Bad compression test results, advice?

[theoneandonlyg]

So, I just recently had my 97 gsx at the shop, and the mechanic told me that my compression results were 150-125-150-0. I have not pulled off the head yet, to look at the block, or even peeked to see how the timing looks. The mechanic then proceeded to tell me that for him to do all the valves would cost me around $1500! At this point, I'm looking for suggestions, or any ideas anyone has. I'm thinking of just buying a new reman head, but I'm not sure what else I need with it. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[jayson427]

well there is wrong with cylinder 4 obviously. your mechanic should of did a leak down test if he found those numbers. dont just go buy a new head. a leak down test will show you if its in the block itself or the head. with zero compression on that one cylinder it might be the valve seals and rings but you need to find out before buying anything. who knows what the previous owner did, is there any mods you can see or is it pretty stock?

 

[theoneandonlyg]

sorry, i'm extremely new to dsm's and am beginning to get frustrated, so i appreciate your help to begin with. and i'm also not familiar how to do a leakdown test, but the search button will help me there. As for mods, i'm pretty sure something is different with the injectors, the mechanic told me that its set up to only run rich, and not lean. For other mods, it has a recirculated bov, a 3" turboback exhaust, hard upper and lower piping and thats pretty much it.

p.s. i'm also just getting nervous because everyone is telling me that i shouldn't have paid what i did for the car, and that its a piece of shit. obviously they're just dsm haters, but i'm wondering what your opinion is. $4250 is what i paid, with a little under 111k miles. 300 miles after i bought the car, this issue happened on the highway.

 

[vingasoline]

So did the timing belt break on the highway? That's not a bad price. Here it would have been 8k easy.

 

[jayson427]

4250 is a bit high but the car is not a piece! your eclipse can be reliable as hell but you just ran into bad luck. 111k is really good for a 97 but once you fix you motor issue and its done right you shouldnt have any issues if its well taken care of. go to a good mechanic and tell them you need a leak down test its not any harder then doing a compression test. but then again if you can do this at your house it would be better so you dont have to drive it. i wouldnt drive it if it was me and if you do drive stay out of boost.

 

[theoneandonlyg]

I'm not sure what the timing belt looks like underneath the case as I haven't gotten that far yet. I will probably pull off the case and take a look tomorrow and post an update. The mechanic that I took it to didn't even know what a boost leak tester was, so I'm pretty sure that's why he didn't do a leakdown test. That's probably the biggest issue I've been running into, is finding a shop where they know alot about dsm's.

EDIT: thanks for the optimism jayson! and i haven't been driving it, just been using the free towing from triple a. I'm going to try to do some research on the leakdown test, but there is so much information on this forum and its a little overwhelming for a noob mechanic like me haha. what are the basic things i need and if the leakdown results tell me the block is good, would you recommend doing the valves and everything like that myself? My dad is a mechanic, but he always tells me i should have bought an american muscle car because he knows nothing about turbos, .

 

[jayson427]

building any motor doesnt matter what it is has the same basics turbo or not. but if you dont know much man dont rebuild anything yourself there is alot to it. there is alot of guys on the east coast that build dsm's just keep looking. someone will chime in and give you more info then i can, keep updating on here and it will get resolved. i will be honest if you have to rebuild the motor it will cost a little bit but like i said do it right and you will have a solid car for a long time. i would get a mitsubishi factory service manuel for your year ( not a haynes or chilton) off of ebay and it will tell you everything you need to know about the car.

 

[theoneandonlyg]

well i'm definitely willing to learn, as i plan on keeping this car for quite some time. i definitely need someone's advice for shops on the east coast though. After i pull the case for the timing belt off tomorrow i will post another update, and might possibly buy a leakdown tester because i already have the air compressor. thanks again for the help/advice, and i hope you stay involved in my thread until my issues are resolved

 

[jasonj92]

Get a second opinion from a diff shop or from someone who works on cars
Maybe the car ran lean and if cracked an exhaust valve . The american muscle line ah
Gotta love that

 

[my dreamt dsm]

If your mech is dumb enough to do a compression test to find out 0 compression and not do a leak down to back it up. I'll say he's under qualify to work on cars. I'll get a second opinion.
4250 for a gsx isn't to bad if it was here in cali. My old man owned all stock gst 108k was for 3500.

 

[jayson427]

get a leakdown tester or get it done but after that i would tell your pops to help you take the valve cover off and see if anything is loose where you have issues on that cylinder. it might give you an idea maybe your dad will see something. pretty hard to diagnose online, take pictures and post if you cant find anyone to help you in your town. but you should be able to find someone

 

[theoneandonlyg]

If your mech is dumb enough to do a compression test to find out 0 compression and not do a leak down to back it up. I'll say he's under qualify to work on cars. I'll get a second opinion.
4250 for a gsx isn't to bad if it was here in cali. My old man owned all stock gst 108k was for 3500.

yes that's the issue, no shops around here work on foreign cars for a decent price . and wheres the best place to buy a leakdown tester?

 

[BogusSVO]

Get one from ebay or harbor freight about $50 or so, No need to spend the mega bux on one from one the tool trucks..

Doubtful you bent the valves on 1 cylinder at highway speed, I would expect to see lower compression across the board.

