depree
9th May 2015, 09:28 PM
Hello :)
In case you haven't seen my introduction, my name is Craig, I hail from Hamilton over in NZ. Im just looking at purchasing my first 4wd and ive decided it will be a GQ LWB, manual - would be great to get factory turbo, however these seem to be exceptionally rare in NZ. I am currently looking at one, a 1988 safari with 288k on the clock (see trademe link below) - in very good condition inside and out, I had it checked out (since it is in the south island, and im in the North), and the condition has been independently verified. For peace of mind, I also had compression test done, and it yielded the following:
1 – 280, 2 – 290, 3 – 310, 4 – 320, 5 – 310, 6 - 300 psi
The mechanic indicated these were pretty good, and confirmed the vehicle is pretty much tip top - starts/drives very well and is very good condition cosmetically and mechanically.It was only afterwards when I search typical value that I found these are well below the minimum of 356 psi, let alone the standard of 427psi :( however, they are within the maximum difference of 43 psi.
I have the garage that inspect the truck, the owner and another mechanic that does the owners servicing all saying the truck is in very good condition (ie starts first time every time, even during Christchurch winters) , uses no oil / water , air filter dry (ie no oil) - so am I placing too much emphasis on the absolute values of the compression test ? Owner has service book of 5000 km filter oil changes going back the 17 years he has owned it . in addition, I spoke another mechanic he said if the compression were 280 psi - the vehicle would be a right dog and smoke on start up (he basically said it would be f*&ked (his language) if those were true compression values).
so this is where I ask for help - are the values wrong (is it common for compression to be read low? - he asks optimistically), ie with those compressions it is not possible for a TD42 to run nicely as people are telling me? is the important thing that the relative agreement across the 6 cylinders is within 'spec' ? should I retest? or cut my losses and walk away -already spent about $250 checking this out :( if I retest, is compression all I need to do - I assume leak down is when trying to track source of problem ? in which case, I would walk away, ie I don't want to buy something that has issues from the get go.
I just want to do the right things to ensure I get the right truck - and at the same time, not walk away from a good truck on account of some potentially misleading compressions.
if interested, vehicle link on trademe.co.nz
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=868416850
thanking you advance for any help / advice / wisdom you might be able to offer this newbie (but appreciative) New Zealander :)
Craig
In case you haven't seen my introduction, my name is Craig, I hail from Hamilton over in NZ. Im just looking at purchasing my first 4wd and ive decided it will be a GQ LWB, manual - would be great to get factory turbo, however these seem to be exceptionally rare in NZ. I am currently looking at one, a 1988 safari with 288k on the clock (see trademe link below) - in very good condition inside and out, I had it checked out (since it is in the south island, and im in the North), and the condition has been independently verified. For peace of mind, I also had compression test done, and it yielded the following:
1 – 280, 2 – 290, 3 – 310, 4 – 320, 5 – 310, 6 - 300 psi
The mechanic indicated these were pretty good, and confirmed the vehicle is pretty much tip top - starts/drives very well and is very good condition cosmetically and mechanically.It was only afterwards when I search typical value that I found these are well below the minimum of 356 psi, let alone the standard of 427psi :( however, they are within the maximum difference of 43 psi.
I have the garage that inspect the truck, the owner and another mechanic that does the owners servicing all saying the truck is in very good condition (ie starts first time every time, even during Christchurch winters) , uses no oil / water , air filter dry (ie no oil) - so am I placing too much emphasis on the absolute values of the compression test ? Owner has service book of 5000 km filter oil changes going back the 17 years he has owned it . in addition, I spoke another mechanic he said if the compression were 280 psi - the vehicle would be a right dog and smoke on start up (he basically said it would be f*&ked (his language) if those were true compression values).
so this is where I ask for help - are the values wrong (is it common for compression to be read low? - he asks optimistically), ie with those compressions it is not possible for a TD42 to run nicely as people are telling me? is the important thing that the relative agreement across the 6 cylinders is within 'spec' ? should I retest? or cut my losses and walk away -already spent about $250 checking this out :( if I retest, is compression all I need to do - I assume leak down is when trying to track source of problem ? in which case, I would walk away, ie I don't want to buy something that has issues from the get go.
I just want to do the right things to ensure I get the right truck - and at the same time, not walk away from a good truck on account of some potentially misleading compressions.
if interested, vehicle link on trademe.co.nz
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=868416850
thanking you advance for any help / advice / wisdom you might be able to offer this newbie (but appreciative) New Zealander :)
Craig