I did a compression test last night on my 97 B18C1 and I have a question for all you engine gurus. I didn’t know about having the throttle open (makes complete sense but didn’t occur to me) so the #’s are rather low, 170 to 175 psi across all cylinders. All the readings were virtually identical, I’d say less than 3 psi difference between them (which is a good thing) but I’m worried about the low numbers.

Would having the throttle plate closed make that much of a difference? I’m going to re-do the test the correct way this evening but right now I’m all freaked out that my engine is about to die.

P.S. The reason for the test is that I’m using an abnormal amount of oil. I suspect (hope) that it’s just leaking out from the oil pan gasket, there is no smoke from the tailpipe but it has been known to blow a little smoke on hard acceleration.

Thanks!

Mike