piston rings? engine rebuild?

[TalonTSIYHL]

ok here goes: i have a 92 talon tsi awd 6 bolt auto with 125K on it. It feels like there is no power without boosting, its like i have to go the 0 on the boost meter just to get it to 35mph in a decent amount of time. and even boost doesnt seem as powerfull as it used to. There is alittle oil in the valve cover and once in awhile at WOT there is a cloud of greyish to white smoke out the back, i also have decreased gas milage. i did a compression test the other day and got 150 150 150 and 130 (the 130 being closest to the driver side). The spark plugs were burnt white and black. After the wet test the 130 went up to 180 or so, im guessing its the piston rings then. i havent done a leak down test due to the lack of equipment. if i got to do then rings then i might as well do the head gasket and rod bearings and hone the cylinder walls. Is there anything elso i should do. I would like to spend the least amount of money but still make sure its running strong. I plan on doing the work my self even though i havent done anything at this level but i have all summer to get it done. i am also unsure what parts to buy, what is all included in a "engine gasket kit"? goes for about $200. Any imput on which part to get or where to get them would be very appreciated. sorry for the long post, thanks in advance.

 

[mastadogg2]

Do a boost leak test after a 5-10 minute drive from the turbo inlet then record how much it can hold, loosen up the oil cap and listen for a bubbling noise if you hear any bubbling or any kind of air comming from there go head and do a licp boost leak test facing the intercooler/intake side and see how much it can hold from there, if its significantly a large difference your turbo seal is possibly bad. Let me know what the boost leak turns up with.

As for that compression test, thats not really to bad but the 130 is close to the 121 service limit, when you did these compression test's you did take the car out for a hard drive and got it warmed up correct? and making sure all your electrical inside the car was turned off? if you have a weak battery it will effect the compression test. but if indeed it is 121psi in that one cylinder and after you added a cap full of oil and it jumped that much the rings are in question.

 

[TalonTSIYHL]

in the compression test i did run the car pretty hard to make sure the battery was charged, and that the radio wasnt on or anything, i realize 150 isnt bad for a 13 year old car that may have been abused by previous owner, but i thought the difference in cylinder presure was a major problem, i believe that service limit is 14psi.

Ill do the boost leak tests today or this weekend and let you know what i find out

 

[TalonTSIYHL]

By using the tester from vfaq i found four places with leaks. The first being at the intercooler gasket at the turbo; the second was at the semi circle seal on the left side of the valve cover or the also the valve cover gasket (but only at that spot); the third appeared to be the fuel presure regulator - according to the diagrams in the Chilton; the fourth sounded like it was coming from the right side of the valve cover but inside, so im guessing thats the blown piston rings from that cylinder - the 130 psi cylinder. The first three leaks were comfirmed with soapy water. However the fourth one - inside the valve cover sounded the loudest, then the fuel presure regulator one (close by each other so it was hard to tell). whoops sorry didnt do the oil cap thing, just did the test described in the vfaq.

 

[TalonTSIYHL]

well to fix all those leaks i am currently rebuilding my engine, at the moment i am installing the new belts. I already put new rings in and new water pump (I had to do it from the bottom). While doing it I also installed a bushur racing turboback. Right now I'm back at college so the whip sits in the garage until i have some free time. Ill post the results then.