2004 crew cab with 86,400 mi. 2yrs ago water pump went, replaced at dealer, said no engine damage.

Week ago check engine light came on reading said cyl#1 missing.
When cold start white smoke came out.
Took to dealership started to overheat on way. (Never past 3/4 on guage)
Dealer told me compression on cyl.#1 was half what it should be.
Wants more money to tear into it further to see if need new engine.

My question is this...Is there anything that could be wrong to cause this that WOULDNT need a new engine to fix?

Any advice or opinion greatly appreciated.

Dealer said he thinks about 4-5 thousand for new engine.

 

White smoke is water, so your head is leaking water into the cyls...

Bad compression is not a good sign...but they could be leading you down yellow brick road.

Take it somewhere else to get a 2nd check on the compression. That way you can be sure a simple head gasket replacement wont do you any good. Though either way removing the heads will allow you to inspect up close whats going on and let you know if a valve is sticking, ring/wall damage, etc.

Thats what they should do first, pull your heads..so doesnt seem like they are lying. Still id get a 2nd check on the compression numbers or just ask to be present when they do the test, so that way you have a baseline and avoid the bamboozle.

Either way since you didnt mention crazy knocking just smoke cross your fingers for just a leaky gasket. That should include a rehone of the mating surfaces, or at the very least verify they are straight.

 

fatherfish, you didn't mention which engine package you have. Making a general "guess" is about the best that can happen.

 

have a leak down test done, that will confirm where the problem is inside the engine without tearing it apart, and might save you a lot of money.

If a headgasket fails in the right place near a cylinder it will cause a loss of compression in that cylinder...

Just my $.02 let us know.

 

If its just a blown head gasket and the head is not warped then its certainly repairable. It might be cheaper through an independent shop but the dealership can do it. Now do you just want to spend the money just to replace the head gasket instead of a complete rebuild is something you have to decide. Ask the dealership how much to replacement the head gasket. I had a complete rebuild done including removal and installation for $4200 for the HEMI.

 

If it were mine, I would pull the heads myself and check my valves and have everything checked by a machine shop. If all checked out fine, then start looking at piston rings

 

Leakdown test was done and found bad valve stem seat.
So going to pull head and hope thats all thats wrong.

 

I'm gonna pay myself on the back... I think I just saved you a good amount of $$$$ there no? lol

I except Beer, Checks, and Money Orders as payment.. lol