i have a 91 2.3 and it has a few problems and im trying to figure out if they are connected or not. first it wont idle and is about to jump out of the engine compartment. second it sounds like it has a rod knocking at higher rpm's. finally it has low compression in cylinder #2

cylindar #1 =115
cylindar #2 =60
cylindar #3 =120
cylindar #4 =130
my chiltons manual says the lowest it should be based on the highest one is 110 so #2 is pretty low.

already checked timing, replaced plugs and wires, checked the motor mount because of the shaking and got a new fuel filter.

any suggestions are appreciated
thanks,
todd

 

#2 being low can be caused by a few things. Head gasket, cracked head, worn piston rings, worn valve seat..etc...

 

thanks,
ive figured out already what can cause the low compression i was just trying to see if anyone knew how to fix all of them and if they were conected in any way

 

As far as the idling, it sounds like your TPS(Throttle Position Sensor) is possibly bad? And, it could be any of the previously stated for lower compression. Your #4 cyl sounds really high for compression as well... What type of mileage are we looking at on this 2.3L?

As far as it goes as fixing this, pull the head off, and check it, make sure the valve's aren't burnt up and the seats aren't shot, then if the head isn't cracked. If those check out in good condition, make sure the gasket isn't bad. If it is none of those, I would assume it is the rings, and begin prepairing for a rebuild/replacement.

That should be the course of action to take, and hopefully it is the gasket.

Good luck.

 

thanks for the advice. the motor has 222,730mi so it would prolly be a replacement instead of a rebuild. even with the rebuild it probobly wont have much more life left in it.

 

Eh... Are you sure? My dad has rebuilt a 302 until the block couldn't be bored anymore... I mean, it went threw 3 rebuilds, as follows:

Hot tanked, bored .0300 (4.0300 bore)

Tanked, decked, Bored another .0100 (4.0400 bore)

Tanked, decked, balanced bored another .0200 (4.0600 bore)

We put almost 700k miles on it, until it was dead... I mean... That was with some performance mods too... A cam/ported heads, aftermarket intake/carb. It made roughly 310 horses, and a bit more torque than that...

Your little inline 4 should handle well over that... It makes maybe 1/3 of that power, and has a LOT less wear on it. I think you could rebuild it, at .0200 bore over stock, and run it another 250k miles. You will just need to tank it, get it magnafluxed to make sure the block isn't cracked (I doubt it is...) then get it deck flattened perhaps, maybe redo the head if need be, and then bore it. The engine should become a bit more efficient from the boring/decking, giving a bit better mpg/power. This will cost a bit more than buying a replacement engine, BUT it is going to be a better engine, and you could start running synthetics threw it then, which is also better on the engine.

Needless to say, I support rebuilds over an engine swap. I don't know what your budget is, but, I imagine you could do ALL of that, like I said, for maybe 800 dollars. That is tanking/fluxing/decking/boring the block, pressing the pistons onto the rods, possibly polishing the crank if need be, and also doing the head.

I would be brave to say that, my estimate would be high, because a takn/flux/bore/deck/press for an 8 is usually 850-1k pending on quality of the shop.

Hope this helps, and sorry if I have said anything that could be misleading.

 

thanks for the help, im not much of a motor guy. what are tanking and decking.
thanks again,
todd

 

Tanking = 'Hot tanking' which is where the block is dipped into a cleaning liquid, and it basically 'boils' off all of the grease and build up, removing all of the problems with the block, and it eats away 'glaze' off of the cylinders. 'Decking' = 'Deck flattening' which is where the part of the block, that the head bolts ontop of, is 'ground' down to be 'flat' ie 0 degree's of angle on it.

These are important factors when rebuilding, to ensure proper re assembly, and function. The block can GO without 'decking' as sometimes it is not 'warped' or 'uneven' enough to require it, so on a non performance application it will be fine, if it is slightly off, but, if you plan to make any power, it is just an 'insurance' to make sure everything is 'copasetic'.

I hope this helps, and is also not misleading.
Floyd

 

thanks for the help man,
todd

 

it's a 2.3, i'd just get one from a junkyard or someone who 5.0 swapped for a couple hundred and stick it in there