New owner, 1998 B2500 with help needed

[Darren94]

Hey guys, i just posted this over in the new member section but, i think this is a better location for the post. I just picked up a 98 b2500 with 176k and cant figure some things out.

Background:

The truck is VERY clean and i am the third owner. Its paint and interior are literally spotless with alomst no leaks. The clutch/flywheel/slave cylinder were replaced at 170k. The owner before me (he was the second owner) really did not do much maintenance during his ownership (first owner however took it to the dealer every 3k). So, i have been playing catch up on the maintenance that he skipped. When i purchased the truck, i noticed that it had a pretty rough idle, slight hesitation, major pre-detonation "pinging" under load and was a bit sluggish. So, last weekend i replaced:

-The oil and filter with fresh 10w-30
-New fuel filter
-New air filter
-New plugs and wires (all 8)
-Changed all fluids (rear diff, manual trans, coolant, brake and power steering)
-Cleaned the mass air flow, added seafoam treatment to a full tank of fuel and used seafoam spray directly into the engine.

All of which really made it run much better. No more pinging, and really smoothed it out. However, i have some questions.

1) The top end has some valve train noise which is not too loud but, is noticeable. The previous owner added lucas and it stopped the noise but, i don't use many additives. Is slight valve train noise normal? Ive had cars in the past that made tons of noise but, never hurt anything.

2) It still idles really rough but, once you increase the rpm's it runs great. Warm or cold like clockwork it idles rough. Almost shakes the truck side to side. However, when the engine is cold, it feels like it wants to bog and stall when starting off in 1st gear. any ideas? (going to clean the IAC and EGR tonight to see if it helps)

3) I cant tell if the timing belt, tensioner , and accessory belt have been replaced. Any tricks or hints to see if its ever been replaced?

4) I just noticed the the truck has 2 leaks. One where the dip stick tube meets the block and one where the actual dip stick enters the tube. Are there replacement seals for this?

Sorry for the lengthy post but, thanks in advance!!

 

[Darren94]

Just an update. So, tonight i decided i wanted to test the compression for the sake of knowing what it was and here are the results.

Moving from the back (closest to the cab) toward the front checking the plugs on the exhaust side it read

75-87-172-177

I think the results clearly show whats wrong however, how could two of the numbers be so low but, the truck runs so good other than a rough idle? Feels great at speed, does not feel underpowered and scoots right on down the road.

Did i do something wrong? was it ok to check the compression on the exhaust side? I did it one jug at a time only removing that particular plug and disconnected the ignition and cranked it over until the needle on the gauge stoped moving.

PLEASE HELP

 

[scotts90ranger]

either worn rings, head gasket blown between the cylinders or leaky valves which would explain the rough idle (the low compression in general), put a little bit of oil in the two back cylinders then do a compression test again and if it gets better that means rings.

The top end noise is normal with that many miles.

 

[Darren94]

Ok so, i did the compression test again but this time i did it the proper way. Removed all four exhaust side spark plugs, unhooked fuel rail and coil packs and tested each cylinder again with WOT.

From back to front: 96-90-215-210
Then added 1oz of oil to the two low rears and got: 217-240 from back to front.
Then just for shits did it all again without adding any more oil and got 122-137-215-210

so, what does this all mean?

 

[Sunk]

Sounds like your rings are worn out as scott said.

 

[Darren94]

So, can anyone recommend a website that sells full rebuild kits? Or do i need to order the parts piece by piece?

It just baffles me how good it runs minus the rough idle. No smoke or anything

 

[scotts90ranger]

look up your truck on rockauto.com under engine then rering kit, cheapest one is around $200 and should come with about all you need it looks like including bearings and head gasket, I suggest getting replacement head bolts which aren't included as they are torque to yield, they are available from rockauto also for about $26.

 

[Darren94]

Thanks Scott. Quick question. If i am having problems with the rings, why is there no smoke from the tail pipe? I let it sit over night and had the girlfriend start it up this morning while i stood at the back and nothing. No smoke of any color and it fired right up. We let it warm up and i had her rev it up a few times and still no smoke.

 

[Earl43P]

I'd keep driving it.
It'll keep on running for years, most likely.

When it gets worse, worry about it then.
I didn't see that you cleaned the IAC?

Try that, it controls idle.

 

[Darren94]

I'd keep driving it.
It'll keep on running for years, most likely.

When it gets worse, worry about it then.
I didn't see that you cleaned the IAC?

Try that, it controls idle.

Earl, i did clean the IAC and it helped a little bit. I do like your logic. Just drive it.

 

[rrbrian222]

I agree with Earl, until it starts stumbling under normal driving conditions just run it as is. Keep up with your regular maintenance and if you like the truck, keep your eye out for deals on good used motors. You never know what might fall into your lap when you aren't really looking and then you'll be all set in case it becomes undriveable.

One of these days I'm going to check the compression on my 2.3, just to know where I'm at since things are running good at the moment and then I'll have some base-line numbers for down the road.

 

[Mirage]

Don't feel bad, I'm in the same boat. A little rough at idle, burns about a quart of oil every 6 months (done this for years), and runs great off idle. No smoke at all. I have to agree with everyone else, run it till it stops. Then grab a used motor, or rebuild the one you got, or start picking up rebuild parts in preparation for the day it finally dies. That's what I'm doing, as time and money allows. And I've got 217k on the odometer right now. I keep saying "maybe next year". Been saying that for about 3 years now> Still running strong.