Car: 96 Civic Ex
Engine: obd1 JDM D15B

ok, i just did this swap into a car, status of engine: came out of wrecked car, running when wrecked.

i put engine in, tried to start it, engine is making a fluttering sound- resembled sound my integra made when it broke timing belt.
before i installed engine i put in new timing belt and water pump, and did not change timing.

So i got my compression tester out, read some low numbers, so i added a little oil into each cylinder to coat the rings.. my compression results in this order cylinder 4,3,2,1 were about 30,10,140,30
i can see timing being off and all cylinders being low, but why is cylinder #2 a normal compression and ultra low on the rest?
Anyone have any idea's suggestions, so far i'm thinking 3 dead cylinders? surely not on a car that was running then wrecked.. btw no damage caused to engine during accident.
Also, this may be a connected to this issue, but i had my brother pull the spark plugs out while i was doing something else, these "new" plugs were installed by previous owner and when i pulled them i found this, not sure what caused this but hopefully a piston did not do it.. also i'm not sure what cylinder this one came from, but the rest are perfect. notice the insulator is cracked also..

 

any idea's anyone?

 

I would start by checking the valve adjustments, sounds to me like valves are not closing. 94

 

well here is my current course plan of action:
Check timing.. Either fix or conclude timing is correct.
If correct.. Just yank motor back out and pull head off.. While cranking i do not hear bent valves.. I am concerned that the cylinders are dead, but why.. the engine ran before, hopefully its simply the timing, but if timing is off.. why would #2 get compression.
If motor is bad, its going back to the seller for a refund.. and i will have to do another motor swap, oh yay..

 

That damage to that plug could have only been caused by something hitting it. Those compression numbers seem to agree with that theory. Something internal is seriously messed up.

 

yea but the grounding prob is bent to the side and not into the plug probe, also how did half the ceramic insulator get chipped off.. i guess i will find out all of this soon enough anyways.

 

I'm not sure exactly what happened but you know for sure that something internal is not right.

 

Do you know if this engine has been taken apart/modified internally? or is it all stock?

 

i don't know the history of this motor, besides my friend bought it from a guy to put into a hatch but never did, and he took it out of a car that was wrecked- but not engine bay related. btw i'm not sure if the plug was bent by the motor or if it was bought like that, etc, you know how dumbass's try to gap the plugs, mess them up and return them to parts house.. and i don't even know if my friend noticed that when he put the plug in or not..

 

ttt

 

Someone already said this. Check your valve lash!! Dont take the head off untill this is performed. Dont forget whatever cylinder your checking that piston has to be tdc

 

i presume your referring to what FCM said? oh an damn, don't come in here !!! yelling.. this is a forum, to help others and learn, you don't see me going in your post yelling now do you.. anyways i'm not sure how to check for "valve lash".. all i know to do is check timing, and if thats right then its something internal, i'd imagine if i knew other test i would have "performed" it already and wouldn't be in here asking questions, now would i?

 

This is a pretty good writeup... http://www.team-integra.net/sections...?ArticleID=485

There are a number of things that can be wrong, valves not closing properly is just one of them, and one reason they may not be closing is because the adjustments are off.

At some point you may have to pull the head, but before you go to that time and expense, at least check the clearance, it does not even have to be the correct clearance, if any feeler gauge can be slid through, the problem unfortunatly, is not because the valves are being held open by the rockers, so it can be burnt valve seats or faces, [or both] bent/warped valves.

I also agree that the spark plug damage was not caused by a piston hitting it, more like it was dropped and not checked before installing.

What was the compression before you squirted in the oil.

If compression is low on the first stroke and does not increase on successive strokes the problem is the vales, head gasket or possibly a cracked head.

Not sure what the compression is supposed to be on a JDM D15B, but even 140 seems low, at the very best a minimum. 94

 

i think once i added a little oil i saw about 5-10 psi rise per cylinder, not much at all. One thing though, i don't wanna get too deep into repairing this motor, basically find the problem- if its a very simple problem, like adjusting a valve, fine. If its damage to the motor, its going back to the original seller, because i'm not gonna buy a "perfect" motor, only to have to fix it. I don't play those kinda games... So at this point i'm trying to find the problem.. thanks for the link, i will check it out.