Got a question I have a 93 ranger 2.3 5speed, will a compression test tell me if I have a leaking valve. I have checked for spark and I have it on all plugs. When the truck started missing over the weekend it was not just a small miss that started and got worse. It all happened at one time, wont hardly pull itself on flat ground. I have owned it a few years and have kept the maintenance up on it its always ran great.

 

Yes a compression test will tell you if the problem is mechanical.

 

A compression test will indicate whether you have good sealing in the cylinder and thus have compression. Rings can leak, but they do not give up working all at once. They get leakier and leakier, and that takes time & miles.
Valves can get stuck open and thus not allow any compression at all. The Lima has cam followers that can pop out of position if they get just the right condition. I do not know how, but they do it now and again.
Given this happened all at once, good one day, bad the next, I suspect the valves or cam & followers.
I would remove the cam/rocker cover and take a look at all the pieces. You may find a follower that has failed. You may find one that is loose, and not under any tension no matter where you turn the crankshaft. Those are a lot easier to fix. Either put it back in place or get a replacement and put that in position.
I just swapped in a roller cam & followers. Put the lobe at the relaxed position for that valve. Place follower onto hydraulic support, and using a pry bar push the other end of the follower onto the valve spring. Use more pry bars to force the follower over the end of the valve stem into position. Having the valve spring compressed or making it compress as you push on the follower will allow the follower to kind of pop into position. Did all 8 valves that way, as I did not have the special installation tool.
tom

 

I did a compression test last night cylinder 1 and 2 nothing 3 and 4 140 psi. I wonder if my headgasket blew between cylinder 1 and 2. Oil looks good no coolant in it.

 

No compression on two cylinders next to each other most time means a blown head gasket.

 

That's what I was thinking. If it is headgasket do you think I will be able to see signs of it when I take it apart I have never had a headgasket blow but I have installed several when putting motors together. Before I did the compression test I figured I had a leaking valve.

 

most likely you will see the damaged portion of the gasket - where it is missing, the most common is the closest point between the two adjacent cylinders, the narrowest part of the head gasket. The Lima has cast iron block & cylinder head, and head gasket failure generally is not a common occurrence. I would likely just get a new head gasket, and possibly a timing belt if it is close or has not been replaced, take it apart, clean up the gasket surfaces, and put it back together again. In most cases, unless it has gotten overheated, the surface will be flat enough that a good gasket can conform and seal as needed. I would us a compound gasket rather than a stamped steel if available. If it ran smooth prior, I might just put it back together without inspecting the valve sealing surfaces.
tom

 

Head gasket failure was visible between cylinder 1 and 2. Do any of the head bolts go in a coolant passage, the repair manual I have don't say.

 

Never saw any head bolts go into the coolant area, easy to check on the threads if one would though.