Now before I got caught up with the dodge I had pulled the engine apart to try to fix a really bad smoke issue. It would smoke nearly all the time. Looked like oil but smelled like burnt diesel. I was thinking it was either worn out or stuck oil rings. I knew the engine had not exactly had a nice life before I bought it and it did sit for 3 years without turning over.
Got it apart and the bores looked damn good. No stuck oil rings but two sticky lower compression rings.
The verdict? probably not the source of smoke.
I re ringed it anyways since it was apart and put new rod bearings in. Cut the pistons as well to help it live with compounds. ( The real motivation behind opening it up)
Before
After
Used a router with a flush trim bit and a 1/8th radius bit. Not exactly precision machine work but this isn't where it needs to be precise, just repeatable.
Sprayed the block with JD green. Really wish I had went with CAT yellow or something else. Trucks gonna look like a Christmas tree when I paint it red...
So yeah, thats about where Its at right now. Gonna get the dodge on the road then drop the engine back in the ranger before winter so its mobile again park it for a good while and just enjoy a few months of winter where I can go sledding without feeling guilty about unfinished projects.
And the best thing? It would appear that when I swapped from a msa15 ecu to a edc15 ecu and switched over the pump top I flipped the two wires going to the advance solenoid...
If I had caught that first I probably wouldn't have had to tear apart the engine.