Iron Weasel
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- March 22, 2010
- Messages
- 605
- Reaction score
- 3
- City, State
- Belen, New Mexico
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1994 XLT 4x4
oh did the wet test just on #5 it went up to 95 but dropped after that to bout 75 what does that say and my battery went dead![]()
That says that your piston rings are worn, but that's not really a big issue at this point. #5 has 34% less dry (21% less wet) compression than your highest cylinders and ideally there shouldn't be more than a 10% difference between the highest (#1 & #2) and the lowest (#5 & #6) cylinders.
Cylinder #1 - 100% of 120 PSI
Cylinder #2 - 100% of 120 PSI
Cylinder #3 - 91.6% of 120 PSI
Cylinder #4 - 91.6% of 120 PSI
Cylinder #5 - 66.6% of 120 PSI
Cylinder #6 - 83.3% of 120 PSI
Cylinders #3 & #4 are within 10% of each on cylinders #1 & #2, so that's normal. Cylinders 1 - 3 are on the passenger side while 4 - 6 are on the drivers side and since the lowest pressures are #5 & #6, here's my diagnosis:
Blown head gasket between cylinders #5 & #6.
Book time to R&R both head gaskets is 10.3 hours + 1.1 hour if you have air conditioning. Thankfully, the parts for it are actually pretty cheap. That being said, do yourself a favor and get your gaskets from Napa or from a Ford dealer...head gaskets are one area you don't want to be cheap on.
Also - GET NEW HEAD BOLTS!
I can't stress that enough. Head bolts are "torque-to-yield" which means they stretch out, so any time you remove the heads, you have to use new head bolts. There's a specific torque sequence and torque stepping for the head bolts and intake manifold that you need to follow, so you might want to rent a 1/2" torque wrench before you start tearing into it.
If you have any questions about how to do the job, lemme know and I'll get it to you.