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1987 - 1996 F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks 1987 - 1996 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350 and larger pickups - including the 1997 heavy-duty F250/F350+ trucks

95' 7.3 Compression Test

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Old Apr 3, 2016 | 08:28 PM
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95' 7.3 Compression Test

Ok so I finally got the motor pulled out of the truck and did the compression test using the cheap harbor freight diesel compression tester and a macgyvered 7.3 glow plug fitting. So a little information to know before you read the numbers....being a harbor freight tool it didn't work as it was supposed to. It worked on the first try and soon as I hit the pressure release button it wouldn't hold the pressure anymore, it would spike then drop off. Returned the first one for another one with the same issue except it wouldn't hold pressure right off the bat but lost the pressure a little bit slower than the first so I gave up and just accepted it for the $30 tool it is. Motor hasn't run/been turned over in over 4 months and was tested on a 40 degree day at around 46 feet above sea level (motor was cold obviously). Prior to taking the motor out it ran just fine. Smoked a little upon cold start up but went away in about 30-40 seconds. Thing would start right up from a cold start. No knocking or surging or weird idling as well. Than being said here are the numbers I got.



Lemme know what you guys think of these numbers! FYI this is a project truck and won't be seeing any types of heavy hauling/long traveling/daily driving. Just a Saturday cruiser is all
 
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Old Apr 3, 2016 | 09:28 PM
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Seems fine to me.
 
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Old Apr 3, 2016 | 09:59 PM
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Gonna borrow my buddies stethoscope thing sometime this week and get some in cylinder pictures and post them as well so you guys can take a look at the cylinder walls and piston tops and what not.
 
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Old Apr 3, 2016 | 10:20 PM
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I guess I don't understand why you're going through the effort? If it ran fine, compression test is good, didn't smoke and didn't make any unusual noises, why bother going any further?
 
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Old Apr 4, 2016 | 03:53 AM
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Ditto.......
 
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Old Apr 4, 2016 | 06:10 AM
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the compression numbers are a little low, but nothing to worry about for a knock-around truck. if it was a dedicated hauler, i would do a rebuild on it.
but as is it will work fine for a daily driver.
 
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Old Apr 4, 2016 | 08:34 PM
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yeah I guess you guys are right...it isn't necessary...but it does give my buddy a reason to use it cause he got it as a Christmas present and hasn't gotten a chance to use it yet so he kind of wants to use it just to test it out, will still post pictures of the insides for anyone interested but thanks for the input guys!!
 
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Old Apr 4, 2016 | 11:42 PM
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Might as well
 
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