here's my problem:

build up:
2.0L GSR block/golden eagle sleeves, golden eagle rods, JE or WISECO pistones ( i actually can't
remember right now ), 9:1 CR
GSR head, square port, ferrea valves, portflow springs, crower retainers, GSR cams

problems:

when friend owned the motor:
engine was fine, started losing compression at random amounts. example:
new = 185/185/185/185
after driving a bit = 160/180/175/160 <-- not accurate, just an example.

had head check out. had one bent valve on two cylinders. lots of nasty, black, sticky oily
"junk" everywhere. even coming out the exhaust ports and on the plugs. valves coated in it.
fixed. put back on.

SAME thing happened (compression change).

had engine builder come up from LA and re-ringed the bottom end. also had head re-checked/cleaned.
changed out valve seals/guides. resurfaced head.

same thing happened.

had head checked again. found out that ONE cylinder had valve springs that were about 30% more
stiff than the others. fixed. checked for bent valves, reinstalled.

i got the motor.

installed head onto block with GE headgasket ( as we always do ) + copper spray.
like an idiot, i poured some oil into a few places for startup BEFORE torquing the head down.
this
resulted in some oil leaking between the head/block. yes, i know. no need to say it. before
tearing
motor apart again, called engine builder. he said it should still be okay. sooo... i torqued the
head down to ARP's specs, but NOT sure i added 5ftlbs or torque for the 3" extension i used, nor
can i remember if i used a deep socket.
ran motor for a few minutes and took for a little drive. tune is off. 14.5:1 a/f at part throttle.
good enough 'till my tune. come back, run a compression check: 185/180+/185/185. then did a leak
down and had >=5% on all four. i was stoked.

drove the car a couple days, did a leakdown and had exactly 85% leakdown on ALL cylinders. WTF??
if i remember correctly:
* heard air moving in exhaust on all four cylinders. not really coming out, i could just hear
"something"
*i could hear quite a bit from the TB from cylinders 1, for sure and 4, i think.
never got bubbles in the radiator
*there were two cylinders that i could hear air coming out. when i did one, i heard air out of the
other and vise versa. i only know that the cylinders were NOT next to each other
i have the results at home and will post them when i get there. sorry for
not have the info now.
*i don't think i ever heard air coming from the oil filler hole and i think i forgot to check the
dipstick tube, though the stick was out. yes, i'm a dipstick.

that's all i can remember off the top of my head. again, sorry for not having the results with me,
but i'll post them later if they are different than listed above.

so...

if it were rings, then why is compression/leakdown fine everytime we remove/install the head? if
headgasket, then why do two, non-adjacent cylinders leak into each other? if head? then why do
we not find anything wrong with it?
could it be a warped deck? i know the head has be resurfaced at LEAST once.

we have been messing with this engine for nearly a year now. we have $1000s into it and refuse to
give up. the engine builder is stumped, every builder/tuner we know is stumped. i don't know what
else to do.

anyone have an idea?

 

Has the block been checked out for cracks and such? I know you said the head had been checked out but has it been checked for cracks? Whats the possibility that the sleeves sunk?

 

sleeves could be a possibility, i suppose... maybe everything seals fine, then when i go to drive it and the headgasket settles, that's when the compression drops?

we're confused because EVERY TIME we freshen up the head compression/leakdown is PERFECT... untill i drive it for a couple days.

 

engine builder is saying maybe i dropped a sleeve. does that sound possible? anyone??

 

thats my guess, hear that happens rarely tho

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RIJMNT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thats my guess, hear that happens rarely tho</TD></TR></TABLE>

true. but you don't know my luck....

 

looks like this motor is just jinxed to begin with...id say start with a fresh set-up and hope for the best...

 

who did the bottom end for you?

 

Sounds like you need a different engine builder. Who built it for you?

 

It is hard to figure out what is going on when you are not even sure what pistons you have. One thing for sure, it is not good to be driving on a bad tune-up. 14.7 is too lean. Bring your short block, head, camshafts and head gasket to my shop in anaheim and I will figure out your problem for free.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by earl &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It is hard to figure out what is going on when you are not even sure what pistons you have. One thing for sure, it is not good to be driving on a bad tune-up. 14.7 is too lean. Bring your short block, head, camshafts and head gasket to my shop in anaheim and I will figure out your problem for free.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i know the c/r (9:1) of the pistons, they are Wisecos. i'd like to take
you up on your offer, but the guy that built the motor for me is going
to check it out AND redo what needs to be done for free. i don't wanna
spend any more money he's come up to Fresno from LA to re-ring
the bottom end. he's willing to check the the whole thing for free and
fix for free. i can't beat that. he's even going to drive it arond for
a couple days to make sure it's right. we're all stumped and he's been
more than helpful, when i can get ahold of him haha.

i don't want to say who built it yet. i want to be sure what happens
first. i'll just say that the guy is trying. we can only do so much when
he's four hours south of me.

it's frusterating.. all this money and i still have no car to drive.
when we figure out what's wrong i'll post it. maybe we'll soon have
an solution the the mystery....

i agree with the above post: it's cursed. i'd love to start over, but
i don't have another $5000

 

What's up Jay? I'm sorry to hear about your motor. I hope you guys can get it figured out. Good Luck and keep us all updated

 

The only thing that I noticed that wasn't mentioned was valve lash adjustments.Did you adjust the valves after installing the head and after replacing the two bent valves?It will lose compression if you don't adjust the valve lash right.Maybe that's why you are hearing exhaust gases escaping.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TurboC53_4g63T &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The only thing that I noticed that wasn't mentioned was valve lash adjustments.Did you adjust the valves after installing the head and after replacing the two bent valves?It will lose compression if you don't adjust the valve lash right.Maybe that's why you are hearing exhaust gases escaping.</TD></TR></TABLE>

adjusting the valves is a given. i didn't mention it. i forgot. we do it out of habit. yes, the valves are always adjusted at 6/8

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EVOLMTR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What's up Jay? I'm sorry to hear about your motor. I hope you guys can get it figured out. Good Luck and keep us all updated</TD></TR></TABLE>

me too. i basically sold my stock motor and gave robert the money.. so kinda' like a trade... so this was supposed to be all nice and easy and not cost anything. but, you know how that goes. i think the motor is jinxed

the only thing we haven't messed with is making sure the block is not warped and checking for dropped sleeves.

that would explain why it's acting kinda' like a head gasket problem...? i give up after this.

 

Was your block decked after sleeving?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slomofo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Was your block decked after sleeving?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i would assume so, but honestly have no clue. that would explain a lot. i'm taking my car down to LA this friday ( 06/10 ). we'll see what happens. i'll post the results incase anyone else is as unfortunate as i.

 

here is a twist for ya: i did a compression check today. 180 accross the board. so. NOW what?

 

update:

we've come to the conclusion that carbon build up has been responsible for the irregular compression.

when we were testing for vtec and checking A/F at boost the car was running a NASTY 10:1 A/F. when we switched head gaskets we found quite a bit of nasty carbon build up.

we're figuring it built up during testing, then burned off whild driving normally and that's what brought the compression back up. i changed head gaskets anyway. old one looked fine. go figure.

so, as soon as i can figure out why vtec doesn't work and get rid of the miss ( ignition problem.. damned MSD ), i'll be ready to tune.