ok so i was looking around for a beater/work truck and found a guy i work with wanting to sell one. its an 89 isuzu with a 2.6 I-4, 4x4, 5 speed.
This is the info I got from the guy

The engine has been replaced and has around 20,000 on it, the truck has 170,--- on it. Its in pretty decent shape, a couple small rust spots, the cowl is rusted but not thru yet and the pain it oxidized on the roof and hood. He told me that it ran but needed engine work, someone else told him it was valves but not sure as hes no mechanic. I went and checked it out, we put a battery in it and fired it right up to my surprise. There was no smoke or anything but it seemed that the engine rocked back and forth a little more than it should, especially when revving it or something (maybee broken mount) and it also seemed to have a light rattle but not bad, the p.o.s. cavalier I drive to work rattles far worse. The only thing is I was told it seems like it has no compression, it wont pull itself up even a small incline.

The story I was told was that he was driving and it started knocking and kind of shaking that he could feel thru the whole truck, like in the shifter and everything. He thought it was knocking like it was low on oil so he drove it home and parked it.

any suggestions? Ive gotten some advice allready that it could be just the clutch gone in it since it seems to run good but wont pull itself. any way to tell if its engine trouble without tearing into it?

First thing I'd do is a compression test, then go on from there depending on the results.

i never actually done that before, is it a hard thing to do? what do I need to test it. Im sorry but im not much of an engine mechanic which is why I tried to find some forums to help me out.

Pull all the spark plugs and unplug the coil wire. Pull the fuel pump fuses ... I believe there's 2 of them. Now get you a compression tester and thread it into number 1 cylinder. Crank it for a few seconds then check the reading. Continue until you've done all the cylinders that way. They should all read >150 or so. And they should all be about the same psi. If they're all low, then you've got worn rings or bad valve seals. If some are low and some are high, then you've got a problem with which cylinders are low ... usually that's number 2-3 right next to each other and it's because the head gasket has failed between the 2 cylinders.

There are at least 2 types of compression testers. One that screws into the cylinder and one that seals with a rub plug that you hold against the cylinder. You REALLY want the screw in one. It's a lot more accurate and less susceptible to human error. Not to mention a lot easier to use because you can do it all by yourself.

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Thanks for the assistance. Im going tommorow to check it out a little more, maybee get some pics and stuff to share as well.

so we checked it out, doesnt seem to be transmission related but more-so engine. The engine seems to have no compression but we didnt test it for that so not sure if its valve related or ring related. The guy dropped 100 off the price for me so 400 bucks and shes mine. The engine wont idle on its own, your forced to keep on the throttle just a bit, it defenatly has a broken mount.

There are so many deals out there. I would pass on this and keep looking. All Isuzu are inexpensive, you dont need to buy a pile to get a good price on a "beater/work truck"

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