You may want to pop the VC off and just take a look, if you over reved, you may have just kicked a follower off.

 

[TopGun8818]

Get a second opinion period. I would not just take that mechanic's word for it as you may run into other issues if you only rebuild the head without trully knowing what's wrong.

 

[VtecvrsTurbo]

There is a few good places to bring your car. One place I used to go is Bristol Dyno in Hartford. They specialize in DSMs. (I also grew up in ludlow)

 

[jayson427]

i forgot to tell you that youtube is pretty sweet to learn from if your just starting out. you can youtube how to do a leak down test and there will be a few videos that will show you excatly how.

 

[cianfar]

here a link for most of your needs for understanding DSM. Jafro is awesome with his youtube videos. I believe he's on here I saw a few of his post. Jafro's Garage - YouTube

 

[GSTurbo1]

I would imagine it would be the valves if your getting 0 on it... pull the head and look to see if everything is the way it should be. Compare the other three to the one that is low.

 

[theoneandonlyg]

Get one from ebay or harbor freight about $50 or so, No need to spend the mega bux on one from one the tool trucks..

Doubtful you bent the valves on 1 cylinder at highway speed, I would expect to see lower compression across the board.

You may want to pop the VC off and just take a look, if you over reved, you may have just kicked a follower off.

Well I was going 90 when it happened. But is there anything I can do to increase compression in the other cylinders, or are those numbers okay? And i dont know what the VC is or how to pop it off haha, i'm going to have to use youtube like these guys say. And buying the leakdown tester myself will be cheaper than taking it to a shop correct?

There is a few good places to bring your car. One place I used to go is Bristol Dyno in Hartford. They specialize in DSMs. (I also grew up in ludlow)

This is the first time I have even heard of a shop around here that specializes in DSM's! I'm actually beginning to be a little more optimistic. And you're a former ludlow resident? Cool, what part and why did you move? And anyone in particular that you know by name at Bristol Dyno?

i forgot to tell you that youtube is pretty sweet to learn from if your just starting out. you can youtube how to do a leak down test and there will be a few videos that will show you excatly how.

here a link for most of your needs for understanding DSM. Jafro is awesome with his youtube videos. I believe he's on here I saw a few of his post. Jafro's Garage - YouTube

And thank you guys for steering me in the right direction and not just calling me a noob! I will definitely check the videos out asap.

 

[97gsxIA]

Pull the top timing belt cover off (if you ahve one on), take the spark plugs out so youre not fighting compression and hand crank the motor (clockwise obviously) and see if the timing marks align. That would be my firs thing I'd do just to give me peace of mind about timing jump.

Than, definitely do a leakdown test, bud.

Since you don't know much about DSM's I'd say its time to really start reading through this website's tech articles, how-to's, and forums to get your knowledge up.

Good luck my friend! You're not alone.

 

[gieri002]

Replacing your head is definitely a job you can do yourself if your a little tight on funds. A used/refurbished head can be had for $200-400. I'd definitely take this as a chance to learn. You didn't overpay for your car either. I wish I could find a white 2gb gsx with decent miles for $4250 around here.

 

[theoneandonlyg]

Pull the top timing belt cover off (if you ahve one on), take the spark plugs out so youre not fighting compression and hand crank the motor (clockwise obviously) and see if the timing marks align. That would be my firs thing I'd do just to give me peace of mind about timing jump.

Than, definitely do a leakdown test, bud.

Since you don't know much about DSM's I'd say its time to really start reading through this website's tech articles, how-to's, and forums to get your knowledge up.

Good luck my friend! You're not alone.

Thanks man, i definitely appreciate the advice, and I think I will start here as well. And yes, I can read the tech articles and such, but I'm just currently busy with applying for a nursing program. Kind of a little more important than making my eyes bleed, haha.

Replacing your head is definitely a job you can do yourself if your a little tight on funds. A used/refurbished head can be had for $200-400. I'd definitely take this as a chance to learn. You didn't overpay for your car either. I wish I could find a white 2gb gsx with decent miles for $4250 around here.

I have decided that I'm going to take it as a chance to learn for sure. And thanks for reassurance on the price. I actually drove three hours to vermont for it, and brought him down from $4500.

Also, apparently Bristol Dyno is out of business. What a bummer for us east coasters.

 

[n0de]

Just saw that you posted this

Well said. The idiot I bought my gsx from had platinum plugs in it and one day while driving a spark plug got so hot that it melted! Not to mention has caused me a few issues! NGK coppers ftw.

Sounds more like you were running super lean. Melting a spark plug regardless of its brand is a bad sign brother.

After you bought the car, you didn't by chance mess with the boost and turn it up did you?

 

[BogusSVO]

If you were doing 90 and the belt jumped, you would have more than 1 cylinder with 0 compression.

VC= Valve Cover It is held on with a hand full of 6mm x 1.00 bolts, has a 10mm head. then lifts right off.

Check the torque specs when you install it back on so you do not crack the VC.

For the compression numbers, cyl # 1 and #3 look fine, #2 is a tad low.. and #4 is the issue at this point.

 

[VtecvrsTurbo]

I grew up in Monson, my wife lived in Ludlow. I left for the military, and plan on coming back soon. I checked Bristol Dyno's web site, seems they went out of business. Sorry bout that. WTF