Hi There,
First post here. Having some trouble with my truck, I'm hoping someone can help. This is going to be a bit long.
First a bit of back story:
I bought my 1997 f250 HD with the 5.8 small block and E4OD Trans last September at an abandoned vehicles auction in New Orleans. Got it pretty cheap but didn't know if it ran. Once I got the battery charged, it started right up and I drove it home. It never caused me any problems engine wise. It seemed like it had good power.
In February, I bought a camper and pulled it home with this truck. The camper is 3500-4000 pounds and the truck pulled it fine. Granted, New Orleans is really flat, but it made it up some steep bridges no problem.
My plan was to pull the camper to Colorado for the summer and live in the camper.
A week before I'm supposed to leave, while my girlfriend is driving, the truck leaves us on the side of the road. I think we're out of gas - add gas - no luck. I test fuel pressure and its low so I replace the regulator - no luck. I check for spark and nothing. Narrow it down to the PIP sensor. I replace the Distributor and it fires right up.
Now, I'm having trouble getting the timing set, but I think I get it right. It runs well and I get 14 mpg on the drive home.
We leave for the trip and things are going smoothly until I get to the hills in West Texas. I feel like I have low power. Climbing the Raton pass (6% grade) At the very top the truck starts to overheat. I've been going slow in first gear to keep moving. I immediately pull over and let it cool. I see a campground about 100 yards away and go reserve a spot. My thinking is the timing is off. It was - too far behind by a few degrees. I get it right, and the truck feels like it has new life.
The next day I continue on with no problems until about 20 miles into the next big climb. Overheats again - I pull over - un hitch the trailer - after letting it cool, I drive to the nearest town, rent a uhaul and and get the camper to my destination.

That weekend, I go to rescue the f250. I think that the thermostat is bad, and of course snap one of the housing bolts. I tow it to where I'm staying and after about 4 weeks of trying different tools to get it out, I drill and tap it successfully.

I add coolant, t-stat opens everything's great, but it doesn't seem right. it uses a bit of coolant every drive and sometimes gets hot going up the hill to my camper. Its pretty steep but only 1/2 a mile long.

Now, I suspect headgasket - but I'm in the middle of nowhere and can't track down a compression tester. I try the rubber glove over the radiator filler neck while the engine is running and it starts to inflate. This to me says exhaust gasses in the coolant - leaking head gasket or cracked head/block.

I find a compression tester and get these results:
1 - 125
2 - 130
3 - 120
4 - 127
5 - 0
6 - 120
7 - 127
8 - 130

Of course the number 5 plug is black.

This to me makes me think its valves or a hole in the cylinder to get 0 compression on one cylinder. Could it still be the head gasket?

What's crazy is I feel like the idle sounds like it always has. Possibly this cylinder has had no compression since I bought it? Of course I didn't do a test then...

I know it's not due to test error - I pulled the plug wire while idling and there is no change in idle quality.

So, where do I go from here? Since it's an old beater, my plan was to try Bars Leak Stop to fix the HG, but now I'm not sure that's the right move.

Any thoughts?

Thank you all so much for your help.

Duncan

 

Bars leak isn't going to fix it. Bite the bullet and tow it home. Or sell it as is where you are. Only way to fix this is to pull the head off that side of the engine and see what's causing the leak and lack of compression. Might just be a head gasket, might be a cracked head.

 

Worth pulling off the valve cover to eyeball the valve situation on cylinder 5? Like broken rocker, severely bent/popped out pushrod, etc. The "gasses in coolant" might not be correct.

 

Have you performed a pressure (leak down) test of the coolant system yet?

 

Thanks for the replies. I did a leak down and got air coming from the intake. Not sure about the exhaust, it was very windy. I guess either way this means the head is coming off. I pulled the valve cover, and everything looks alright up top. Anything I should check before tearing into it? Any special advice on pulling the head?

Thanks,
Duncan

 

You're gonna need to pull the EGR tube, be careful with this, it's gonna be a bitch to loosen, but at the same time, you're gonna need to be careful and not damage the tube. You're gonna need the tools to disconnect the fuel lines too. And oil and filter to change these after the job's done, you're gonna get coolant in the oil and probably some trash from the gasket scrapings. You'll also need a torque wrench for intake and head bolts. Now, with the "zero" compression reading on #5, be prepared to see either a damaged head or a hole in the piston. Hopefully it's the gasket, but usually when it is, it's leaking between two cylinders, in which case your compression readings don't support that. Where are you located doing all this ?

 

its a hold in the piston, I had the exact same symptoms and there was a small hold in the top of the piston.

Pull the plug rotate the engine and look in with an inspection camera.