cylinder problems

[Flatout]

Got hit with the bad new the other day had my car get a once over. Mechanic tested the cylinder the front 3 read 130psi when the engine was hot, the forth closet the cabin was only reading 90psi.
He poured in a cap of oil at tested it again and it read 115psi.
He then proceed to tell me that the cylinder must be scored and that probably needs a full engine rebuild which would run at about 2-3k I don’t have that kind of money to do it.
Wondering what psi the cylinders should have and is an engine rebuilds definitely the answer. Its not just a damaged gasket or injector. I know the gasket on the manifold is starting to blow a bit and will need changing.
If it is the case that my cylinder is damaged and i need a new one. Which is best do i get a new engine which might end up having the same problem in time or do I spend the extra few pound and get the engine fully overhauled then at least i know where i stand.
My car runs standard boost and only has a few mods fmic induction kit etc...
Any advice would be great as i am really frustrated i only brought it in for a service and then got this news. Also he hooked it up to a pc when idling its running rich and throttle on its running lean. Cant get it remapped either cause of the cylinder problem.... :annoyed::annoyed::annoyed:
What should i do


thanks for any help:thumbs:

 

[Flatout]

no one with any ideas.???

quick question when doing about 120km my rpm is at 3000
just wondering how that compares to other peoples. im thinking if the compression is bad on one cylinder that i should now need a higher rpm to get up to a certain speed,
so some one might have a look next time " its just purely out of interest is all its not going to make any difference to fixing my problem"

 

[slammedmind]

Hows the car running with the cylinder down on compression?

What ecu/management are you using?

Has anything happened that could have caused damage to the cylinder?

 

[Flatout]

Running a standard ecu.
Have an apexi ecu and a blitz sbc color boost controller sitting in my bed room cant install it till i get cylinder problem fixed.

months back i had a failing coil pack off and on was very intermittent when it finally gave way i got a new one(had alot of trouble finding one)
car seemed to be running fine but lately i noticed black smoke when i gave it the boot plus started to miss fire slightly. cylinder where compression is down the plug was blackened so replaced all 4. Running well since seem to be plenty of power still there, but im afraid of blowing my engine now.
Think it might be starting to burn a drop of coolant but still only monitoring that now!!!!!
been chatting a few mechaincs one says i might be lucky to only have a damaged valve. so take the head off and check it and if it is replace all four and then skim the head and jobs a good`en
Another says could be a number of things and to go through the motions and try and solve it.
Aonther says just be done with it and have the engine rebuilt then you have a great engine that can take alot more horse power and pretty much anything thrown at it. but thats not going to be cheap and where would i get it done.
Another says sell it casue chances are the guy sold it to me knew about it and off holded the problem, but i wouldnt feel right doing that to someone.

 

[StarletRick]

have you looked at it? or just done a comp test?

if your mechanic is telling you its a 3k rebuild without even taking the head off, id walk away. it sounds like the rings are on their way out (if it was valves the oil wouldnt have dont anything), which will be a few hundred quid to fix.

 

[ichi-go]

Is it blowing blue smoke? If it isn't, then the rings are not gone...

Sounds like your 'mechanic' is trying to bring you for a joyride

It's normal for the stock mapping to run lean when coming on boost and it will run rich when it's up top... and blowing black smoke when u boot it is normal, as said, on top of the rev range, it's tuned from factory to run rich

 

[Flatout]

He compression tested it and like I said 3 cylinders are reading 130psi and the fourth only reading 90 so there is a problem in the fourth cylinder.
Is 130 psi a normal reading, he was saying it shoud be closer to 150
Now he didn’t leak test the cylinder though. Chatting another guy who is a hour and half drive from me told me that he has a camera he can put into the cylinder and have a look about..
Is that any good would ya see much??
So there is definitely a problem there, in fairness to the guy he was giving me the worst case scenario.
No its black smoke well think it is hard to tell when looking in my rear view mirror and tinned back windows .

 

[way2fastforu]

if u could bring the car to the guy wit the snake camera do!!if its a damaged valve u should be able to see it wit the camera

 

[ssshonky]

StarletRick is right - if it was a valve the oil would have made no difference. IMHO its the rings.

if u could bring the car to the guy wit the snake camera do!!if its a damaged valve u should be able to see it wit the camera

 

[Flatout]

i put in new plugs friday and put up about 200 r so miles and checked the plug last night and the one with the cylinder problem was black, black others where fine.
Also let the car warm up and gave it a few good rev`s on the red line there is black smoke form her not blue.
So if its not the valves and is the rings can they be changed handy enough and what kind of price tag are we talking.
will this have any knock on effects by that i mean if i get the rings done can i then go back to plan A and get car remapped and up the boost

 

[ichi-go]

Normally it's hard to say if 130psi is good or not for your engine, as the testing procedures are different, rule of thumb is as long as the compression is steady across the board, that should be alright

But in your case, it looks like the last cylinder is having problems, you said it might be head gasket?? Normally if the rings are gone, you will see heaps of blue smoke whether you boot it or idle

 

[StarletRick]

if the headgasket is gone enough to drop compression you'd be having some serious water issues.

the only real way to figure it out is to pop the head off and have a look.

it doesnt take long to do, youll have it off and back on again within a few hours.

 

[Flatout]

Never said it was head gasket be nice if it was be a quick fix, it does seem to be using a bit of coolant not a mad amount but dropping slightly all the same.

A few mixed theories there, people saying it is and isn’t the rings. Their is definitely no blue smoke. And only black when I gave it the full boot and it back fires when letting off. But having only 90psi on a warm engine to me sounds very bad.
If I take off the coil pack while idling there is dam all difference to the sound of the engine UNLESS I rev it then the engine noise is very different.
But if I take off any of the front cylinders while idling there is a great sound difference even without revving.
Ive taken it to one mechanic that told me the problems is there. Now I want to know what’s the next step do I just get a mechanic to take the head off it, r do I go with the snake camera down the cylinder or do I get it compression tested. I don’t want to spend a fortune doing different steps to end up then having to spend another small fortune fixing it or going down the line of an engine rebuild. If its something I should have just done form day one.
Ive been taking to a guy in burr in offaly, barry “something” told by martin tracy of westmeath engineering that he’s good. He’s the guy has the camera snake.
Thing is its an hour half drive there and its my every day car so confused what to do.
Has anyone had this problem and what did they do.??
Cheers lads for the input always a help having other peoples opinion.

 

[slammedmind]

If martin tracey recommends him then id go with that to be honest. Rather take the car to someone that knows what theyre doing rather then some cowboy thats a dealership mechanic.