Engine Refresh and lost 15psi compression?

[Devilsfutbol17]

I bought this 1g back in January or so and it was running like crud. It was a real mess, leaking oil and sludge everywhere. So before I did anything, I warmed the car up to operating temperature, then did a compression test and got 140psi on all 4 cyclinders. Over the past three months I pulled the engine out and and took it all apart to clean everything and replace all the belts, hoses, and gaskets.

Well after putting it all back together, I took it for a test drive and it feels sluggish as hell. So I did a compression test, and now all the cylinders are down to about 120psi. I did a leak down test and that didn't come out good either, around 40% on all cylinders. I could hear air coming from the dipstick and oil cap on all the cylinders. Cylinder 1 I could hear air out of the throttle body elbow when I opened the throttle.

I've verified TDC with the cam gears and the crank pulley. I'm going to pull it out of the garage and give it some WOT and see if maybe the rings are stuck or something. I think there is something that I've over looked or missed seeing how all four cylinders have experienced the same loss in compression. Does anybody have any ideas on what would effect all cylinders like that?
Cylinder 1 Pre

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Cylinder 2 Pre

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Cylinder 3 Pre

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Cylinder 4 Pre

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Cylinder 1 Post

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Cylinder 2 Post

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Cylinder 3 Post

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Cylinder 4 Post

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

I lapped the valves and everything.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[91-GS]

New piston rings?

 

[JacksonAuto]

If pressure is leaking into the crankcase it's got to be the rings. Did you do anything to the bottom end while it was out?

 

[thearkatek]

Sometimes all the gunk can seal up things in an old engine creating better compression. What kind of shape were the cylinder walls in?

 

[95talongirl]

Yeah, also thinking you are probably looking at a ring problem.

 

[Devilsfutbol17]

Yeah I agree the leak down test results look like rings. I guess I should have done that test before I took it apart as well. The only changes I made to the block was I removed the balance shafts and put in the bearings that block the oil passages for the bearings.

I'll see if I have some pictures of the cylinder walls, although I don't remember anything looking bad. I did spray WD-40 on them once the block was apart to prevent surface rust. The bottom of the pistons looked really pretty.

 

[BogusSVO]

Looking at the pic of the block you have posted, with the Evergreen HG installed.

From what I see in cylinders #2, #3 and #4 is a single ring wear line, but if you look at #1, you can see 2

 

[Devilsfutbol17]

Well I've put almost 200 miles on the engine since I put it back in and its running pretty well. I check the compression again and it hasn't changed. As long as it stays running good, it will serve its purpose. I plan to build it later down the road.

Only problem now is I'm getting some decent part throttle knock. Thanks for the help everyone.