What...the...[censored]...!!!

[Pyro81]

My truck must think i'm made of money or something...
As you all know, i just replaced a blown brake line this week. Last week i installed a new power steering pump. A few months prior to that i installed a new alternator, belt, and tensioner pulley. You'd think that maybe i could catch a break? HELL NO!
Since i now have brakes again i thought that maybe i could start driving the truck around instead of the car. So i grabbed it and took off to school today. About 2 miles from the school i started to hear this horrendous knock. So i turned down the radio and sure enough i was getting one nasty noise coming from the engine. Ever hear an engine after a connecting rod broke? Yeah, that's what it sounds like... Once i get to school i get out and listen to it. Damn thing sounds like a diesel at idle...great!
On the way back home from school, being pissed cause now i have to replace something else, i beat the [censored] out it of hoping i blow the engine. surprisingly it made it home just fine if not sounding a bit worse.
So yeah, looks like i'll be taking the car to Mike's house this weekend.
That also means i won't be able to bring all that wood in my garage to burn.
And i won't be able to bring my parts home too...


[censored]!!!

[gyger]

damn dude that sucks bad

how do you know it's a connecting rod did you drop the oil pan?
or you can just tell?
damn man I hope you catch a break with it soon

later
mike

[Pyro81]

I don't really know what the noise really is just yet. But the sound i've heard before. Before my current cougar i had an 88 cougar. I had that for 2 years before blowing a head gasket and connecting rod (at least that's what the shop told me was broke). I'll never forget the day that car gave up the ghost. I was busting ass to get home cause all kinds of white smoke was pouring out of the exhause and i was also getting that same sounding loud kock. So it's just a guess at this point. I may or may not find out what exactly it is till later today...

[JAMallott]

dude, that sucks balls. hope everything works out for you. atleast you have the cougar to drive. my car is in the shop till today hopefully (went in tuesday), then 2 days ago, my mom's car stalled out. she thought it was out of gas. she rolled into a gas station, filled it up, and it still wouldnt start. so she got it towed, and the shop said 2nd gear wasnt working. so she has to get a whole new tranny, and the cheapest one that they could get has about 35K miles on it, and for install and all its $2200. i think my parents are ready to go amish....

[hotbug1776]

What size motor and type of truck is it again Brian? I'll do what I can to look into the possible reasons, depending on the motor mostly, and the manufacturer secondly.

I do believe you may be looking into a new motor for the truck though. if it's a S-10, then spend the little bit more money on the conversion kit, and get the v-8 to replace the smaller motor, the motor will be able to move more than the truck can handle then. (tim taylor/tool time grunts)

if it's anything else, then Len's in town, sells trucks I believe.

[Pyro81]

Ford Ranger 2.3L 4 cylinder 128,000+ miles (mostly highway i'm told).

I really would rather not go into the headaches of buying another truck. Depending on what the problem is and how bad, i might have to though. I just think it's a pain in the ass.

[racerx]

If you completely broke a rod, you wouldnt be running, the motor wold mostlikely seize. What it sounds like is a bad rod bearing, when those wear out or get run dry, they will create a bad knock in the bottom end of the motor....

[Pyro81]

Damn, that almost sounds like it could be the problem. Trouble is i can't really tell where exactly the knock is coming from. It almost sounds as if it's coming from the top end. But not completely sure.
I'd run out and give it a listen real quick except the motor isn't running at all now.
Here's a link to my post in garage talk explaining my situation as of last friday. (http://www.fastcougar.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=95&threadid=111205)

[hotbug1776]

2.3L 4!!

dude, go to the J-yard, and get one out of a 2.3L mustang turbo! balls out power!!! it should bolt right in if I'm right. All you would need is the engine (complete w/turbo), exhaust mani, and computer. it may require some computer work for the wiring, but that's no problem. imagine, outrunning a stock mustang GT in your old POS ranger :rofl: with a few mods to the motor, you'd almost have a drag truck on your hands. Best of all you would have the v-whatever power out of a 4 banger.

[Pyro81]

:rofl:
I'll tell you what...it's tempting...
Problem is i don't want a [censored] ton of power for a winter beater. Too much power means i'll never get traction in the snow.
Remember, this is supposed to be my beater, not my other project vehicle, lol

[Pyro81]

Well, just finished a compression test.
I tested each cylinder 5 times.

Engine:

Firewall
4
3
2
1
Radiator

The results:

Cyl#4: 90 45 105 45 70
Cyl#3: 0 0 0 0 0
Cyl#2: 95 40 85 50 70
Cyl#1: 0 0 0 0 0

Minimum cylinder compression recomended per Haynes Manual: 101
And yes, i checked, double checked, triple checked, and quadruple checked to make sure the tester was connected right and wasn't leaking.

I'm having it towed to my buddies house tommorrow. Him and his dad are going to take a look at the timing belt. I'd do it but that's out of my skill level and i don't have the time.

[gyger]

0 comp. in 2 cylinders????

I wouldn't think that to be a timing belt at all.

I would say head gasket or cracked block. But then again you would notice loss of rad. and or oil.
Maybe crank walk since it will no longer start. But that would probably leave all chambers with 0 compression.

Good luck Brian!

[Pyro81]

Well, they think the timing belt has skipped a tooth once or twice. Thus throwing vavle timing completely off.
Even still...to me it doesn't seem like that would be the culprit. But in a sense the numbers kinda support it.
Oh well, i guess i'll find out when they tear into it...

[LinkMan]

Yea, as long as it's not an interference engine, that would make sense for a mistimed engine since the valves wouldn't be closing correctly - never seal the combustion chamber.

Of course, on a Duratech that's a recipe for a new engine.

[hotbug1776]

I'm not sure if that Madza motor in your ranger (guessing since it has 8 plugs for 4 cylinders) has reliefs in the pistons, but then again you would have known real quick if it didn't. gets kinda loud when a valve slaps a piston. and by the way you described the sound, you might want to rethink that turbo 2.3L from a stang. it may be cheaper in the long run. of course, if it didn't punch the piston, you just need a new head to replace the destroyed one on the motor.

Let me now if you need a hand with anything, I'm like 25 minutes or less from you straight down old state.

Oh, and parts are cheap at MillIron in Mansfield, Let me know and we'll take a trip to the J-yard for the ranger-beater.

[Pyro81]

Little bit of new info:

My buddies dad looked into it a bit today. He found a bad coil pack, but after he installed it he found that the crank is turning, but the camshaft was not. I know the belt isn't broke cause there is all kinds of tension on it. I personally think a pulley broke or something of that nature.

[hotbug1776]

I have had the cam break on a Mazda before, the pulley will turn but not the cam. Mine broke right after the front bearing, so the motor died, but the only way to tell the problem was to pull the valve cover and turn the motor over. it was kinda funny watching the motor spin and the distributor just sit there.