Just bought an 88' Mighty Max

[Noob]

Hello all,

I just bought an 88' Mighty Max. I have a lot to learn and am excited to be here. My truck needs plenty of work and I'm not even YouTube certified yet, so thanks in advance for the help.

The most concerning issue I see so far is quite a bit of oil leaking. A small amount appears to be coming from the valve cover gasket and a bit more seems to be coming from the oil pan area. What do you think I should do to fix this? Engine rebuild kit (gaskets)? If so, do you think this is something a beginner could undertake with basic tools?

Best Regards,
Dan

[Noob]

Also, is there any quick/easy test to see if all 4 pistons are firing? Seems a bit underpowered currently, but im not sure.

[xboxrox]

Welcome here Noob Dan ~ my truck has the 2.6L engine which had a leaking valve cover gasket ~ best fix was NOT USING any SILICONE GASKET SEALER but just using ONLY A NEW GASKET

Another oil leak started at the front crankshaft seal because the PCV valve was plugged ~ a new PCV valve should fix it & if not replacing that seal is easy enuff for a Noob to accomplish ~ the PCV valve is screwed into the top front of the valve cover

The oil pan bolts could be checked for tightness ~ be gentle they don't need a ton of torque

Good Luck & Enjoy your new truck

[Noob]

A buddy of mine told me to pour/spray water on the exhaust manifold to see if each one evaporates at the same rate. When I tested his method, the water evaporated at the same rate across all four.

[Noob]

Thanks for the pointers xboxrox. I'll dig into that stuff soon this week. I'm also going to be starting some of the "new owner" tasks found on this site.

[camoit]

No silicone on the valve cover. Except in the half moon corners.
As for the oil pan. Silicone is all you need.
For power start with replacing the fuel filter. It's behind the cab on the frame rail. It can be a pain but it's not to hard if you jack up the rear. Then you can sit up under the bed in front of the tank.

[geezer101]

Hi and welcome to mightyram. The G63B engine is a forgiving engine to work on - pretty simple. You won't need any specialised tools like a torque wrench until you need to dive into the engine for a head gasket or rings/bearings etc. The biggest bolt you will ever tackle will be the crank pulley bolt but most basic metric socket and combo wrench kits will be sufficient.