| five_w_coupe | -- 02-27-2025 @ 9:39 AM |
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My '36 has been sitting for 4 years. I tried to start it and the engine is dragging slowly so it barely turns over. I was thinking about putting oil into each cylinder through the spark plug hole and hoping that would loosen the cylinders up so that the engine turns faster. I am new to flathead V8s so I am open to suggestions on what to do. Please respond if you have any suggestions with respect to what type of oil you would suggest or other methods of freeing the engine up more so it cranks faster. Note that the engine oil was recently changed using 10W 50 fully synthetic oil.
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| carcrazy | -- 02-27-2025 @ 10:09 AM |
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What is the ambient temperature of the area where you are attempting to start the car? Be sure to use fresh gasoline when starting the car. Check your battery to be sure it is in good condition and fully charged. If it won't hold a charge, replace it with a new or known good battery that is fully charged. Make sure all of the electrical connections in the starting circuit are clean, tight and free of corrosion. Also make sure all of the electrical connections in the ignition circuit are in great condition. Check to make sure you have adequate spark at all of the cylinders. Once you have cranked the engine over several times to get adequate oil to all of the cylinders, use starting fluid to initially get the engine to fire up and run. After you have the car running, drive it enough to get it up to operating temperature before draining the oil out while the engine is hot. Replace the oil with a conventional straight SAE 30 detergent oil with a break-in additive that contains the proper amounts of ZDDP to reduce valvetrain wear and you will be good to go.
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| TomO | -- 02-27-2025 @ 2:24 PM |
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The full synthetic oil is good to use. I was hesitant about using it because of the cost. I don't drive a lot and change the oil before storage, but I am now a fan of it after using it in my Lincoln for 4 years. I would not use a straight viscosity oil in anything except a lawnmower engine. Multi-viscosity oils lubricate better because the viscosity is stable across all temperatures. You can use Carcrazy's laundry list, but I would start with making sure the battery is charged and the connections are clean and tight. Quick check of the battery is to connect a meter across the battery and crank the engine. If the voltage drops below 5.4V, the battery needs service. If you are still having a slow cranking condition, I would connect a voltmeter between the Neg terminal of the battery and the starter terminal. Crank the engine while reading the meter. The reading should be less than 0.4V. If it is higher you have excess resistance in the starting circuit. Move the meter lead, going to the starter, back to the other end of the cable and repeat the test. If you still have a high reading, move the same lead to the other side of the starter switch and repeat the test. This time you are looking for a reading less than 0.2V. If you get a good reading, the problem is a dirty starter switch. If you get a bad reading, the cable is bad. Tom
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| CharlieStephens | -- 02-27-2025 @ 2:30 PM |
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Check to be sure the starter cables and ground strap weren't replaced with ones from the local auto parts store intended for 12 volt systems. Six volt systems require larger cables. Charlie Stephens
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