The head is warped, the head bolts are stretched, the headgasket is leaking because of that, likely the piston rings are now damaged also, time for a rebuild. Never continue to run any engine when its hot, it will get you nowhere at the end of the day, you will still end up walking and it will cost alot of money to fix.

Yeah normally I wouldn't run any motor when there in a bad state like it was but me and my girlfriend were stranded on the highway in the middle of the night on Christmas in about -35°C so we had no other choice but to let the car cool down and then drive abit stop and repeat until we got somewhere warm

Im surprised it even runs with compression that low... two gauges? same readings?

Front end leak would likely be the water pump. The belt doesnt always get wet when it leaks. Makes sense as the motor turned the shaft seal would leak.

must have overheated it real bad to get the piston rings stuck, sounds like thats what it is. If starting fluid didnt help and the compression is horribly low that must be what happened. You can try fixing the leak and driving the car and see if the rings unseize themselves. What will it hurt to try?

motomattx said:

The head is warped, the head bolts are stretched, the headgasket is leaking because of that, likely the piston rings are now damaged also, time for a rebuild. Never continue to run any engine when its hot, it will get you nowhere at the end of the day, you will still end up walking and it will cost alot of money to fix.

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second that.
30 psi compression reading is low af, how many engine rotations are you doing when your're checking the compression? should be 5 "puffs", all plugs removed. some people say throttle plate open, ive never noticed a difference open or closed.

pimpy rider said:

must have overheated it real bad to get the piston rings stuck, sounds like thats what it is. If starting fluid didnt help and the compression is horribly low that must be what happened. You can try fixing the leak and driving the car and see if the rings unseize themselves. What will it hurt to try?

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The rings arent stuck, they are burnt up and have lost their tension against the cylinder wall, as in "now me and the mad scientist have to rip apart the block and replace the piston rings you fried" burnt up.

smbgsx said:

second that.
30 psi compression reading is low af, how many engine rotations are you doing when your're checking the compression? should be 5 "puffs", all plugs removed. some people say throttle plate open, ive never noticed a difference open or closed.

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To do a proper compression test you crank it over until the gauge quits moving any higher, no matter how many puffs that takes, the "X" amount of puffs thing is an old urban legend that likely started when compression tester instructions would say "crank the engine at LEAST X amount of times to get a good reading" and somehow that ended up translating to ONLY crank the engine "X" times.

motomattx said:

To do a proper compression test you crank it over until the gauge quits moving any higher, no matter how many puffs that takes, the "X" amount of puffs thing is an old urban legend that likely started when compression tester instructions would say "crank the engine at LEAST X amount of times to get a good reading" and somehow that ended up translating to ONLY crank the engine "X" times.

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well, when I took my ASE certifications and went to the best technical college in the nation that has been cranking out techs for over 100 years for my associates degree in automotive technology and repair, we were taught 5 puffs.

smbgsx said:

well, when I took my ASE certifications and went to the best technical college in the nation that has been cranking out techs for over 100 years for my associates degree in automotive technology and repair, we were taught 5 puffs.

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Doesnt matter really, something like that doesnt have alot of thought put into it from an instructor, they just teach how they were taught, doesnt make it right. Logic should tell you that if a given cylinder with valves sealing it is only capable of holding 50lbs, it doesnt matter how many times you crank it, it would leak everything over 50lbs, however if you only give it "x" amount of "puffs" because you cant quite count them and its not enough then you will end up with a lower than actual reading and tear down an engine chasing a problem that doesnt even exist. Theres no point at all in adding in the possibility of error for nothing to gain at all just to carry on urban myths. Read step 8 above where it says to crank the engine at least "x" amount of times "or until the compression stops rising"

motomattx said:

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Doesnt matter really, something like that doesnt have alot of thought put into it from an instructor, they just teach how they were taught, doesnt make it right. Logic should tell you that if a given cylinder with valves sealing it is only capable of holding 50lbs, it doesnt matter how many times you crank it, it would leak everything over 50lbs, however if you only give it "x" amount of "puffs" because you cant quite count them and its not enough then you will end up with a lower than actual reading and tear down an engine chasing a problem that doesnt even exist. Theres no point at all in adding in the possibility of error for nothing to gain at all just to carry on urban myths. Read step 8 above where it says to crank the engine at least "x" amount of times "or until the compression stops rising"

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I concur. Do the test again. May not tell you anything but it's free and it's quick.

whatever works man. I've never had any issues. and actually the most accurate way would be to consult the service information. many OE service manuals specify a number of rotations.

