Hey all,
Got a little problem I could use some advise on. I have a 79 Dodge D100 with a /6 that wa rebuilt about 40k miles ago. I had the truck sit idle for about a year or two only driving once or twice a week around town. Then one day I get the bright idea to use the truck to drive back and forth to OKC from KC (about 320 miles each way) every week. The miles racked up and I neglected to adjust the valve lash
until I noticed the misfire and by it was too late. Ran a compression check and number one rang in at 0 lbs. I adjusted all of the valves and rechecked the compression, 2 through five were fine but number one never went over 70 lbs. Now I notice that when the engine is cool it runs fairly smooth but when it warms up that number one is a completely dead hole. That leaves me with two options: I can pull the head and have it repaired at a machine shop or purchase a new or remanufactured head.My questions are as follows:
1. Considering the engine is completely stock, is there a better aftermarket head or a company that sells upgraded heads that would make a difference considering the price? Buying the head also helps me out in that I don't have the truck out of commision while I wait a week to get the head back from the machine shop.
2. Assuming the valve is burned up and of course that makes the truck sluggish and inefficient, I am of the mind that all the damage that is going to be done has been done and I contiue to drive it as is. Should I be concerned about pounding this truck for over 600 miles a weekend only running on five cylinders? My biggest concern would be somehow damaging the piston or rings but I can't see how that could happen when there is no fire in the hole...thoughts?
Thanks
