Had to change the oil pan gasket on my 5.2 the other day and wanted to take a look in the motor while it was off. Turning the motor over by hand it seems like i can hear compression leaking by the rings. is this normal when turning it over like this or is it time to freshen her up a bit? She has 113,000 miles. If its time to tear it down can i get away with just rings, i figure a set of pistons is anywhere from $400 to $750 or so. if its apart i figured i bring the head to school and deck them a few thou or maybe more to get a little more compression (it's kinda low from the factory isn't it?)

Any advice or information is greatly appreciated!!

Justin

 

Some blowby is normal. The rings don't seal perfectly. Best bet is to do a compression test once the engine is back together.

The decks on the stock heads were thin to begin with, shaving them is only going to make it worse.......

 

what would be the best way to bump compression up a little bit?

 

WHOA, decking heads to bump compression on an engine with BLOW BY is NOT a way to restore compression. It will increase the blow by and you will find that your timing chain cover, oil pan, and main seals will leak. Basically you will ruin your engine.

Trust mme, I know. I put 62 CC Twisted Wedge heads on my SBC 350 that had some piston wear and I had blue smoke. Both from the tailpipe and from oil leaking from the main/oilpan/timinc chain cover and hitting the headers/exhaust.

DO a compression test. If you have low compression, it will always stay low no matter what CC heads you have.

 

no no lol, im not saying cut heads to fix the problem, im saying do that while i have the heads off to put in new rings. if im in there to freshen it up a bit why not do a little work adn get a few more ponies. As it sits ive got pace setter headers hi flow cat and no mufflers. Thinking about making a CAI with a dakota intake and some 4" ss tubing.

 

you would not need the SS tubing. the dakota tubes are already there. Besides, the dakota air hat has a rectangular scoop. YOu won't get a tight seal on it with 4" round tubing.