So im driving down the road doing 70mph and come to a turn around. Engine dies as I let off the gas and so I whip it around the turn around and bump the starter. This has happened once or twice before so I think nothing of it. Only this time it just spins. I got a tow home and pulled the valve covers. Everything is moving like it should. Put a compression tester on it and get 25psi all across the board. Add oil in the cylinders and I get 40ish psi.

Timing is good. Set the #1 cylinder to TDC and the rotor in the distributor is pointing at the #1 plug.

Truck only has 139k on it. And I just replaced a lifter.

 

Subscribing, this one should be interesting.

 

When you set the timing and distributor, did you have to make much of an adjustment?

This sounds like a timing chain jump. If you move the valve timing enough, the valves will be open during the compression stroke, limiting or eliminating cylinder pressure.

With the distributor cap off, rotate the engine by hand until the rotor moves. Then reverse the rotation and see how many degrees of crank rotation you get before it moves. More than 10 degrees and you have a timing chain problem, jumped or not.

 

X2 dollars to donuts i bet the timing chain jumped a tooth or two.

 

Ive never had to adjust the timing its been spot on since I bought it.

Well, Yeah....yall are right. It moves a good 15 degrees backwards before the rotor wants to turn.

Im just gonna pull the motor, junk it and put in another. This royally pisses me off...I mean the motor was going out anyway...low compression, non existant oil pressure, you know.

But Im just getting done with the LTD's timing chain...so now you know why this pisses me off. IF I EVER meet the idiotic fool who used aluminum as a gear and covered it with teflon or whatever Im going to beat him to within an inch of his life and force him to change these crappy timing gears for the rest of his life.

So....an inline 6 is going under the hood. Either a 300 or some random international I6 out of my buddies dads dumptruck. If I get the dump truck engine Ill use its 5 speed trans too.

I wasnt wanting an engine swap this soon...but whatever.

 

Well, you fooled me when you posted timing came up correct.

 

I put the timing light on it and it came up exactly where it was 4 days ago. Granted the engine was running at the time and now it was just spinning over...dont know how that effects it, but Im sure it does somehow.

Also stuck a piece of hose down the #1 plug and set to TDC and the timing was on #1 under the cap.

I think its just cursed.

My plans were to find a 300 and rebuild while i still had a somewhat running motor. Then after the 300 was done, I was going to swap the engines and transmissions. I use this to deliver furniture for my aunts delivery business and other work I do so the less downtime the better. Ive already got a line on a 300, just gotta see how it pans out. Truck HAS to be running by next friday, so this shall be interesting.