What's up guys, see if someone can give me ideas as to what to check.

Here's some details.

Exact mileage unknown, but at least 200k
What I've done/checked:

Valve adjustment, 2 times like 2 days apart to make sure I didn't miss something.

Valves Set to 9 on the intake, 10 for the exhaust.

Pulled tct and tried sanding the worm gear, re-installed and sounds the same, noise doesn't seem to be coming from the tensioner.

Dropped the oil pan, removed rod caps and inspected bearings, all look good. (should have looked at cylinder walls but it was late, cold, and I did this after a 14 hour shift at work so was a bit tired and just wanted to get it buttoned up).

Have checked compression 3 times, first time i got better results than the last, might have something to do with the valve adjustment.

Right now, with a warm engine these were the results.

Cyl 1- 150
Cyl 2- 100
Cyl 3- 140
Cyl 4- 135

I'm guessing there could be something goin on with Cylinder 2, scored wall, cracked ring/ringland, cracked piston skirt, maybe this is my ticking noise.

I've read about issues with Cylinder 4, and I've read comments by Billman250 about scored cylinders, damaged pistons, and unusually high compression in one cylinder.

Just want some ideas before I tear this thing apart.

Thanks guys.


https://youtu.be/u-FhMStl2hk

https://youtu.be/eF7YFnJPwXA

 

Pull the spark plugs so you can look down at the tops of pistons and down the cylinder walls and clock each cylinder so you can see as much as possible. Visibility is somewhat limited so you may not see anything to confirm suspicion, but you can see some portion and may see enough depending on where the possible damage might be.

 

I ordered a cheap endoscope to take a peek inside the cylinders, should arrive tomorrow. Will check it out tomorrow evening and let you know what I find out.

Also looking at different options, as I feel something in the engine is ****ed.

Looking at either boring and going with oversized pistons, or having the block sleeved.

Not really looking to spend $3k plus for an engine