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Chevy 235 Car Repair Questions and Answers

Question: 1955 Chevy 235 mileage: 100,000. I have a 235 engine with a 2-speed Hydromatic transmission. How do I adjust the valves on the engine? My repair manual has two different adjustments; one with a clearance and another adjusting the value adjustment screw, 1 1/2 turns just after it tightens against the push rod. It runs very rough right now and runs better when it's cold. The carburetor was rebuilt and I can't get the car to idle. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer: It sounds like the valve adjustment is too tight; with the engine running, try slowly loosening the adjustment until a valve “click” is heard. Now slowly tighten one turn. If it still has a rough idle, check for vacuum leaks and check compression.

Question: 1955 Chevy 235 mileage: 150,000. I blew an intake gasket and dumped half my radiator right into the oil pan. I have replaced all gaskets from the heads up and replaced oil and filter, now the engine won't start. The engine turns slowly (if at all) and the starter solenoid will not disengage until manually cranking engine with a socket and breaker bar. I have loosened rocker arms 360 degrees that helps but it's not enough. Any suggestions besides tearing engine apart?

Answer: Remove all of the spark plugs and crank over. This will pump out any coolant in the cylinders, after doing this and it is still very slow cranking, assuming the battery is okay, you may have engine bearing problems.

Question: 1957 Chevy 235 135,000. There is a huge amount of orangish/brown gunk kind of like sandy clay stuck to the inside of the radiator cap and all down in the radiator. It was suggested that there might be a serious problem with the engine and that it might be all through the cooling system. Has anyone ever seen this before? They also checked the transmission fluid and it smelled burnt and there were some flakes in it.

Answer: The "gunk" you found in the radiator is possibly the result of not changing the coolant in the cooling system often enough (every two years.) A thorough flushing of the radiator and engine and refilling with new coolant should fix your problem. As far as your transmission is concerned, we would suggest changing the transmission fluid and filter and observing it over the next several months for proper operation. If you continue to have problems you could be in for serious transmission repairs.

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