new" truck. Drained the oil, but first a quart of antifreeze poured out. Antifreeze was also sitting in the bottom of the oil filter housing. I was hoping that it was just a bad head gasket, but in the end.......a cracked block. That block went to the scrap yard and I secured a "take out" engine from Charles Talbert of M-Series Rebuild. He did superior work on the rebuild. Hopefully you will have better fortune with the antifreeze/crankcase oil.

JJ

[greeno]

Update: It's Alive!!!