For example this is a jeep 3.7L, the engineers specify 3 revolutions. So general specs are just that, general. If you don't get what you need in 5 puffs, something is a miss and you should probably do a dynamic compression and leak down test.

These reasons are why every major manufacturer that I have worked for over the years now wants a leak down test on top of a compression test before determining if the engine needs opened up! too many variables with compression tests and how people perform them, if they are done where you allow the tester to max out as far as it can, its accurate, otherwise...

Again, a bad valve is only going to hold so much pressure no matter how many times you crank it or for how long, you could crank it for two days and if its only capable of holding 20psi then its only going to hold 20psi man, same for the head gasket, piston rings, etc. It just doesnt make any sense at all to do anything else, a leakdown test will tell you where its leaking, a compression test will tell you if its leaking, thats why a leakdown only comes after a bad compression test in the industry.

On an engine with alot of valve overlap such as mine three puffs wouldnt cut it for a good reading, a car with mild cams who knows, it might work it might not, why chance it? wheres the advantage?

SMBDSX, you can do whatever you want really, as an experienced dealer tech, I can tell you that everyone that I have worked with will do it the way that I suggest, but you really shouldnt advise others to do it your way just for the fact that it invites user error if nothing else. Im not really sure why your fighting this or why your insistent on being right??? are you somehow suggesting that what I am saying is wrong or would give false readings? if thats your thought I would like to know your logic behind it. I have a goal here, to pass along good knowledge to other members here, Im not sure what your goal is?

mitsubishi doesn't state a number of rotations. i think any FSM that does, probably puts a # of rotations for dumbass people that don't have the common sense to stop cranking when the gauge stops moving.

I didn't say the mitsu fsm does, I said it only states to block open the throttle, which iv observed to make no difference. The prior posting I sent was one example that does state a number of rotations. only as an example that there is literature that specifies even less than 5 rotations sometimes. So im not sure what your point is dusty.

motomattx said:

are you somehow suggesting that what I am saying is wrong or would give false readings? if thats your thought I would like to know your logic behind it. I have a goal here, to pass along good knowledge to other members here, Im not sure what your goal is?

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If you're truly interested in what I think, here is my other thoughts. If you crank, and crank, and crank, you have no frame of reference. unless you're counting the cranks each cylinder takes to make the end compression reading. Cylinder contribution comes into play when thinking about drivability concerns. think about when you do a cylinder balance test. (kill spark momentarily to one cylinder at a time with the engine running and then note the RPM drop. That determines if cylinders are contributing equally or not.)
so if during a compression test one cylinder can make 165 psi compression with 5 strokes and another can only make 135, you would now make a note of that cylinder and determine the next steps necessary in diagnosing the issue. I would bet if you cranked the engine over longer, that 135 psi cylinder may be able to inch a bit higher, but now the variables of the test are no longer the same.
In fact, when working at Honda I saw this technique used many times and even the engineers on the 1-800 line recommended this when a tech was doing engine performance/drivability concerns.
If you're familiar with identafix which is another call center where people get paid to do nothing other than help shops and dealers solve problems over the phone, they also have recommended the compression tests be performed in this manner. Identafix has even mentioned to another one of my employees that ideally the first reading indicated on the gauge should read at least half of the final reading in a properly functioning engine. This is not always the case, but its another one of those rules of thumb to be aware of.
I've also read 6 rotations or until the gauge stops increasing. So in summary, I think different methods for different situations, as I had mentioned before. Experience, education, and application, and resources are keys to proper assessment of engine health. Not saying your wrong in general, and it looks like you have a well built DSM, so you must be doing something right. But I am saying that 5 puffs is not an urban myth, and many OE service info specifies a certain number of rotations often times even less than 5. In which case, if that procedure is not followed, you are in fact doing it incorrectly.