Pending....

[Steve Wood]

for this purpose, just cut to the chase and tell us what compression that cylinder is seeing

[gnonyx]

follow my instructions and remember to hold the pedal on the floor...discon nect the orange wire or the cam sensor so it won't try to start...or leave the cam sensor cap off

Crank the engine until the needle stops rising...this will take a few seconds of cranking

An engine in good condition will make 145 psi or so

Let us know what yours reads

Hi Steve, When doing a compression test why is the need to press the gas pedal down when the orange wire is disconnected to prevent the engine from starting?

[Steve Wood]

so the engine can ingest a normal amount of air to be compressed...k inda like trying to run a hundred yards with both nostrils plugged up and your mouth closed.

Very little air can enter the cylinders if the butterfly in the throttlebody is closed

[phil_long]

drumroll...... .............. .............. .............. .......compres sion test results are in.  On the number one cylinder, i got a compresson reading of 85 PSI.

[Steve Wood]

about 40-50 psi less than I would have expected if you did the test the way I asked

[phil_long]

Throttle blade wide open, every spark plug plugged up except for the number one, connected the compression tester up, and had the car cranked until the pressure stopped rising

[Steve Wood]

we can wait for a second, third, fourth, or whatever opinions, but, based on:

sounds different when cranking, blew white smoke out the air cleaner, has spark and injector pulse plus fuel pressure but does not try to fire, way low compression

I would say from a long way away that the timing chain has skipped a few teeth so that the valves are now open when the piston is near top dead center.

You might go ahead and put a socket on the crank and turn the engine slowly to see if you can see erratic movement of the cam sensor "wheel" and/or ask Earl for a professional opinion

[phil_long]

thanks

[earlbrown]

For it to be a professional opinion I'd have to charge .. ...


And nothing makes me shudder more than a "freshly rebuilt engine" on these cars.


I'd be on stage four by now:

1) irritation

2) drinking hoping that will bring me an answer other thna pulling the timing cover/oil pan

3) checking lobe lift hoping I can find an answer (and hoping that answer isn't a flat lobe)

4) Pulling the timing cover and oil pan

[Steve Wood]

another  http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/engine/tchain.html

[gnonyx]

The site that Steve gave you on how to replace the timing chain replacement; on #4 it saids "remove the harmonic balancer bolt, (hope you have a air gun)". If you don't have an air gun you can use a DeWalt DW059 1/2" 18V Cordless Impact Wrench. You will also need a 1 1/8" socket, Advanced Auto has them for around $10.00, that's what I used when did this work. Just don't use the cordless impact wrench to put the harmonic balancer bolt back in place or to use it to tighten the harmonic balancer bolt.

[phil_long]

For it to be a professional opinion I'd have to charge .. ...


And nothing makes me shudder more than a "freshly rebuilt engine" on these cars.


I'd be on stage four by now:

1) irritation

2) drinking hoping that will bring me an answer other thna pulling the timing cover/oil pan

3) checking lobe lift hoping I can find an answer (and hoping that answer isn't a flat lobe)

4) Pulling the timing cover and oil pan

irritation and hopes that i didnt have to pull the timing cover are at the top of my list. Its a surprise that i havent drank myself into oblivion

[phil_long]

The site that Steve gave you on how to replace the timing chain replacement; on #4 it saids "remove the harmonic balancer bolt, (hope you have a air gun)". If you don't have an air gun you can use a DeWalt DW059 1/2" 18V Cordless Impact Wrench. You will also need a 1 1/8" socket, Advanced Auto has them for around $10.00, that's what I used when did this work. Just don't use the cordless impact wrench to put the harmonic balancer bolt back in place or to use it to tighten the harmonic balancer bolt.

Thanks for the tip.  Luckily, i have access to a compressor and some impact tools.

[phil_long]

another  http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/engine/tchain.html

no way that job gets done in 4 hours

[Steve Wood]

not if it takes you five hours to do a compression test on one cylinder! LOL

I don't think it's really that bad, but, when you are doing something the first time, it always takes longer....