haven't been on the forum for awhile, been too busy trying to make some $$, having a newborn is expensive
(but I have to say it is a true joy, it's fantastic having a kid!).
but back to subject: awhile ago I had this post about overheating, breaking down and ending up with zero compression in one cylinder. a lot of good tips from everybody here, but everybody was wrong. it took me awhile to save up for a gasket set, a torque wrench and some odd parts, but I finally started last week, taking head off, checking valves, all that. turns out I got a hole about the size of a penny in my #5 piston! no one ever guessed that.
and again, this is something I never done before. my idea: drain oil, pull the oil pan, take connecting rod off, take out piston, install new piston, attach connecting rod, attach oil pan, put head and all that back on, add oil & coolant and we're driving again. yes or no?
few things I wonder about:
-is it really that simple?
-do I need to hone the cylinder?
-are the NAPA pistons any good (they seem to be the only one selling single pistons)
-am I on a road to disaster replacing just one piston?
and then the big one: why did this happen? my guess is: leaking manifold gasket caused running lean, combined with being too hot, and maybe a leaky exhaust valve (it had quite some carbon on it), and all this together caused meltdown.
alright, that's a long long post, hope I get the little truck running soon, this is no fun (although I am becoming a pretty good mechanic!)
