Hi,

The original head was taken off 3 years ago. It was cracked. I found one in the junkyard and had it tested. It tested good but I was told the valves were bad. The machine shop did a valve job for me when they tested the head and machined it for me as well. I then put the replacement head on the engine. These compression numbers are using the replacement head. I tried 2 new isuzu factory head gaskets and one set of head bolts and the numbers came up the same both times. I took the replacement head back off and had it tested one more time just to be absolutely sure that it wasn't the head that was causing these low compression numbers. The replacement head tested good a second time. The head now sits in the middle of my living room wrapped up waiting to go back onto the engine when I get to the bottom of why I have the low compression numbers. I need to get the engine back together soon or I will be junking the trooper.

When I changed out the oil it was like "green slime". The cylinders look good. The engine turns fine by hand. The top end checks out. How can I tell if there is a problem with the rings??? When I did the compression test I did squirt some wd40 down the cylinder and the compression number came up to around 200 PSI. It then went back down on the next test. The engine "spins" fine. What could be wrong with the bottom end??? How do I check for trouble in the bottom end??? Can the cylinders themselves dry out?? Is there a way to check for a cracked block??? Is it possible for the block to be warped??? The engine has been covered with plastic the whole time since I started working on it.

I have been keeping insurance on the trooper so that I can keep it tagged. I couldn't afford the insurance for a vehicle that I couldn't drive so I turned the tags back into DMV a month ago. If I get sited by the local government here for having a non-tagged vehicle again before I have any hope of getting the trooper fixed I will have to junk it.

I don't have the facilities here to work on the bottom end if it needs to be rebuilt. I would have to have the trooper towed to a garage and fixed. That is not cheap. This bottom end only has 165,000 miles on it.

I don't want to junk the trooper but I may have to unless I find the trouble with this engine. Help help help help.


Mike