How bad is it?

[bondobilly]

Looks like somebody used detergent motor olil
on a car that ran all it's life on plain oil

The oil cleaned out the crud and it found new homes inside the block

[PackardV8]

1. If it's any consolation, those of us who've had a few apart have seen much, much worse. That is obviously a low mileage, late model engine.

2. You indicate you hadn't planned to pull the engine apart. The CASO cleanup would be to put it on an engine stand, tilt up one head, carefully wash with diesel or kero, then turn flat, wash out the valley cover, then the other head. All the crud would drain into the pan. Then, pull the pan, wash it out, replace the rear main seal, pan gasket and then plan to run it another fifty thousand miles. BTDT

3. You should be beginning to realize you're pretty far down the slippery slope. Definitely, replace the valve stem seals, timing cover gasket and front crank seal. JMHO, but I'd never R&R an engine without doing a valve job.

jack vines

[RadCruiser]

1. Its a 64, with almost 40k miles on it.
2. That is what I am slowly working on now, and with everyones suggestions I will go ahead and get some kerosene for it and find myself a power washer. The water pump is coming off anyways because im sure theres some of that in there as well, but I cannot find a place to buy the pump from...plenty of rebiuld kits however.
3. I pulled the motor just because I had a rear main seal leak, then kept finding all this stuff and it just scared me. The timing cover seem to have a tiny leak in it as well, so ill have to take a look under that and replace the gasket. I dont think I have enough guts to mess with the head too much as Im not too experinced with tearing it apart that far or replacing those parts.

Oil pan only had a thin layer of the grey stuff on the lower section so that doesnt seem to bad, most of it lays on top of the block just in the small indents.
The car never smoked or overheated for the little did I did drive it, since the carb problem made it idle very high (cracked on the baseplate) but I have a four barrel to put on it after everything is put back in place.

Thanks again to everyone for all the replies and expericed info, im sorta a younger guy (23) so this is a pretty steep learning experince.

[Tom Bredehoft]

The water pump is coming off anyways because im sure theres some of that in there as well, but I cannot find a place to buy the pump from..

Almost all of the Studebaker Vendors listed somewhere on the home page will have the pump you need. Many of us carry a spare, just in case.

[mbstude]

Thanks again to everyone for all the replies and expericed info, im sorta a younger guy (23) so this is a pretty steep learning experince.

As a 21 year old, let me say, keep up the good work. I was lucky enough to grow up with Studes and spent all my extra time with my granddad who likes getting his hands dirty on them. I wish you were closer, I'd love to help you out on that '64.

[RadCruiser]

As a 21 year old, let me say, keep up the good work. I was lucky enough to grow up with Studes and spent all my extra time with my granddad who likes getting his hands dirty on them. I wish you were closer, I'd love to help you out on that '64.

Yeah, would have been cool MB. I never knew anything about Studebakers, one day I just decided I was going to get a muscle car project like I always wanted from like 16 yrs old, and stumbled upon the cruiser.... I didn't really like how it looked (still unsure about the rear end) but after sitting for so many years it really did not start with much of a problem. It's a tough little car and I have never seen one before till that one, so now I just have to fix it up and get it back on the road.

[PackardV8]

I dont think I have enough guts to mess with the head too much as Im not too experinced with tearing it apart that far or replacing those parts.

Hard or missing valve stem seals are the number one source of smoke and oil consumption on Stude V8s. Guarantee, they need to be replaced. They are cheap and they can be replaced without removing the head. Get someone to show you how or talk you through it. You'll be glad you did.

jack vines

[Ron Dame]

Don't miss cleaning out the oil pressure relief located on the right side of the timing cover, under what looks like a 7/8' (AFAIR) bolt. There is a plunger in there that has a small hole hole that often gets plugged. If this hole is plugged, the timing gear gets starved for oil and will fail. Some people will stretch the spring to increase oil pressure instead of fixing the problem, but this too starves the timing gear.

