I found an old thread where someone had this problem then at the end of it, with new spark plugs and a battery it started. I was told that bad rings are the cause of the low compression and the engine is through. Has spark and gas. Can too much gas and start fluid dilute the oil coating on the cylinders to account for low compression?

Was going about 35mph when it lost power and stumbled then cut out and would not restart. Plugs did look like I went too long on them.

 

Have you checked your timing belt? It may have jumped a tooth and caused a timing issue. This could account for a no start and loss in compression.

 

It looks good. It's a Gates kit about 40K miles old. Deflects about a quarter inch both sides. Make sure TDC on the cam pulley matches TDC in the little window and manually crank it around to see if it matches up again?

 

Exactly what are the compression numbers you're seeing ? You may need to do a leakdown to check if there is valve damage. Did you miss a shift ? Maybe you over-revved and spun a bearing.

 

70 for #1, 109 for #2, 50 then 75 then 80 for #3, 45 then 61 for #4. Didn't try adding oil. Why would the engine have sounded so good before with numbers that bad? Think when I started driving it all cylinder compression numbers were around 123 or 125 but #1 was 110.

Can gas-diluted oil coating the cylinders account for that?

 

Is your oil saturated with fuel? If it was did you change the oil? or did you perform the compression test with the gas diluted oil still in the engine?

It would have to be a rather large amount of gas in the oil to wash the walls enough to see those compression numbers. Adding oil to the cylinders to see if compression numbers rise, would be a good test to perform now. Also as mentioned a leak down test wouldn't hurt.

 

Here's that thread:
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...start-2389750/

I did the test failing to pull the fuel fuse first and I didn't air the cylinders out. But I didn't really press on the gas either. Some later said I should have had the throttle wide open (with gas disabled). A shop latter added onto that a couple of start fluid tries directly into the throttle body which did not get it to start either.

The only/best way to see how saturated the oil might be is to drain it? I'll change the oil and filter, but should I flush it with anything else? I can add Lucas too. Does any oil additive absorb or dissipate fuel?

All the start tries were on old out-of-spec spark plugs.

Is it too much to hope that new sparks could help it like in that thread?

In case this is helpful: I have a leaking proportioning valve that is near the air intake (don't know if any brake fluid made it on or through the air filter - not sure if it is passive or if there is any suction to the air intake) which had a dirty air filter on it (and also has a connection from the valve cover to it I think). I suppose the air filter still worked though, but the throttle body did have some sticky black muck in it that I hand cleaned off as much as possible. I don't know it that was normal or abnormal muck and whether it went all the way to the valves and cylinders??

 

It's really odd to see numbers all over the place like that. You need to find someone to help you confirm that the mechanical timing is lined up. If somehow it is lined up then you need a leakdown test to see exactly where the problem is. It's likely you have valve damage in multiple cylinders.

 

I turned the crank - it was a lot easier than I expected - and it pretty well lined up with cam TDC and the rotor button pointing where it should or a little lower. Need compressed air for a leakdown test or think there is a loaner tool? Wish there was a little scope with light and video to put in the spark plug hole and see what's going on when I crank it around.

 

I did the test with the oil as it was. I dropped the oil out of it now cause I was hoping to get the valve cover off and look at things as I rotated the crank. Though I tapped it with a block of wood it is definitely stuck on there. Will try again. If am fortunate to get it started again will change the oil and filter fresh again.

 

When I was looking at it from above and trying to match the valve cover marks and the "up" mark to crank TDC, It looks like it could be very easy to be off by a notch / tooth - it is that hard to line it exactly. The distributor button turned with it and was pretty much where the diagram showed it should be at TDC. First when I was turning the crank I had forgotten to take it out of 2nd gear - the car didn't move at all (should it have turned at all if it was in 2nd?) so I took it out of gear and it still turned easily. The belt drew tight on one side, but the other side seemed too slack I thought. I also heard a very slight metal click sound when I started to turn it.

 

You should NOT be looking at the rotor when setting it to TDC. You look at the cam. The arrow should be pointing up and the two lines on the sides should be level with the timing cover. The crank timing gear should be pointing up to the notch on the oil pump.