Damn...i did the compression test on my newly built motor and the compression was only at 45psi. is that normal? or could that be the reason why my motor isn't starting up?!? if it is then SCREW TOTAL SEAL RINGS!! damn i just installed them too exactly as their instructions said to. does anyone have a solution to this?

 

ouch!

 

nice response kabir

 

thanx...

 

do a leakdown before you start bashing the rings.

 

One of my friend had a similar problem.
This was done on a near new car.The guy milled is head for a bump of compression.He changed the cam for a more performance one.
He did clean the head before putting it back.

After,he did a compression test.
0 psi.
WTF!
Remove the head,still carbon deposit on the valve.Clean that up.
Redid a comp test.
0 psi.
Remove the head again to find that there was still carbon deposit!!!

After making shure ther was none in the head and in the cylinder the compression was back to normal.
This was the first time that happens.
He has done a lot of head and cam change with no problem.

Maybe,that could be your problem.
HTH.

 

Okay...so what you guys are saying is that it might not be the rings. hmm...i guess i'll try doing a leak down test(is that where you pour oil on the pistons?) tomorrow. but i have one question, if smoke is blowing out of the oil dip stick hole...wouldn't that mean that the rings are leaking?

 

Leakdown is done when you put air into the cylinder to see if the head is not leaking(Valve are closing correctly)

Fume going out of the tube?
Hummmm....your compression is going back on the base....ring related.
I wish you knew that you have to put ring in different places(There open are not facing each others)

 

so i would need an air compressor to do this test right? is there any other methods to do this? if so, what are the methods? and if the valves aren't closing right, would it be because of the rockers? since i haven't even adjusted the rocker/valves yet. thanks for all the advice...i do hope to hear more though because i really need to get this bad boy running!!

 

 

You'll need something like this:

When performing this test, use an input pressure of 100psi. You also want to bring the cylinder being tested to TDC [on the compression stroke obviously], as this is the point at which you should have a good 'seal'. While pressurizing the cylinder, you'll notice that some air leaks out. Since your using an input pressure of 100psi, the amount lost is the % of leakdown.

If your valves are the culprit, you would hear air coming from the intake or the exhaust. If your rings were suspect, remove the oil filler cap, and you would hear air escaping through this. If the headgasket was blown, take the radiator cap off and you would see bubbles in there.

Putting a teaspoon of oil into the cylinder is done when doing a compression test. If you got low numbers on the compression test, throwing in the some oil would help the rings maintain a seal, thus if the reading went up a fair amount, your rings would be suspect.

When performing the compression test, you did hold the throttle wide open, right? Otherwise you will get low numbers [not that low, that I've seen].

 

explain something basic to me: the rings have gaps in them. what keeps compression from escaping down and around those gaps?

thanks!

 

no i didn't even try to have the throttle open. will that make any difference if i'm trying to start up to car? i'll try that right now. and i'll also try using a teaspoon of oil as well to see if it seals up the compression. is there anyother way of seating the rings if i can't even get the compression to go up?!? thanks for all your info though...

 

If it's a DOHC, make sure the timing is right. You might have a cam out of phase. Check the valve seals too.

 

its gonna hurt my head to explain it
um. here.

Total seal Rings, How they work


[Modified by KAMiN, 2:14 PM 8/6/2002]

 

hey guys...i just wanted to thank you for all your help. it seems that after adding 2-3 teaspoons of oil into each cylinder, the car started up just fine. i guess i had to find a way to seal up the leakage. it starts up now but the only problem is the motor shakes like crazy and not only that, it's really knocking. so i'm gonna have to tune it with the little knowledge that i have with internals. thanks again! HONDA-TECH rules!!

 

Start by double checking to see if your cams are in properly. If not lined up, will cause bad compresssion. Then check the ignition timing. If u are sure those are correct, put each cylinder at top dead center and pump air in the plug hole. Don't worry about a leak down tester. Just listen to where the compression is going. Out the intake or exhaust would be a head problem. Out the radiator is the head gasket. Out the dip stick hole, it's the rings. The reason the motor is shaking is because the compression is way to low to run.