Low compression 1990 6 bolt

[blakkat]

Well I did a compression test on the car and got the following results

Cylinder 1 - 105psi
Cylinder 2 - 95psi
Cylinder 3 - 115psi
Cylinder 4 - 115psi

Didn't have a chance to do a leak down or a wet test. However I noticed the car feels very laggy for a 14b so I checked the cam timing to make sure it wasn't off a tooth, here's what I got

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Just wanted someone to check it over but it looks good. So am I looking at getting a new motor now?

 

[jmartinez1228]

I'm wondering if its worth the trouble honestly, I've heard a few things about me needing a full wiring harness swap, the rear end is going out so I would also need a 4 bolt swap. Would it be more cost affective to get rid of it and look for a 1gb? Or a 91 1ga?

The big plus here is its a pretty clean body, very very minimal rust here's a few pictures the previous owner sent me before I bought it

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Now I gotta fix the ebrake cable , it got stuck or a caliper locked up last night? Not sure which

Huh? Where did you read that you need to change the wiring harness to rebuild a motor?
And how does getting another car fix this problem? You can buy another car with a junk motor and have this same issue.
You definitely have some options to think about though.

 

[blakkat]

No not to change the motor, just everyone said the 1990 dsm's are a bi*** to maintain and to do a conversion to a 91 harness if I'm keeping it long term

 

[jmartinez1228]

No not to change the motor, just everyone said the 1990 dsm's are a bi*** to maintain and to do a conversion to a 91 harness if I'm keeping it long term

I had a feeling that's what you were referring to.

 

[blakkat]

Yeah I'm just wondering if it would be more cost affective to just look for a 91 or later car. Then even if I have to build the motor I won't have to fight with all the other stuff. What do you guys think?

 

[Bo0sTdTsI]

Its really up to you, i have a 90 6bolt and at first i wont lie it was pretty frustrating but once you get it down its not tood bad. Id keep that 90 if i were you that looks like the body is in real good condition. Id rebuild the block and whatever else you need done and get her back on the road especially if it has low miles . Mine has been hella reliable and has seen a good amount of abuse already. Like i said thoug, its up to you and if it was me id keep it, i got addicted to mine.

 

[swifteagle]

Don't hate I have a 90 tsi.

 

[jmartinez1228]

You can convert a few common parts from a 90 to a 92-94. I can't remember them all off the top of my head because some are for one particular swap then the other but it really isn't all that bad. I never did it to my car because I just pick up 90 parts as people part theirs out. Never really had an issue finding anything.

One thing I would consider converting down the road is the tranny/tcase/shifter/shifter cables to a 92-94 simply because there are far more 1gb trannies out there then 1ga.

Again it is up to you. I would start by getting your motor issue sorted out first though.

 

[blakkat]

Well here's a list of what I need to fix
Purely from a drive ability standpoint

Rebuild motor, bottom end and valve guides

Rebuild trans ( second gear synchro)

4 bolt rear ( bearings whining)

Performance standpoint
Needs dsmlink ( on a crappy chip)
Needs fmic ( has a stock smic with 2g maf so it contacts the intercooler piping)
Needs Wally 190 or 255
Needs waste gate actuator
Needs struts all the way around soon

Here's what the car has that I know of
85k on cluster
2g maf, welded 1 piece downpipe back exhaust , EPROM with chip, stock 14b turbo. 2g manifold, boost gauge.