I have a 1.7l sohc 2001 honda civic coupe EX. It is not a vtech engine. This has driven so hot that the plastic cover on the timing belt is melt all over the cam pulley or gear. I have cleared all of it, and replaced with a new ebay gasket after manually resurfacing the head and a lil bit on the body as well. Then the engine had 90 compression and I was able to start it. I felt like there is a compression leak as it used to make a exhaust kind of sound even after sealing the 3xhaust. Then I removed the gasket again and this time I bought it from orielly and after tapping the head bolt thread and exhaust threads i put it back together and the engine wont start. This time the compression is 50. Please help. What should I check, does timing cause compression issues?

 

To be quite honest here, your block and/or head is likely warped--possibly even beyond repair. You need to have both checked for flatness. Getting hot enough to melt the timing cover is bad news, and you're likely SOL on that engine.

Timing absolutely can affect compression. Have you double checked your timing marks are spot on? Your next step would be to check your timing marks, and then do a leakdown test. I'm still fairly sure that engine is junk, but you never know.

 

i will check the timing once again, but the compression was 90 when i did it first time, also, i did resurface the head. Its glowing and I did check with a scale for warp, it is definitely less than .1 mm.

 

Should be around 180 psi on all 4 cylinders.