diesel 2.8 help with compression

Luggy,
Be wary could be more than compression. Take all the glow plugs or the injectors out and try to turn the engine again to make sure it isn't something else that is tight. If it's a reco and hasn't run could be valve timing or a multitude of other things. Hard to diagnose over the net.

Thanks Martyn, I did try taking the glow plugs out and it turned over O.K without any resistance and plenty of air came out the plug holes but once back in, it became very hard to turn over,checked the timing on the front, everything is in line could it have anything to do with the injectors, injector pump timing is O.K (checked)

any chance you can get hold of a compression tester ? - is it also possible that the starter motor is getting lazy ? perhaps battery also ? maybe even main electrical leads to battery ? a continuety test will not show a break down in leads - do you have an amp meter ? sorry for all the questions , often the problem is not what you would first think

Frank