I recently had a compression check done on my '94 ex and it was about 90 pounds. When the garage checked there records they said it should be between 135 to 170. There is no smoke from the tailpipe so i don't think that it needs rings. Does anyone have any ideas what could cause this? Thanks.

 

head.gasket?

 

ooouch...

 

its leakdown time...

 

maybe you did it wrong.. first time i did it i forgot to fully open throttle, also getting 165 all 4

 

I didn't do it. I had a garage do it. I didn't have the tools.

 

what are your symptoms??? maybe that could help us to help you

 

No real symptoms. Just when I bought the car it had alot of miles(175k) and I proceeded to do the essentials: Timing belt, compression check, plugs, etc. When the check was done it came up short and I thought that I would check on the all mighty H-T to find answers.

 

if you trust the shop who did the work.. i'd ask for a leakdown test. if the head gasket is good (which it probobly is if all cyls had fairly simular compression results) you will know right quick if the rings are in question. as someone earlier posted god knows if they did the test right you know??? hard to say without doing it ourselves.

175k is a few miles esp if you didnt own the car, god knows what oil they ran in the car etc...


[Modified by GimpyAccord, 2:00 AM 9/4/2002]

 

Hmm...something sounds kinda fishy there. If there's not any symptoms (no smoke, no loss of coolant, no chocolate milk oil, and it's still running fine) I'd try taking it to another garage (pref. one you trust or have been to before) and have them do a compression test, or buy a gauge and do it yourself so you know for sure (not that expensive). Unless it overheated pretty bad or the previous owner ran the timing waaaay advanced or something, it "shouldn't" be needing a headgasket or have low compression @ 175k

 

 

how much does a compression check and leakdown test normall run..?

 

wouldnt you have nasty booty for power with 90lbs for compression.

 

well i own all the tools to do both... but i figure a reputable shop would charge maybe 1-1.5 hours of labor to perform these??? maybe it would fall under some lame diagnostic charge

 

compression check takes about 10 minutes...

not sure whats involved with a leakdown test

i would also think 90 psi compression would just feel dog slow

 

its a 10 min job too

I quote this from a good friend on a Ford board:

, basically a leakdown test involes removing the spark plug and installing a fitting that allows a metered flow of compressed air into the cylinder ala compresion test. You place the cylinder at TDC (compression stroke) and see what the rate of air loss is when pressurized to some fixed value.

The primary advantage is that this test is more precise than a conventional compression test, since compression readings can vary quite a bit due to the cranking efficiency (you get much lower readings with a weak battery or starter). This accuracy allows the leakdown test to better indicate general engine wear, as opposed to just detecting serious problems.

Another advantage to the leakdown test is that you can listen for
where the air is escaping and better determine exactly where the
problem is. If you hear (or feel) air flow in the intake then an
intake valve is bad, or if you sense air flow out the oil breather
then rings/piston are bad, etc. You also might be able to tell if a
head gasket is bad by detecting air bubbles in the coolant or air
comming out the spark plug opening of an adjacent cylinder. A compression
test may not pin-point some of these problems as well (e.g. if adding
the teaspoon of oil doesn't improve compression much, it doesn't
necessarily mean the valves are bad, as it could be a holed piston).

A disadvantage of a leakdown test is that it is static, that is the
piston and valves do not move. A valve may occassionally seat ok for
a leakdown test even though its guide is badly worn, but a compression
test will stand a better chance of detecting this problem since the valve
is required to open and close several times. Also, there might exist
scoring or other damage on the lower portion of the bore where the
piston won't be during a leakdown test.

Usually if you go to the trouble of performing a leakdown test, you will have also performed a compression test, and between the two you should be able to clearly diagnose any internal engine problem. Of course if you have determined that you have a significant engine problem using a compression test, learning more specifics about the exact problem by performing a leakdown test may not help much, since you probably have to remove the head anyway.

 

I don't know how slow dog slow is considering that this the first Honda that I have ever rode or drove. I'm just trying to check everything that I can to make it as dependable as possible.

 

if it aint broke dont fix it

but 90 does suck

 

ehh in your siggy? dont you have two accords? they should feel about the same.. eh and with 90 pounds i still think youd be dirty booty slow.

 

I really couldn't tell you what the new one is like considering i have only driven it once due to it is the wifes car, and no-one drives her car but her. Just never drove hers like I do mine so I really can't compare.


[Modified by Ahab, 2:46 PM 9/4/2002]

 

wha? what kinda deal is that? the wifes car your driving it for comparison kinda messed up i think even if yall dont drive each others cars for the sake of the longletivety and life of your car you should be able to compare the thing hell even if you were riding you should notice a difference in power.