Check compression, what else?

[deepsleep]

Okay so I'm at a crossroad. I want to check the condition of the engine to see if its worth modding. I want to check the condition of the engine.

1. What is the compression supposed to be for my 88 5.0 efi?

2. What other ways are there to check the engine?

[gadget73]

125 psi or better with all the plugs removed, a fully charged battery, and the throttle wide open, though I'd consider 140 or better to be good.

check the oil pressure, make sure it has some at idle when the motor is warmed up. If it doesn't, don't worry about it.

[jsawyer1181]

I'm not sure what the compression should be but I call tell you a few things to check the condition of the engine. First thing is how well does it run? Second check the usual (water in oil, or oil in water). Does it burn oil? Does it run smoothly? Also knowing the actual milage can be a difficult one, but if its below like 250k its usually ok. I wouldn't modify it if it has a load of miles on it. You don't want to put like NOS on a stock engine of any mileage. Also depends on what kind of mods you are wanting to do. The 5.0 will take a lot of a beating before it complains but it all depends on what you are wanting to do. Sometimes rebuilding would be a better option then you can put better aftermarket parts in it.

[gadget73]

actually a leakdown test is a more useful thing than a compression test. That will tell you the condition of the valves and rings. You'd need a leakdown tester for that, which requires an air compressor. If you don't have that stuff handy, compression test will do.