my friend jack came over this morning to assist in a compression check, valve adjustment and gasket refit. we also did points, plugs, condenser, rotor and distributor cap.
we did the compression check first as a bench mark for where the original 216 is currently at, not knowing if a valve adjustment had ever been done since my grandfather bought it new in 1950, we were both curious about the condition of the engine/valve train.
the first cylinder read 45psi...compared to what the shop manual indicates, this is far below the 110psi expected reading. the following cylinder read as follows. #2-50psi, #3-40psi, #4-50psi, #5-40psi, #6-50psi. concerned or more accurately confused, my friend jack, a retired motorcycle mechanic who's father owned a gas and auto repair business his whole life, surmised that the gauge was not reading correctly. his feeling was that as good as the truck runs (daily driver by the way) and the condition of the plugs, all looked a pretty grey with only the number two cylinder plug looking a little black, that the gauge was not reading accurately.
checked the valve lash next and not a single valve required adjustment. all were well within acceptable tolerances. makes ya feel real good when you consider that this engine has never been apart and sees less than trailer queen treatment...not abused, but this truck works hard.
we put all the pieces back together, fired it up and it runs like a finely tuned sewing machine.
after jack left i hooked up the compression tester to my air supply line to check the calibration of the tester in comparison to my dryer/regulator set-up. the compression tester gauge read 7lbs. lower than the gauge on my regulator with the regulator reading 95psi and the compression tester reading 88psi.
short story long, does anyone have an opinion on why the compression tester read so low regarding the engine test but was only off by 7lbs. the only thing we came up with was that we weren't getting enough air intake to make the appropriate compression. we did follow the shop manual as far as using the throttle knob to open the carb facilitating the air intake.
any thoughts are welcomed...
Last edited by p.j.; 04/26/2009 1:33 AM.
