engine died!!

[mrhinton]

hey guys i need help!!! i was driving down the street 1 day as normal and the the car started to sputter. and kept sputtering all the way home. i barely got it home!!

now it wont start! the compression test i took had results of 60psi across the board!!! i need help really really badly. there is a new fuel pump in there so that cant be it!!

ppl have been telling me to get a new engine but i cant afford that right now!

PPLLEEAASSE help me out!!!


thank you.

[Hodge]

60psi dang!

Looks like you are losing compression (duh) across all your cylinders? Crazy.

Rings probably blew....

[mrhinton]

but all rings at 1 time? kinda wierd.

[dcarchitect]

I just dropped to 60 psi on cylinders 2-3 (the center two)
so I'm running on 1-4.
We did the following test, which you can do also.
Along with the compression test, squirt a little oil in the spark plugs holes, wait just a minute or two, and re-test. if the pressure increases more than about 20psi, then the oil just created a temporary seal for the rings, indicating the rings are bad.
on mine, the oil trick did nothing to improve the psi.

Next, if the culprit is not the rings, then the remaining options include Valves and the head gasket.

Its better news if its the head gasket, you can "band-aid" that thing for a pretty long time, like a year or more, with "steel seal"
http://www.steelseal.com/

(just stay away from the products which claim to do the same thing and contain solid particles)

If its the valves, then its time for a cylinder head rebuilt or have your machined, "an as an added bonus" you end up with a new head gasket, and a new valve cover gasket.....

If we weren't both broke, we could afford to also send the head out to be ported, larger valves, and gasket matched.
However, for us mere mortals,
These guys sell a basic rebuilt head for $700, and a performance stage 1 head for $849.
rebuilt
http://store.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=vacmotors&StoreType=BtoC&Count1=527950465&Count2=445090889
stage 1
http://store.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=vacmotors&StoreType=BtoC&Count1=527950465&Count2=445090889

good luck, its not fun.

[dcarchitect]

to determine where the lost compression is going,
have a shop perform a leak down test.
here is the overview of what that is from "Car Craft " Magazine

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0406_cylinder_leakdown_tester/index.html

[mrhinton]

I was thinking/hoping it was the timing chain tensioner since ALL the cylinders went out. I was moving away from headgasket because I would have been able to tell. smoke or something. and could all valves go at 1 time???

[xwill112x]

i dont see how it would be a tensioner?? that would cause not cause loss of compression. that is unless you hopped timning and bent valves/rockers which is doesnt sound like you did from your description.

[xwill112x]

on another note, try to look for broken compression rings, or a blown head gasket. i dont think anything else could cause that kind of dramatic decrease in compression. in cylenders 2-3.  good luck on finding the problem.