I have a 1994 ext cab 4x4 pickup with 150k on it. It's a new to me truck that's in quite good shape, but burns a bit of oil. I go through about a quart every 700 miles, blue smoke on startup. I did a compression test and got about 180 psi on all cylinders except for number 2. Number 2 was at 150 psi, so I did a wet test on it and it read 180 psi. This makes me think I have a bad ring, right? What I'm trying to figure out is if this will pose a reliability risk for the motor. I'm about to leave for a 6500 mile road trip, home to Alaska. My fear is that the ring is cracked or broken and that it will seize up a cylinder or cause some form of catastrophic failure half way through Canada, where this time of year is cold, everything is closed, and there is little to no infrastructure for getting parts. Can I get away with just rolling with it? Is that a bad idea? Should I re-ring the motor? I don't want to put too much work into the motor because a mercedes diesel swap will happen sooner rather than later. Just doing the diesel swap now is kind of an option, but I'm not quite set on that either. Any commentary, advice, and opinions are happily welcomed. Thanks in advance!

 

I'd run it if the truck maintanance is up to snuff otherwise.

150 is still good compression. Broken ring. or rings. would likely show worse.

Run a little Marvel Mystery oil, or similar solvent dope with your motor oil for a bit, maybe you have stuck rings that might be freed.
You are burning quite a bit of oil for such low miles. No aparrent leaks??

 

No apparent leaks. Definite blue smoke, seems to get better as it warms up. the exhaust smells a bit oily too, and exhaust is pretty sooty. I've put marvel in the oil a few weeks ago as well as letting it sit in the bad cylinder (put in thru spark plug hole). Tried the ole italian tune up a bit too, to no avail.

 

A little follow up.... Input would still be greatly appreciated. I got the truck pretty loaded down, left the 22re in it, and have been getting along quite sluggishly. I'm pulling bigger hills in Arizona at about 40mph in 3rd gear. Getting about 15 mpg. Is there anything worth trying to do to improve this, or is this normal. On the interstate, especially at any altitude I can barely hold 60 mph. I have a bit too tall of a camper shell, so my windage got much worse, I also have a pretty heavy load. Maybe my cat is plugged from burning oil? Maybe I need to clean my intake out? Any ideas?

 

If the camper shell is that big and heavy, that might be right. Some passes here I can pull empty in 4th gear at 60 MPH, some steeper ones 3rd gear around 60, that's about 4000 rpm in 3rd. These 22RE's are only making I think 115 HP. Also I'm assuming you have a manual tranny.