00 OHV Galloping like a 3 legged drunk

[Fenrir]

Small Update: Mechanic called to clarify what all I had done with/to it recently.
He said it's only getting about 40 pounds of compression in cylinder 4, and he said compression was bad in another and I can't remember which one he mentioned, not that it's going to make a whole huge difference to me, this is WAY outside of my wheelhouse now and he might as well have been speaking French,.

 

[Fenrir]

" off of HP this morning" HP use to stand for, be commonplace abbreviation for Hewlett Packard, now it stands for Horrible Pontiac !

I usually call it the Grand H.A.M. (Haunted Asshole Machine). I fixed it's new no turn signal trick last night, hit the signal switch and heard a grinding crackle coming from the dash, thumped the top of the radio real good and suddenly I have turn signals again. Fluid leaks on it are getting significantly worse, hoping it'll last long enough to get the Ford back, then I'll sell it to the first person that shows interest, I'm fairly certain you're not required by law to disclose that a vehicle is haunted when selling in Colorado

 

[MakinJeepsWeep!]

Throw a can of engine restore in it can't hurt! I've have verified that if it is in the cylinder walls it will raise the compression. For a quick band aid at least!

 

[EB4X]

Ut oh.... were you having to add coolant to when you were driving it before ? White smoke coming out exhaust? Could be cracked head...sometimes happens on these engines if overheated....usually at cylinder 3 and 4. I know you don't have money to dump into this expensive repair so you might throw two bottles of K-seal in the radiator and see if you get lucky and can drive it a few more months with this band aid... assuming this is your issue of course.

 

[C420sailor]

Next step for me would be a leakdown test to see what is leaking.

Bubbles in the coolant? Try K-seal as mentioned. Otherwise you can listen to intake and exhaust to see if it’s a valve, or PCV to see if it’s blowing by the rings.

A wet compression test (add a tbsp oil to the cylinder before cranking to seal the rings) can tell you about the condition of the rings too.

 

[Fenrir]

I'll know more the next time I hear back from the mechanic. Never have had any fluid issues with it, barely ever needs coolant, I refilled the power steering in 2016 and haven't even had to top it up since, sips a little oil here and there as one would expect from a 2000, to my knowledge it's never been run dry and as long as I've had it it's never been more than half a quart low, beyond that I run a can of BG 44k through it once every year or two and it's always behaved perfectly.
REALLY hoping I get good news this afternoon, HP is not doing well at all, out of the two it's the one with fluid issues out the arse, if it can leak Horrible Pontiac is leaking it, and it's leaking from just about every possible location.

 

[Fenrir]

Well, mechanic closes in 20 minutes, so I find it pretty safe to assume I'm not hearing back from them tonight. Another day another morning and afternoon spent providing gallons of water for HP to chug like 3.2 beer.

 

[C420sailor]

3.2 beer? The worst.

 

[KeenKilo]

My grand HAM chugged coolant as well. If yours is a V6 that 60 degree is hard to seal apparently.

While the grand am had me worried more, the Corolla I had left me stranded more.

 

[Fenrir]

My grand HAM chugged coolant as well. If yours is a V6 that 60 degree is hard to seal apparently.

While the grand am had me worried more, the Corolla I had left me stranded more.

My horrible Grand Ham is the little 4 cylinder, though at this point chugging coolant is the understatement of the century, I'll dump in 2-4 gallons of straight water, drive my spawn to school 2 miles away, bring it home and dump in 2-4 more, let it sit all day, dump in 2 more, drive it to pick up my spawn, bring it home, pop the hood and repeat the process in the morning. I've only had one car that left me sitting on the shoulder more, that was a 79 Bronco, put a down payment on it at a pot lot when I was like 19, drove it like a month and told the dealer where it had last broken down, said I'd consider my down payment as the cost of renting it and they could shove their contract up their butt, they never did try to contact me again.

