i'm having some trouble with my car. about a month and a half ago when i checked my oil, none was showing on the dip stick. so i just went ahead and decided it was a good time to change the oil. when i had the car lifted i saw fresh oil from under the intake manifold area but couldn't pin point where exactly it was coming from. so this past week after replacing two motor mounts and valve gasket i did a compression test. my numbers were 95, 215, 210, 225. it seems it's the HG. today i had to add another quart of oil. how quickly should i get this fix? i rather wait untill i have enough money to rebuild the bottom-end and hrc kit to do it all at once. and if i'm rebuilding the top-end as well, is it better to do it all at once?

95 is horrible...

Horrible... that sounds like a cracked ring land. That's your number 1 piston (passenger side most)? I would take some brake cleaner to the back of your head and clean things up, that oil on the back may not be your head gasket and could have been the valve cover gasket you fixed, and target where it's coming from. What year is your car?

Originally posted by WickedESi
95 is horrible... Horrible... that sounds like a cracked ring land. That's your number 1 piston (passenger side most)? I would take some brake cleaner to the back of your head and clean things up, that oil on the back may not be your head gasket and could have been the valve cover gasket you fixed, and target where it's coming from. What year is your car?

it is cylinder well 1 that's at 95. i actually cylinder 1 at 95 for sometime now so it was like that before i replace the valve gasket. and my car is a 99.

Do a leak down test and see if the number rises, if it does it's your rings/ring lands, if it doesn't it's probably a valve seal.

99's have MLS head gaskets, it's unheard of of a blown MLS head gasket on a 2gnt.

i also had my SES light come on 2 days ago and this light keeps coming on and off for sometime now. every time i get it checked it reads PO301 miss fire in cyclinder 1. could did have anything to do with the compression number reading low?

Compression that low would cause misfire. Do a leakdown test so we can determine what the problem is.

i'm not sure what a leakdown test is? i remember reading it somewhere but can't remember. isn't that something that has to be done by a mechanic?

It's simply putting a cap full of oil into the cylinder through the spark plug hole then testing the compression again. If it goes up, your rings are bad, if it doesn't your valve seals are bad. I highley doubt it's your head gasket.

cool, i'll get back to you as soon i can get that done. thanxs for all your help so far.

today i did another compression test and added oil as you said to do and my number went from 95 up to 110 almost reaching 115. so where does this leave me? and how quickly should i fix this?

Your warming the car up before you do the compression test right?

It sounds like you have a bad valve seat/seal, it could be the head gasket, the compression didn't go up that much w/ the leakdown test.

Has someone serviced your head before (lol)?

What year is your car?

Has your timming belt skipped before?

Using nitrous?

Originally posted by WickedESi
Your warming the car up before you do the compression test right? It sounds like you have a bad valve seat/seal, it could be the head gasket, the compression didn't go up that much w/ the leakdown test. Has someone serviced your head before (lol)? What year is your car? Has your timming belt skipped before? Using nitrous?

1.I am warming up the car, i drove it for about 20min or so before the test. is there a certain amount your suppose to put of oil because i only put half a cap from a gallon of oil(not quart).
2.I'm second owner of the car and the head was never service since i had it and that's been for a year and a half.
3.my car is a 1999.
4.i don't know if my timming belt skipped before. what would be the syptoms? i'm going on 55000 miles.
5.i only have CAI, ES inserts, AFX udp, and obx exhaust... so no nitrous.

^, with that being said since the problem is not obvious, I would have a leakdown test performed, by a shop, unless you know somebody w/ an air compressor.

Originally posted by WickedESi
It's simply putting a cap full of oil into the cylinder through the spark plug hole then testing the compression again. If it goes up, your rings are bad, if it doesn't your valve seals are bad. I highley doubt it's your head gasket.

How many times do i have to explain it..

ATTENTION VAST UNWASHED MASSES - PUTTING OIL IN THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER IS NOT A LEAKDOWN.

A leakdown is the application of metered compressed air into the combustion chamber with the piston at TDC. From that, you can determine what % of cylinder leakdown you're seeing (regulated 100PSI in, reporting 95psi in the chamber, 5% leakdown.) and, by checking all the obvious places for air to leak, (tailpipe, oil cap, radiator cap, throttle body inlet) you can determine which sealing area is causing the problem. it requires a special regulator to doproperly, but you can just blow some compressed air in there and see where it leaks...

THANK YOU.

Opps, duh, ignore me calling that a leakdown, I've just heard it called that soo many times.

to answer your questions.
1.I am warming up the car, i drove it for about 20min or so before the test. is there a certain amount your suppose to put of oil because i only put half a cap from a gallon of oil(not quart).
2.I'm second owner of the car and the head was never service since i had it and that's been for a year and a half.
3.my car is a 1999.
4.i don't know if my timming belt skipped before. what would be the syptoms? i'm going on 55000 miles.
5.i only have CAI, ES inserts, AFX udp, and obx exhaust... so no nitrous.

sorry for the double post

Well, to put simply, 95psi compression is bad. The head needs to come off so you can determine exactly what is broken, be it a valve or a probelm with the piston itself.

Originally posted by DarkOne
Well, to put simply, 95psi compression is bad. The head needs to come off so you can determine exactly what is broken, be it a valve or a probelm with the piston itself.

is it that or could it still be another possibility where it has nothing to do with the head. i checked under the car again today and the oil is everywhere right from the back of the motor (below the manifold) straight down.

Your gonna have to pull the head regardless.

Can you tell where on the back the oil is coming from?

no it's everywhere when i look from under.