1. Its a 64, with almost 40k miles on it.
2. That is what I am slowly working on now, and with everyones suggestions I will go ahead and get some kerosene for it and find myself a power washer. The water pump is coming off anyways because im sure theres some of that in there as well, but I cannot find a place to buy the pump from...plenty of rebiuld kits however.
3. I pulled the motor just because I had a rear main seal leak, then kept finding all this stuff and it just scared me. The timing cover seem to have a tiny leak in it as well, so ill have to take a look under that and replace the gasket. I dont think I have enough guts to mess with the head too much as Im not too experinced with tearing it apart that far or replacing those parts.

Oil pan only had a thin layer of the grey stuff on the lower section so that doesnt seem to bad, most of it lays on top of the block just in the small indents.
The car never smoked or overheated for the little did I did drive it, since the carb problem made it idle very high (cracked on the baseplate) but I have a four barrel to put on it after everything is put back in place.

Thanks again to everyone for all the replies and expericed info, im sorta a younger guy (23) so this is a pretty steep learning experince.

[tbirdtbird]

Agree with Jack on seals. (actually I agree with Jack on everything he writes) These seals crap out on any V8 not just Studes. Someone in your group of contacts must know how to put air to the cyl. and change out the seals without removing the heads
Tip: when you install the oil pan, do not use the Blue RTV sealer, it is really only good for water such as water pump (Studebaker International surely has this pump)

http://www.studebaker-intl.com/

Instead use Permatex "Ultra Black" gasket maker PN 82180 , it will stand up to oil better than anything and give you a good seal. I learned of this product too late in life. Common mistake: overtightening pan bolts, they should be snug only, else you warp the pan and it leaks like a sieve

Good luck with your project, Savor it. Take it slowly. Get advice when needed. This forum has a wealth of sharp-shooters. Be careful, everyone wants to give advice, not so many are qualified to do so.

Matt you are a lucky dog to have shadowed yur granddad. I'm >60 and my 2 go-to guys are in their 80s. It is getting scarier and scarier with each yr now, they each know more than the next 100 mechanics combined

[RadCruiser]

Hard or missing valve stem seals are the number one source of smoke and oil consumption on Stude V8s. Guarantee, they need to be replaced. They are cheap and they can be replaced without removing the head. Get someone to show you how or talk you through it. You'll be glad you did.

jack vines

I will have to do that, I have a few "more seasoned" guys that help me out with this stuff, I'm sure one of them knows how to do it. Figure if I have it that far apart, I might as well replace the smaller stuff. Thanks for the input Jack.

[RadCruiser]

Agree with Jack on this. (actually I agree with Jack on everything he writes) These seals crap out on any V8 not just Studes. Someone in your group of contacts must know how to put air to the cyl. and change out the seals without removing the heads
Tip: when you install the oil pan, do not use the Blue RTV sealer, it is really only good for water such as water pump (Studebaker International surely has this pump)

http://www.studebaker-intl.com/

Instead use Permatex "Ultra Black" gasket maker PN 82180 , it will stand up to oil better than anything and give you a good seal. I learned of this product too late in life. Common mistake: overtightening pan bolts, they should be snug only, else you warp the pan and it leaks like a sieve

Good luck with your project, Savor it. Take it slowly. Get advice when needed. This forum has a wealth of sharp-shooters. Be careful, everyone wants to give advice, only a few are qualified to do so.

I know about the sealer, I have been working in part stores since 19 so I have a lot of the general knowledge. That did seem a bit odd to me, the oil pan bolts came out very very easy and especially the ones in the corners, I didnt even need a socket to spin those free. I have the manual so I'm just going to follow the torque specs of that.

Ron, I had no idea about that part. I'll be sure to take that apart as well and clean it.

[JeffDeWitt]

Rad, you are doing something that has been a part of American life for a good part of the male population for about a century and far too few guys do anymore. (Nothing at all against the ladies doing it, far from it and bless them, but they are a small minority).

Some people at work found out that I was pulling connecting rods out of my engine this weekend and I got a look like almost like I was some kind of alien. Far too few young guys like you get the experience of really working on an engine anymore (putting a fart pipe and an aftermarket air intake on a Toyota is not the same thing at ALL). And when you get the thing back together and it's running again it's a wonderful feeling.