Is my engine about ready to say goodnight?

[Zack1978]

Hi everyone,
This morning the 2F in my 1987 developed some major issue that I fear may be the end of the line for the engine after 261,000 miles.
On the highway it would ping at times while under load, but it was not that bad....today was different. I was on the highway and the pinging/SLIGHT knocking suddenly became constant and loud even under a VERY light load. The engine almost sounds like a diesel while under load; even a light load. The other thing that became apparent is that it lost a large amount of power. When I pulled off the highway and came to a traffic light and allowed it to idle, the idle was very rough. The engine did not overheat, and the oil pressure remained good.
At home when it was parked at idle it also has a rough exhaust flow, almost like a constant small backfire.
Any ideas as to what is going on? What should I check at this point?

Thank you everyone,
Zack

PS: A hill near my home that I can usually fly up in 4th required me to downshift to 3rd and it almost needed 2nd. It was moving about 10 mph was the gas floored in 3rd.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Compression test

Look for bearing material in the oil

Look for coolant in the oil

Don't run it

When my 2F toasted the #5 rod bearing it sounded horrible but ran OK. It did loose some power.

Don't panic yet, it could just be in the valve train/head gasket, but as you say, it's life may be over.

 

[RockDoc]

Any recent work? Did your distributor slip? Could a carb/mixture issue give constant knock?

 

[Spike Strip]

As Drew lists, but if the Compression is good, and the knock seems to be coming from the bottom end, then you prolly have to pull the pan to check rod bearings.

 

[Zack1978]

Any recent work? Did your distributor slip? Could a carb/mixture issue give constant knock?

No nothing has been done to it in a while. I will look at the distributor.


Zack

 

[Benjaman]

Sounds like it could be electrical, but hard to say. I'd check the plugs, ignitor, coil and distributor.

GL.

 

[Zack1978]

Some like it could be electrical, but hard to say. I'd check the plugs, ignitor, coil and distributor.

GL.

Well I think it emanating from the engine, but I will check it further later.

 

[Zack1978]

The initial check of the oil and spark plug wires (both ends) turned up nothing abnormal. The oil was seemingly free of any metal, at least from the dipstick and it had a perfect golden brown color (the oil has about 800 miles on it). All the plug wires were tight and the dizzy is tight in the engine.

I had to move it last night and it started and ran but terribly. At idle it shakes very bad. And I think the exhaust seems to be emitting terrible smells.


Zack

 

[cruiserpilot]

Drain the oil and look for metal. Won't tell anything from just the dipstick.

 

[lcolon]

I would pull the pan and the valve cover and take a look - for piece of mind if nothing else and to eliminate any potential bearing/valve train issues.

 

[Southeast Overland]

When you drain the oil check the top of the drained oil for a metal shimmer, check the bottom of the drained oil for metal bits, and especially check the magnet on the drain plug for metal shavings or a royal ton of minute metal bits.

 

[Dynosoar]

Rod Knock? Don't drive it till you confirm its not the bottom end, or you may end up with a hole in the block. Does it make the noise at idle (no load) if yes, you are probably looking a a rebuild or replace.


Dyno

 

[Spike Strip]

 

[Zack1978]

Rod Knock? Don't drive it till you confirm its not the bottom end, or you may end up with a hole in the block. Does it make the noise at idle (no load) if yes, you are probably looking a a rebuild or replace.


Dyno

No, at idle it does not make any real noise at all......it just runs terrible.

Zack

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

check for a large-ish exhaust leak.....Hope that helps.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Get a compression and / or a leakdown test done. It sounds compression related to me if it won't run well at idle.

It may be something as simple as a burnt or sticking exhaust valve.

Have you checked the coolant yet? If not, then check it for the smell of fuel or oil, and obviously any discoloration due to oil mixing with the coolant.

 

[brian]

post a vid of it.

 

[Pighead]

It could be from any number of things. A compression test is the easiest thing to check. Take off the valve cover and look to see if your pushrods are still straight, rotate the engine by hand to see if all the rockers move...
I'm leaning towards head gasket, good luck.

 

[Zack1978]

It could be from any number of things. A compression test is the easiest thing to check. Take off the valve cover and look to see if your pushrods are still straight, rotate the engine by hand to see if all the rockers move...
I'm leaning towards head gasket, good luck.

Ok I will head to Sears to buy a compression tester. Now how do I use it? Should I do one cyl at a time? If so, do I leave all the plugs in except the cyl that I am testing? Do I pull all the plug wires or just the cyl that I am testing? Then once it is screwed into the cyl, how long should I crank the engine over? Will the pressure reading lock into he tester?

Sorry for all the questions, but I have never used one before.


Thanks,
Zack

 

[Zack1978]

post a vid of it.

I gotta figure how to do that first......must the video be posted on YouTube first?


Zack