[IntenseImages]

ok guys it is a 1970 ford f250, 360 fe big block, c6 tranny

took worn out 390 out the other day and put in the 360, engine has 70,000 original miles on it, was out of dads other truck that was wrecked last august. engine ran good when it was pulled.

got it all installed the other night, tested to see if it was gonna fire up, acted like it wanted to run but wouldnt ever start, well discovered i had wires on backwards (used to small block mopars and clockwise rotation )

anyway, got wires all changed around, and still wouldnt start, checked everything we could think of (timing chain is ok, getting spark, getting fuel, timing appears to be on) anyway, dad did a compression check and has 0 compression, did the ol' oil in the cylinder thing, thinking cylinders had been washed down, let it set overnight, and still getting 0 compression

any ideas as to why we would have 0 compression?

any ideas or info would be greatly appreciated

thanks alot

eric

 

[440Ramcharger]

zero in ALL cylinders!? The FE series has rocker shafts like Mopars. Is the valve train all there and operational?

 

[Slanted_Mind]

About the only things I can think of...other than destroyed rings or no head gaskets....is valves not closing all the way or spark plugs not sealing??

Was the block disassembled or just removed, sat, and re-installed?

-SM

 

[IntenseImages]

valve train is all there. no it was not dissassembled, it was removed, sat since last august, did an oil change with filter, new plugs, wires, rotor, cap, distributor, new tranny fluid and filter.

we were thinking lifters hadnt pumped up since it sat for that long, but then i was thinking if they hadnt pumped up this would allow all of the valves to be closed, so it should build compression.

dad was going to pull valve covers today and let me know if everything looked like it was working.

i think since we were using a compression gauge it wouldnt matter at that point if plugs were sealing or not but they are sealing, with the gauge it should show compression

thanks guys

eric

 

[Guest]

Eric, I have never seen a motor push zero compression on every cylinder. I know this is a silly question, but does your gauge work properly?

 

[IntenseImages]

Eric, I have never seen a motor push zero compression on every cylinder. I know this is a silly question, but does your gauge work properly?

well it is brand new, i know this doesnt mean it works right, but you would think the odds would be in our favor.

the better question would be is my little brother using it properly, i am not actually doing the check, i helped swap the motor and then had to come home, and since i am 150 miles away i can only go by what i saw the night we installed it and then what they tell me over the phone.

i do agree though, that i also have never seen an engine show 0 pressure on all 8 cyl's

i will try to talk to him later today and ask him exactly how he is using it, and wether he is just going by one compression stroke or not, correct me if i am wrong but arent you supposed to let it compress at least 3 times?

thanks

eric

ps: it is a screw in gauge

 

[K.C.]

You mentioned that the timing chain was ok, but are you sure the cam is still timed properly. If the timing chain has skipped a few teeth, you can end up with one of the valves open when the piston is coming up on the compression stroke. That'll cause low or no compression. Is the cam sprocket one of those fiber ones. They will start to break down from old age. Maybe it just finally crapped out when you tried to restart the engine after sitting for so long. Hope it's just the guage, or the way the guage is being used. Good luck.

 

[K.C.]

By the way.... the other thing that will cause "0" compression, is if the engine was stored in a damp place and some of the valves rusted/stuck in the open position, but this would normally account for a few cylinders being at 0, but all 8 is a different story..... unless there was so much corrosion built up on the valve stems that most of the valves stuck open as you cranked the engine over.

 

[Guest]

That still won't show zero. Even a holed piston will push some air ahead of it. They should be getting a reading of some kind on the gauge.

 

[BrianT]

No it is the bro not using hte gauge right . What brand gauge is it ? Defniitely testthe gauge ona running engeine and see if the gauge is in fact good or not .

 

[K.C.]

That still won't show zero. Even a holed piston will push some air ahead of it. They should be getting a reading of some kind on the gauge.

Just my humble opinion, but ya gotta spin it pretty fast to get a reading with a valve open all the way and the piston at TDC on compression stroke.

