I think the engine in my 83 took a crap yesterday, bellowing smoke out the oil cap, dipstick, and PVC, puking oil out the rear seal,
So my plain is to do a compression check, pull the heads drop the pan. take out the pistons one by one, hone the block re ring the pistons and bearing the rods. Reinstall and go on.

Thoughts?

 

Why Not!!!

 

gaskets rings and bearings, $160
Or
savage yard engine $450 + gaskets $30


both : oil filter and antifreeze $40

 

I think that I'd be looking at the salvage yard motor. Judging by your symptoms, it sounds a lot like you've got a holed piston. It's doubtful that any shade tree overhaul is going to get it back in any sort of reliable condition.

 

Yeah, sounds like a melted piston. Same thing happened to me after I jetted down the carb on my `79 van trying to get better fuel mileage,causing it to run too lean.I rebuilt the motor and put the stock jets back in, then sold it to a friend, which reminds me that he still owes me 300 buck$.

 

On the way to the shop to do compression check lost almost all power small grade 1 mile hill max 15mph.

Test results
RS
#1 120 slow leak down
#3 120 wont hold
#5 120 hold
#7120 fast leak
LS
#2 120 fast leak
#4 120 fast leak
#6 120 fast leak
#8 120 fast leak

So just rings or heads too?

 

on how long you plan to drive the truck. If you plan to keep it long term, pull the engine and rebuild it right. It will pay you back in the long term. I would never patch an engine as you describe unless I was really desperate and only needed the truck to last for a short time before either junking it or fixing it right.

 

I bought this truck to drive for the winter while I pulled and rebuild the engine in my 87 4x2. I would like to have the 83 4x4 back on road asap before snow, after spring and the 87s overhaul is done the 4x4 will be come a trail rig beater,so I do plan to keep it.

 

$1600 O'reilly remain and parts on payments taken from my check. (not sure how big the payments will be)

Found a 351w in a 83 van up in Stafford right off 44 for $250 the guy never heard it run, sold the intake and starter off it. he said he could pull it Sunday afternoon. Most off the price is he has to pull it.

 

I have put in some "junkyard" engines that ran for years, but I either knew the person I was buying from or I heard it run before I bought it. Buying from someone you don't know and you cannot hear it run is kind of a shot in the dark. Depends on your finances and your intended use. If it were my truck and it was in decent shape, I would lean toward a full rebuild. An exception would be if I could find a "good" engine from someone reputable with some type of warranty.

 

Friend of a Friend deal. But your right I don't know him.

He is going to try and do a compression check, but it will be hard with out a starter.

My "Ugly stepchild"

 

Ok so the hose from the smog pump to exhaust has a check valve to keep the exhaust back right? I don't think mine is working, When I take that hose of it has exhaust coming out? my smog pump seams to be blowing out the back, not out the tube in to the exhaust.

the vent solenoid in the hose from the vapor can to carb is so hot it burned my hand, some thing is going on, making way to much crank case pressure?

please help? Im really close to pulling all this crap off, no smog testing here.

 

On an engine that old, it could cost a lot to fix/replace that old smog stuff. Since you don't have to deal with emissions testing, and especially since it is for a short time until you replace the engine, I would disconnect the smog stuff, cap any vacuum lines going to it and see what you have. If nothing else, that would be a good test to see if that is your problem. You need to check your PCV valve and hoses to be sure that is not pluggged and causing the crankcase pressure.

 

I have brought many engines like this back to life on a budget with great success. The key is to properly evaluate before buying anything.

You are correct to begin with a compression check. Find the offending hole and then examine that hole further. Doing a cylinder leak down test or at least applying compressed air to the offending cylinder, you can then listen for escaping air. If you hear it in the oil filler hole, the air is getting past the piston/rings. If you hear it out the tailpipe, it's an exhaust valve and if through the carb/throttle body it is an intake valve.

Regardless of those findings, you can NEVER know exactly what you're faced with until you do exploratory surgery. Pull the head from the offending side and see if it is indeed a holed piston. If it IS a holed piston, that doesn't mean that you throw everything in the scrap iron pile. It means that you check and measure the bore and replace the piston.

If you do indeed find a holed piston and you haven't driven it more than enough to get it home after the failure, pull the other head, the pan and pull the pistons making sure that bearing caps and rods are marked. Mic the block. If you don't have the necessary instruments, take it to the machine shop or ask the auto machinest to come to you and do the measurement.

If the taper and egg shape are within limits, DO NOT hone the cylinder walls! Simply use cast iron rings on the glazed cylinder walls. This was proven by Ryder Labs over 30 years ago to work best and I have rerung dozens of engines with cast iron rings on glazed cylinder walls that measured within spec with great results. Honing the cylinder walls simply wears away your cylinder walls.

If it turns out that the cylinders are worn beyond re-ringing, simply have the block bored and fitted to a new set of pistons. With fresh bores and pistons, use some good moly rings for such a rebuild.

Don't forget to mic the crank as well and when having the heads redone, pay particularly close attention to the valve guides. If they are at all loose, have bronze wall guides done as part of your valve job.

The people of today IMHO are way too quick to condemn an engine without first doing a thorough evaluation. Today's world revolves around crate engines. Your engine is a good ol' fashioned piece of American Iron that rebuilds extremely well. It's not some aluminum throw away motor.

Hope this helps.

 

Nothing like a little gray hair to bring common sense into focus with reality!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!