Re: engine vibration 232 engine

[Matt Haas <mhaas@xxxxxxx>]

Jay,

You can see the service bulletin here: 
http://www.mattsoldcars.com/RestoreAmerican/loose_intake.shtml. It's not an 
exact copy of it, but what I got my hands on wasn't either. I'd love to 
have a copy of the original but what I put on my site should cover it. One 
other thing that I just remembered -- the exhaust donut gasket in the 
FelPro gasket set was the wrong size for my manifolds. I think it was too 
small. The donut gasket I ended up with was also made by FelPro and sold as 
fitting the same applications but worked okay. I don't know if that was 
just a fluke or if it's still even a problem since the last gasket set I 
bought was about 5 years ago.

There's also another one for 1964-6 sixes about carbon build up in the 
intake manifold from the heat riser valve not working properly causing 
stumbling and hesitation. This fix for that is to remove the manifolds, 
burn the carbon off with a torch, install a new heat riser valve, and put 
everything back together. I doubt you'll be able to find a new heat riser 
valve but if it isn't working, you can just cut it out and put in a couple 
of pipe plugs. I've driven mine in about 10 degree weather since having 
mine cut out and driveability was okay.

Matt

At 03:40 PM 11/7/2004 -0500, you wrote:
> I already replaced the U-Joints when I  replaced the tranny mount. I 
> already thought about the rear wheel brgs, but havenj't done anything with 
> them yet. I have brand new tires (last week) and it had the vibration 
> before I had the tires changed.  I guess the next thing to do is remove 
> the manifolds, put on a new gasket and i have a new exhaust manifold to 
> replace the old one(its getting noisy,thin walls, I think).
> Have you a copy of the service bulletin you could email me a copy of?
>
> Jay
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Matt Haas" <mhaas@xxxxxxx>
> To: <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2004 2:41 PM
> Subject: Re: engine vibration 232 engine
>
>
> > Jay,
> >
> > I just found out that there was a service bulletin issued in 1969 about 
> > rough idle and/or surging on six cylinders. The fix was new intake 
> > manifold gaskets and a specific intake torque sequence. The bad part 
> > about this fix is that you need to separate the intake and exhaust 
> > manifolds and there's a good chance that one of those studs or bolts will 
> > break.
> >
> > The torque sequence starts with the top left bolt behind the carburetor 
> > and works clockwise outward. After that, it calls for tightening the nuts 
> > on the intake to exhaust manifold studs (left first, then right) between 
> > the carburetor and motor and then the outer manifold bolts (the ones that 
> > are on the bottom) in the same order.
> >
> > The vibration could be a bunch of things. Once you fix the wheel 
> > bearings, try over-inflating the tires (add bout 10 psi) and see if it 
> > changes or goes away. You could also have any of the following out of 
> > balance or damaged: wheels and tires, drums, driveshaft. Also, worn out 
> > u-joints or rear wheel bearings can cause vibration.
> >
> > Matt
> >
> > At 11:35 AM 11/7/2004 -0500, you wrote:
> > > I finally got around to tightening the intake and exhaust manifolds to 
> > > 25 ft/lbs and it did help the vibration problem but not entirely.  I 
> > > also have a synchronous vibration while driving at about 35 mph. If I 
> > > let up on the gas it diminishes slightly . There is a  "flex" fan on the 
> > > engine, seems to be in good condition and the water pump has no play in 
> > > the shaft. I would like to find a 5 blade OEM  fan as i don't like flex 
> > > fans much. The problem with that is it is a small fan because of hose 
> > > clearance problems. You have an American, so you know what I mean. 
> > > The  35 mph bibration may be a wheel bearing going bad. When I got the 
> > > car back in April, I was checking things over and found the LF wheel was 
> > > NOT tightened down properly at the wheel shaft nut. I tightened the nut 
> > > about a 1/4 turn until I had no play in the wheel when held at the top 
> > > and bottom.  I have no idea how many miles the bearing was loose and 
> > > driven that way. I am going to replace the bearings on the front wheels 
> > > just to be safe.    BTW, I had a simliar  35 mph vibration on my 66 AMBO 
> > > and I never did find out what caused it. the only thing i didn' t 
> > > replace on it was the engine mounts. I have replaced the tranny mount on 
> > > the American.
> > >
> > > Jay
> > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Matt Haas" <mhaas@xxxxxxx>
> > > To: <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > Sent: Monday, November 01, 2004 8:54 PM
> > > Subject: Re: engine vibration 232 engine
> > >
> > >
> > > > Jay,
> > > >
> > > > Check the intake manifold bolts. My American did that and tightening 
> > > > the bolts solved the problem.
> > > >
> > > > Matt
> > > >
> > > > At 06:12 PM 10/31/2004 -0500, you wrote:
> > > > > Hey Guys, i have a 66 American with the 232/2bbl engine. I have set 
> > > > > the timing, set the idle speed at 700 rpm in neutral/ 550 in drive. 
> > > > > The engine has new plugs and points, doesn't appear to have any vacuum 
> > > > > leaks.  At the 550 rpm speed the engine has a rapid vibration which is 
> > > > > quite annoying. The vibration mostly stops when i speed the engine up 
> > > > > above the idle.  I have replaced the tranny mount which was dissolved 
> > > > > from tranny fluid getting on it before i got the car. Could the engine 
> > > > > mounts be so old and stiff that they won't absorb even the slightest 
> > > > > vibration and transmit it to the frame? I had a 65 American with a 
> > > > > 232/2bbl when it was new in 65 and i don;t remember it being anything 
> > > > > but smooth idling. The engine runs smoothly as far a vacuum gauge 
> > > > > shows, no fluctuations due to worn valves or rings. The engine doesn't 
> > > > > smoke and has 120k miles on the odometer. Someone did put the oil kit 
> > > > > from the side of the block up into the valve cover as suggested in a 
> > > > > service bulletin. I know that has nothing to do with the idle. Just 
> > > > > mentioning it as I hadn't seen this done to many 232 engines.  I 
> > > > > didn;t mention it but the engine has new plug wires also. Any ideas?
> > > > >
> > > > > Jay in Central FL.
> > > >
> > > > mhaas@xxxxxxx
> > > > Cincinnati, OH
> > > > http://www.mattsoldcars.com
> > > > 1966 Rambler Rebel
> > > > 1968 Rambler American sedan
> > > > ===============================================================
> > > > According to a February survey of Internet holdouts released by
> > > > UCLA's Center for Communication Policy, people cite
> > > > not having a computer as the No. 1 reason they won't go online.