 

[IntenseImages]

No it is the bro not using hte gauge right . What brand gauge is it ? Defniitely testthe gauge ona running engeine and see if the gauge is in fact good or not .

not sure on brand brian, i know he told me he spent about $45 on it, cant even tell ya where he got it. this is i beleive the first time he has ever used it, i will borrow it from him and test it on my engine and see what it says. i know i have compression

eric

 

[IntenseImages]

ok a little update, dad yanked valve covers, all valves are opening and closing, he managed to break the oil gauge line and it is shooting oil about 10 feet, so i am guessing he has plenty of oil pressure. also i am guessing since the lifters are moving pushrods that they have pumped up

we are down to guessing he has some frozen rings, he is going to put some marvel mystery oil in the cylinders and let them set over night and test it again.

he had also considered gauge might be bad so he took it out to school shop and had them test it, it works, he also put finger over plug hole while turning over engine and says he can barely feel anything as he turns it over.

says timing is still on, he is getting spark when he is supposed to, says he can see piston at TDC right as he gets spark.

not sure what else it could be.

eric

 

[BrianT]

ok might be wild could the crash have caused the rings to all crack form the imapct of the hit cuz i know how hard that truck got hit and hell it might be possible to have cracked all the rings in the block or cracked them when it turned over cuz it was slightly froze up . I say no cylinder pressure yank the heads and look in th block and see what the hell happened .

 

[K.C.]

we are down to guessing he has some frozen rings, he is going to put some marvel mystery oil in the cylinders and let them set over night and test it again.

he had also considered gauge might be bad so he took it out to school shop and had them test it, it works, he also put finger over plug hole while turning over engine and says he can barely feel anything as he turns it over.

says timing is still on, he is getting spark when he is supposed to, says he can see piston at TDC right as he gets spark.

not sure what else it could be.

eric

Can't see it being just frozen rings or the compression would have bumped up when you put the oil in the cylinders before. When he can see the piston at TDC ..getting spark.... are both valves closed on that cylinder? If you can detach the hose from the compression guage and hook it up to a compressor, you could pressurize the cylinders and see where the leakage is occuring. ( or borrow a leakdown tester). If that doesn't work, you can knock the guts out of an old spark plug and weld on an air fitting. Turn the engine over slowly until you get a cylinder at TDC with both valves closed. Screw the plug/fitting into the cylinder.. hook up the air line and listen to see where the air is coming out. If it's rings, you'll hear most of the air at the oil filler cap. If it's intake valves... out through the carb... exhaust valves... out through the exhaust. If it's the cam timing and it's skipped more than few teeth, then you may not be able to get the piston at TDC with both valves closed, which based on what I've seen before, is the most likely cause for very low or no compression on all 8. When it's cranking over, (trying to start it) is it puffing back out through the carb?

 

[IntenseImages]

brian, i might have considered that if it wasnt for the fact , that even after wreck, engine was running good, dad drove the beast back to house from the place where it was towed to.


kc i agree that it could be that the valves arent closing at right time, however, the best i can do right now is go with what i am told over the phone, since i am 150 miles away, it would be a ton easier if i was actually there to see what was happening

thanks guys, i will eventually get this figured out and when i do you guys will be first to know. still willing to take any and all ideas ya can toss at me.

eric

 

[IntenseImages]

ok a little update here.

talked to dad last night, after taking off valve covers, he sprayedeverything down with some penetrating oil, also put some mystery oil in the cylinders, checked compression yesterday, and now he is getting some compression in some of the cylinders.

still 0 comp in a few, but the ones he was getting comp in were going to 120.

so we are making progress.

thanks again guys

eric

 

[IntenseImages]

ok guys just wanted to give an update here.

went down this last weekend and did some looking around at it, put on a different carb that was in much better shape, rechecked the comp after setting and soaking with marvel for 2 weeks, at least 120 comp in all cylinders, rechecked all of the plug wires and routing, set initial timing, primed it and gave her a go.

took aobut 30 minutes of craniking and priming, but she finally started, sounds as good as ever, especially after all of the crap blew out of the exhaust pipes from it setting for 8 months, also after test driving it is definitely an improvement over that worn out 390.

i really want to thank everybody that gave advice one more time. i and my father greatly appreciate it.

eric