Compression Results...Interpretation?

[WhiteCloud]

My car is burning a bit of oil. Not a trailing cloud of blue smoke when I drive, but sometimes a puff comes out when I start the car, or when I give it a quick rev in neutral, or taking off from a stop. When I took the plugs out to do the test, there was a bit of oil on the plugs, especially in cylinder 1.

So, I did a compression test--180, 170, 175, 180. Seems pretty good to me for a car with 85k miles, considering spec is 178. Do you all think I can rule out rings and valve seals with this compresssion?

I'm thinking PCV valve--should I just replace it, or is there something I can check to see if it is functioning properly or not? Any tips on replacing it, or is it a simple unbolt, then bolt-on trick?

 

[Defiant]

Valve stem seals won't show on a compression check, and it's likely yours are leaking some. It's not the PCV valve, although that cost $4 to replace.

 

[WhiteCloud]

Thanks for the reply, Defiant. Although I am a little disappointed that it's unlikely to be the PCV valve. What's your logic?

When is it going to be time to fix the valve stem seals, and how will I know which are faulty? (I've heard that the process is a complete PITA, btw)

 

[Darksyne]

If it was your PCV valve than whenever the intake manifold sees positive pressure it will allow it to escape into the valve cover. The end result usually being your dipstick blowing out and a mess of an engine bay.

I agree that the problem is your valve stem seals. When the car sits overnight bad seals will allow a bit of oil to seep through. So when you start up the car in the morning the oil is burnt and you get a small cloud of smoke that quickly goes away.

It's really not a major issue unless they leak enough for the plugs to get fouled by excessive oil. I wouldn't worry about replacing them until you have the head off for some reason.

 

[blue92laser]

Rebuild the head, its got some miles piling up on it, so why not give it a fresh head?

 

[WhiteCloud]

I may consider doing that...thanks a lot for the info guys. I'm just hoping this doesn't get worse any time soon. I have an Evo III 16g, logger, and SAFC waiting to go on the car when I get home from school, but I'm considering doing the valve seals first.

Does anyone have a link to a valve spring compressor that will work on our cars? I've heard we need a special kind...

Also, if I pull the head to do this over Winter Break from school, will I have to get it resurfaced? And should I go with an OEM gasket and ARP head studs, or just stick with OEM?

Thanks a lot, everyone.