04-21-2015, 05:40 AM
Hello fellow Sidekick/Tracker friends. Long story short, bought Tracker from lady who ran the car hot, car died and she suspected blown engine. I pulled the head and had it shaved and tested. Installed head/gasket, new water pump, timing belt, SP wires. Could not get her to fire up. Best compression in cylinder #1 & 4 at 170 but #2 & 3 never got above 90. Concluded engine trouble in the pistons, rings, etc. So, called it a loss and purchased a used engine from SWEngines and expect to receive it by the end of the month. They advertise an engine with <73K miles. See a lot of unhappy customer posts on the web so am hoping for the best. Anyway, I'm contemplating replacing ALL of the engine seals and gaskets before I put the engine in the car as this would be the opportune time. I'm reasonably mechanically inclined but given the fact it makes my head hurt to tread the "timing" section of this forum, I'm not sure I should gamble on the seals/gaskets. Any suggestions as to how to do the seal/gasket replacement without risking messing the timing up?