This 2.3 has got me stumped.

[Off Road SHO]

I'm putting a new muffler on it tonight and am going to remove the spark plugs and do a quickie compression check, then I will disconnect the battery.

Do I have to remove all the timing belt covers to get to the lower timing mark on the crank sprocket? Or would the old skinny screw driver in number one cylinder while I crank it around by hand be accurate enough to get -0- TDC?

Tom

 

[kimcrwbr1]

I have never timed a four cyl someone here should chime in on the proper way to set the timing. The screwdriver trick will get you close but it dont tell you if it is on the compression stroke. Unplug the spout and lock it down on 10 degrees should do it. get the engine good and warm before you do a compression test for it to be accurate. Did you block off the radiator and see if it comes up to temp. Maybe try keeping the fan for the heater off for a while maybe that is enough to keep it from warming up proper. See if the heater hoses are different temps when the engine is warming up fan off and fan on. Just a thought

 

[Off Road SHO]

Even after running for a half hour the upper radiator hose is not getting warm so it looks like the thermostat doesn't have hot enough coolant behind it to open up. Are these engines that cold blooded?

Tom

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Did you change the t-stat yet you can pull the upper rediator hose off and start it cold. There should be no coolant coming out of the engine or very little. I guess it is possible you have you have a bubble in there when you change the t-stat drill a small hole 1/16 or smaller to allow the air by it it dont take much but try removing the upper hose and start it up you may be leaking too much by the t-stat not allowing it to do its job.

 

[TheTopher]

Even after running for a half hour the upper radiator hose is not getting warm so it looks like the thermostat doesn't have hot enough coolant behind it to open up. Are these engines that cold blooded?

Tom

Try driving it for half an hour.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Have you taken it on a road trip yet try driving it at medium/high speeds for a hour or better see how she does. If the heater is working and you have oil pressure you should be safe maybe it just needs to be worked hard.

 

[Off Road SHO]

Drove it for 20 minutes and still no heat. The new thermostat was "closed when I put it in and it didn't have jiggle valves. The thermostat had a rubber sealing grommet on the radiator side that looks like it would seal very effectively against the housing. Maybe I have an air pocket. I had to make a gasket and sealed it up with thin coats of gasket maker so I will try other methods to get coolant past the thermostat before I rip it off and drill a 1/8" hole in her.

 

[Off Road SHO]

Dang, the stall is back. Kept it reved up until the engine was warm and pulled the plugs. Looks like a fresh head with no dirt or paint on it. Did a compression test and got the following:

Front

165
170
90
175

Did it twice got the same result. Squirted some oil into #3 and it brought it up a little, maybe 10 psi, so it's probably something to do with the valves on #3. Tomorrow night I'll pull the valve cover and have a look. Bummer.

Tom

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Oh man run some seafoam through it hopefully it is just a valve sticking or carboned up get it hot as you can and suck half a can thru the brake booster line and shut it off. wait a half hour or so and then run it around 3000 rpm until the smoke show stops. The more it smokes the more carbon was in there and see if your compression numbers get better they need to be within 5% between 166 and 175 for a healthy engine. 175 is actually real good other than #3 your right there.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

You can try toppin the engine coolant off by adding coolant thru the heater hose that goes to the intake manifold. That goes directly into the top of the engine unless the 4 bangers are different.

 

[Off Road SHO]

The fact that the head looks freshly re-built leads me to believe that it's not carboned up. All the spark plugs look brand new. I'll grab a leak down tool or make one and see where the air comes out.

Tom

 

[anti-chrysler]

Hey whats up ,I was just looking around and saw your problem, I did not see the specifics of your ride but issue sounded strangely familiar... my old ride was a 86 2.3 and coolant problems I had were impeller on water pump rusted away and radiator bottom full of debris and also heard of several issues with bad valve seats in early 2.3 and 3.0, hope this is helpful.

 

[Off Road SHO]

Got the valve cover off finally and nothing "looks" wrong with #3's valve thingies. There is no "gap" between the lobes and that rocker thingy. Is there supposed to be? Couldn't even get a .004 feller in there.

I will get a leak down adaptor to see where the air is escaping to. The underside of the valve cover and the head itself are very clean, like it was just refreshed recently.

Tom

 

[John Smith]

It's a hydraulic lifter..

When u collapse the lifter pushing all the oil out..the clearance should be tween .040-.050 w/35-55 usable on the outside range..

Got the valve cover off finally and nothing "looks" wrong with #3's valve thingies. There is no "gap" between the lobes and that rocker thingy. Is there supposed to be? Couldn't even get a .004 feller in there. Tom

I'll give you a link for some info..

http://www.merkurencyclopedia.com/Motor/valve_lash_set_up.html

you'll be able to teach a class when you get this runnin top notch...

 

[Off Road SHO]

John, Thanks for the link! That place is a wealth of info and it will also help me with this XR4Ti I have.

I will try and collapse the lifters on #3 and get a measurement and report back.

Tom