I was just looking on CL just for the heck of it, I can't believe some of the absolute garbage people are trying to sell, and the prices they're asking?!?!!?
"1986 Ford Tempo. Fancy stereo. Laundry list of new parts. Clean body except for the rust, nice interior except for the stain on the back seat that looks like there was a corpse in there for a year. 295k miles. Yeah BTW the motor is completely blown, hasn't started in ten years. Transmission like totally fell out too, I put it in the trunk so you can put it back in. AsIs 2000$ I know what I have so don't try to lowball me"
I get that the day of the 500$ wonder car is long past, much as it pains me to accept it, but there's no way in hell people are really so stupid as to buy an older vehicle with a blown headgasket and a slipping transmission for 90% of the average asking price for the same year make and model WITHOUT any current issues... Please tell me people aren't actually that stupid?
If they are I'm listing HP for like 3k... Or maybe I should list it for the 4,400 I paid for it, recoup the buy price and write off the insane amount it's taken to keep it on the road

 

[KeenKilo]

That’s too much coolant. I bought a 600$ car a few years ago and drove the hell out of it. Now a days the used car market is hot.

You probably could

 

[Fenrir]

That’s too much coolant. I bought a 600$ car a few years ago and drove the hell out of it. Now a days the used car market is hot.

You probably could

It's been bad for a long time, I've been throwing bandaids at it forever, but I think this coolant leaking issue is going to be more trouble than I feel the car is worth, might not have a choice but to track it down and fix it, but let's hope not.

 

[Fenrir]

Potentially exciting and moderately embarrassing update:
Got a maybe answer from the mechanic: One of his guys threw my old coil back on since it was still sitting there on the passenger side floor board, and said it immediately started running about 75% better and is now missing in a different cylinder, so they're going to get another new coil on it and see what it does.
Not gonna lie, if it turns out that my whole issue has been that I was sold a bad coil I'm going to be more than slightly angry. 1 because I didn't think to exchange the new coil I bought just in case it was faulty. 2 Because this is the third shop that's had it and you'd think one of the other two would have had the sense to check that. 3 Because I've been putting miles on HP and pushing it violently towards it's last hurrah because I've been under the assumption that whatever's been ailing my Explorer was BIG and I feel as though I've pushed it past being worth fixing so when it comes time to get my teenager into a little car I'm not going to be able to just throw a tune up on it and call it a day, but it is what it is.

Of course if it does turn out to JUST be the coil I'm gonna be so happy I may just wet my pants in sheer joy. Cross your fingers boys, throw a prayer to the Mighty V8, I really want my next big bad issue to just be finding a rear glass hinge at the scrap yard.

 

[EB4X]

 

[fast_dave]

Yesterday's Update

Small Update: Mechanic called to clarify what all I had done with/to it recently.
He said it's only getting about 40 pounds of compression in cylinder 4, and he said compression was bad in another and I can't remember which one he mentioned, not that it's going to make a whole huge difference to me, this is WAY outside of my wheelhouse now and he might as well have been speaking French,.

Today's Update

Got a maybe answer from the mechanic: One of his guys threw my old coil back on since it was still sitting there on the passenger side floor board, and said it immediately started running about 75% better and is now missing in a different cylinder, so they're going to get another new coil on it and see what it does.

Just sayin' - in the spirit of @EB4X 's recent post.
@Fenrir - Seriously, based on the updates, the twists and turns aren't adding up.

 

[Fenrir]

Yesterday's Update



Today's Update



Just sayin' - in the spirit of @EB4X 's recent post.
@Fenrir - Seriously, based on the updates, the twists and turns aren't adding up.

View attachment 372079

I didn't hear back from them today, my Explorer was outside when I drove by, maybe they're waiting on the coil, or maybe they're getting ready to give up and have me come get it, no clue on my end. Sadly a lot of this is outside of my wheelhouse so I really have no frame of reference as far as whether or not I should be horribly concerned.

 

[donalds]

Give them time

 

[Fenrir]

Give them time

Yup, I'm fighting the urge to stop in every afternoon when I retrieve my spawn from school, I've only done it once and that was the first day when it hadn't moved after I dropped it off. The way my luck runs, I'm hazarding a guess that the coil isn't going to be the only thing it needs, so I'm just sitting on my hands waiting for something to happen.

 

[EB4X]

Not being harsh, but by now they should have some definitive answers for you.... 3 days at a shop is plenty of time....and the fact that you saw that they have moved your vehicle back outside.....
I would call them now and politely ask for status update.

 

[C420sailor]

Bad coil doesn’t cause 40psi in a jug.

Even if the new coil really helps, that needs to be addressed.