Shouldn't have gone thru rings that quickly....... wonder if they are just not packed with crap, and stuck... so, don't seal well... Maybe running some engine cleaner thru it may not be a bad plan. Not like you can screw it up worse.....

 

I'll try that, as you said it can't hurt. Still, and I admit I don't know much about this but if the compression check was good (125 PSI on each cylinder),how can the leakdown test still be so terrible? I'd think with 40-75% leakdown on 6 of the cylinders SOMETHING noticable would be going wrong. Massive oil consumption, low power, bad gas mileage...but the only problem I have is that hard start when it's been sitting around awhile.

 

Have you tried letting the key sit in the ON position for power for like 10-15 seconds then turning it on.

My 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee when its been sitting overnight or something needs the key to be sitting for 5-10 seconds before i crank it for it to start right up. Otherwise itll crank for like 4 seconds before it even starts.


I mentioned this on a Jeep forum and they told me the PCM was starting to go bad if its doing that. I dont think you need to go to such drastic measures as to rebuild the engine. If the temp didnt go over 220 or so i wouldnt even worry about it, if you cooked your engine from overheating it would be sounding like crap.. Like a really bad diesel engine.

Maybe you splatterd some antifreeze on the PCM and it goes inside messing it up. I would try a donar PCM to see if it fixes the problem. Maybe you can hook yours up to the PCM before you buy it so you know for sure its not your computer. Or maybe you got antifreeze on the sparkplug wires, or maybe in the plug sockets or something.. I would wash the entire engine bay out with a water hose to clean all that antifreeze off stuff. I dunno just a thought..

 

need to find out where the leakage was. thats some pretty serious leakage and should have been very easy to tell where it was coming out at .id ask for full report on what cylinders leaked down what percent exactly and where it was determined the damage is whether it was valves or piston rings .the answer you gave us i hope is not what they told you thats a pretty vague diag.id find a more reputable shop or tech to check it out.honestly with the numbers they gave you id think someone did not know how to do a proper leak down test.

 

Tried the whole key ON thing for 15 seconds before starting it, didn't seem to make any difference. Was worth a shot though. The engine didn't exceed 220 when the water pump went, but just beforehand (yeah, I've had some pretty awsome luck with the truck in the last two months...) the thermostat began to fail, and it nearly overheated a couple times before it finally released. The spark plug wires seem fine, the spark getting to the plugs seems hot and strong, as far as I've been able to tell. I suppose it's possible the PCM or some other sensor shorted out due to the coolant going everywhere, but I haven't been able to find what's bad fpr sure yet...no luck on finding a donar PCM either. Plug sockets look good too.

As far as the leakage, I never was able to talk to the mechanic at the dealership I went to, just some go-between guy who said they thought it was coming from the piston rings. I have the report from the dealership, but unfortunatly not on me. From memory though, the 'best' cylinder had 45% leakage and two cylinders had 90%. Like I said earlier I'm hardly a mechanic, but that seems pretty wierd for being an engine that runs fine and strong when it gets going, AND held 125 PSI on each cylinder during a compression test. I'm thinking the same thing, that the tech didn't know what he was doing. I'm taking it to a very highly recommended mechanic this weekend, and see what he says.

Putting aside the crazy leakdown test numbers, I'm seeing a couple things. Firstly, my oil spells strongly of gasoline. Could be from all the cranking I have to do to start the engine for all I know. Second, after getting the engine finally started the engine bay also smells strongly of gasoline. I almost wonder if the problem is, for whatever reason, the engine is getting too much gasoline. Either from a leaky injector(s), or from a sensor telling the PCM bad information. Any thoughts on this, and what sensor(s) might be faulty?

Thank you for all the responses so far everyone.

 

Coolant temp sensor would be my first guess, and yes, running excessively rich would wash down the cylinder walls, and your rings would not seal well.

The 125 PSI compression test really doesn't jibe well with the leakdown test results.....

 

Abit of an update, went back to the local parts store and ran their code reader once again...turns out the Coolant Temp Sensor was bad, and with the truck at operating temperature the sensor was reading -40 C. Replaced it after letting the truck cool off, started it up...and it started up on the first try, and strong too! Thought my problem was fixed, so I did an oil and filter change due to so much gasoline being in the oil, and drove her home.

Went out today to start it, and right back to the same thing where it just dosen't want to start. I'm totally at a loss. The only things I can think of now is either the PCM is bad, or a fuel injector is leaking....it might explain why after sitting overnight, it won't start. I'm so tired of this problem, ugh! Anyone have anymore thoughts?

 

Try stomping the pedal to the floor, and cranking it up after it sits. If that works. Need to do an injector leakdown test..... Got a fuel pressure gauge?

Check and see if the connector for the temp sensor is dirty. Bad connection will give bad readings. On a side note..... on the GM vehicles, the temp sensor would fail, (start leaking coolant) and the coolant would wick up the wiring harness, and trash the PCM.... Such fun.....

 

+1 on the leaky injector congrats on getting the coolant sensor squared away .now pull out all your injectors leave them connected to the rail and turn the key to the on position and look for the leaker you may need to replace some injector orings also as the tend to fall apart with age .

 

you could also try looking for the wet plug before cranking might get lucky that way