Tindall2006 Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 So I have my 600 dollar dodge truck 4x4. I took a gamble on it for a beater truck/use it to move back to texas with and I came out a little behind. The motor burns oil which I thought was just a plenum gasket but turns out it has low compression on cylinder 8 too (70 PSI) So I am wondering what would ya'll do, find a good junkyard motor in throw in there and call it good. Or pull the current motor, check out out and do a re ring or a full rebuild? My theory behind this is I have 600 into it, if I have to put a grand into a new motor I am still coming out ahead as if I bought a slightly nicer 4000 dollar truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRTurbo04 Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 So I have my 600 dollar dodge truck 4x4. I took a gamble on it for a beater truck/use it to move back to texas with and I came out a little behind. The motor burns oil which I thought was just a plenum gasket but turns out it has low compression on cylinder 8 too (70 PSI) So I am wondering what would ya'll do, find a good junkyard motor in throw in there and call it good. Or pull the current motor, check out out and do a re ring or a full rebuild? My theory behind this is I have 600 into it, if I have to put a grand into a new motor I am still coming out ahead as if I bought a slightly nicer 4000 dollar truck. does it still drive right even though it burns oil? how much oil does it burn? hell my old ranger used to go threw a quart or two a week... go to sams club get 24 qts of cheap oil for liek 15 bucks and your good for a long time thats what i did. its a beater who gives a crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye1647545503 Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 drive it to Texas and junk it and buy a rust free Texas truck for cents on the dollar and profit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 does it still drive right even though it burns oil? how much oil does it burn? hell my old ranger used to go threw a quart or two a week... go to sams club get 24 qts of cheap oil for liek 15 bucks and your good for a long time thats what i did. its a beater who gives a crap. you never had to change oil just the filter every few months lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Cranium Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Given those two choices I would probably do a junkyard motor as long as it has a warranty on it (30 days should be good). Tearing it apart for a rebuild is likely to uncover more problems than you may want to mess with for a beater. Or you could just keep driving it. If the oil burning doesn't bother you to much then just leave it be and live with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tindall2006 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Biggest thing I want is something reliable enough to feel ok towing my stuff back to texas. If I had never done the compression test I would still be thinking this thing was reliable. Went though about a quart in 200 miles. The Phlenum gasket is defiantly bad and this is a known cause for these trucks to burn that much oil. As far as buying a cheep rust free truck in texas? Yeah right, salt water is a bitch down where I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRD2BDF Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 I would re-ring personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KillJoy Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 It's a cheap truck. Do the cheap repair. Re-ring it...... KillJoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangsn95gt Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 It's a cheap truck. Do the cheap repair. Re-ring it...... KillJoy this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 but what if its not a ring problem? like a blown head gasket with bad valve stem seals? or a warn cam lobe and valve stem seals? or a burnt exhaust valve with bad valve stem seals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tindall2006 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Anyone ever really do a re ring? I don't see how anything could really go wrong as long as everything is within specs for measurements. As much as rebuilding a motor is played out to be a delicate art, I have seen people throw some crazy shit together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 its not hard if you know what your doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tindall2006 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 but what if its not a ring problem? like a blown head gasket with bad valve stem seals? or a warn cam lobe and valve stem seals? or a burnt exhaust valve with bad valve stem seals? I put some oil in the cylinder that had 70 psi and it shot up to 170. I could be wrong but I am about 90 percent sure it is rings. You never know till you open it up though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 i've seen that happen on a cylinder with a burnt exhaust valve so don't let that be a conclusive test. a cylinder leak down test should be done to confirm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KillJoy Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 i've seen that happen on a cylinder with a burnt exhaust valve so don't let that be a conclusive test. a cylinder leak down test should be done to confirm. Agreed, but I still say Cheap Car = Cheap Repair. :thumbup: KillJoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tindall2006 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 i've seen that happen on a cylinder with a burnt exhaust valve so don't let that be a conclusive test. a cylinder leak down test should be done to confirm. Well I am going to hope your right.. I doubt I am going to do a cylinder leak test. I rather just pull the shit apart! I have too much free time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KillJoy Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Well I am going to hope your right.. I doubt I am going to do a cylinder leak test. I rather just pull the shit apart! I have too much free time. It easy and free??? Go to a LAPS and "rent" a Compression Tool. Doesn't take too long...... Better safe then sorry, unless you want to do a Full Rebuild to be safe KillJoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 I'm in a similar situation as you are with my $1k Ford F100. I'm rebuilding the engine, as I plan on either keeping it for a long time, or using it for a few years and selling it. For a 4x4 - if you plan on keeping the truck - I would go cheap junkyard first. Thinking you could do a cheap re-ring might not end up that way once you tear it down...that would suck!!! Plus, if your Dodge is 90s or newer, there should be a plethora of used/rebuilt engines to pick from... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 IDK how much time you have until you move, but have you tried to do the plenum gasket and see how much oil it burns then? I know that doesn't fix the compression issue, but maybe it will make the oil burning low enough that you would feel comfortable with driving it down to Texas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky31186 Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 I would put a junkyard motor in it if it was me. If you weren't driving to texas I would say drive it till it blew up, then fix it. But that wouldn't be good to be stranded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tindall2006 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Yeah, if I wasn't moving to Texas I would drive it till it blew up. I could have the army pay to ship it, but I really want to get the army to pay me for a ditty move, which would probably cover the cost of the truck and new engine/ rebuild. I might take it on base and do a leak down test to see what exactly it is and report back. If I decide to just re ring it anyone have some good refernces? I have rebuilt one DSM engine but that went to the machine shop, and I have done several 2 stroke snowmobile engines Honing it with the drill and slapping rings in. I guess rings won't really come apart on a 4 stroke like they will a 2 stroke due to not having ports in the engine right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 I wouldn't gamble with a re-ring on a $600 truck unless you know the history: if the cylinders are out-of-round, really scuffed, etc, re-ringing it would be a temporary fix and you still would need to do all new gaskets. I just think that taking the engine apart will probably uncover more problems than you think...or at least I would expect that to happen and be pleasantly surprised if it's better than you thought! Have you taken off a valve cover to see how bad the internals may be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tindall2006 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Nope, but they are probably pretty shitty. I think I could get a junkyard engine about the same I could do a re ring! I guess I will call around tomorrow! Where do you all go for long blocks? The cheepest i found was on ebay for 1800ish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Where do you all go for long blocks? The cheepest i found was on ebay for 1800ish Oof. For that price I'd look at rebuilding what you have. What year Dodge and what motor? What happened to you looking for a junkyard/used motor? Craigslist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Why not sell this truck for $600, recoup your money and use it plus some if needed to buy what you originally intended to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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