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Compression test...low=bad?


jacob80

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Hey guys,

 

Well I just put ANOTHER new head gasket on my L28ET which has been rebuild with the stock P90 head but we put the "improved valve stem seals" from Ford. I replaced the head gasket because I noticed oil was leaking down the side of the block a little bit, but nothing major. It was a Fel-Pro gasket but I just replaced that with a genuine Nissan L28ET gasket. Just to be sure, I took the head to the machine shop to ensure flatness. Not sure if this is even a factor, but I just compression tested the motor a week ago. Keep in mind I have not really run the motor (as we have a bad clutch) and this is a cold test. The tested results ranged from 120-115. I read somewhere that the FSM calls for 145 :/ Is this something to be concerned about? I know they're consistent, but are these numbers too low for this situation? Thanks guys!

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Jacob80, My compression on a newly built, but not run-in motor was 90PSI.

 

After letting it run for 20min at 2000RPM to break in the new cam, as directed by my cam grinder, compression jumped to 149PSI. I'm still not fully broken in, but it is an impressive difference between freshly built and 20 minutes of run-in.

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  • 4 weeks later...

im looking at a l28et, but it doesnt run.. would doing a compression test be the best way to tell if the motor is in somewhat good condition. im guessing from previous post it should be above 115.... thanks, sorry for stealing your post for a second lol

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If you are investigating a junkyard/used engine for how good it might be, a compression test is not the way to go. It will do, and it is easy, but ideally you should run a leakdown test.

 

Regardless how low the number is, if all six cylinders are pushing 85-90 PSI the engine will run fairly well, and surprise you with how much power it will have. If the same engine is rebuilt, run in, and re-tested to find 160 psi in all cylinders, it would not be a surprise. If, then, that engine somehow had one cylinder go to 130 while the rest were at 160, it would run like crap. If it ran.

 

Compression checking has almost nothing to do with the absolute number; all that matters is the six cylinders show up within 10 percent of each other.

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  • 2 months later...

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