Ford F-150 - 1997-2003 :: 1998 4.2 V6 - Low Compression Cylinder 2

Got myself into a tight situation with a truck I recently purchased and seeing if any of you have experienced the same thing or know what may be going on. I bought a 1998 F-150 with 213,000 miles and a 4.2 engine. When I test drove the truck it had a small chugging vibration, for lack of a better term, but the check engine light was not on and it seemed to run great while driving. No problem at highway speeds nor below.

On my way home the check engine light turned on which turned into a blinking check engine light and I knew I had been taken by a person with a diagnostic computer who cleared the codes. He made a comment about it turning on before but his "buddy" fixed the issue but I took his word because he seemed like a decent person.

I took it to a local shop and, if I remember correctly, error code 302 came up for misfire on cylinder #2. He changed the plugs and wires and it seemed to run a lot better. About 5 miles later on my way home the check engine light turned back on, but it still seemed to run smoothly by the time I got home.

The next day I took it back to him and this time we got the same error code plus (again going of my poor memory) error 174 which he said was cylinder #2 running lean. Earlier today he called and said he checked over everything and couldn't figure out anything wrong until he checked the compression. He said the other 5 cylinders were around 130 psi and cylinder #2 was at 75 psi.

Now this mechanic runs more of a brake and exhaust shop so his next statements are why I'm coming to all of you for your opinions.

He said the cylinder was shot and everything inside was shot including the piston, rings, and everything else associated with #2. (I don't think he got in there to really check it out) After scouring the forums I hear more people talk about the valves may not be sealing correctly and what sound to me, to be smaller issues than the entire #2 cylinder being toast.

I'm not sure if I am going to go after the person who sold it to me or not yet but I would like to see what others may think is going on before I light this guy up. I plan on taking it to a more proficient mechanic to do the work, if deemed worthy of work, but would like to kmow where I stand.