SO here's the problem, this turbo kit has been sittin in my room for about 2 months now and i really want to put it on but i just tested the compression and got 150 125 135 150...ugly so now i've gotta decide if i wanna sell the turbo kit, sell the car and the kit, rebuild, or just put the kit on and boost no more than 5 lbs till i can afford a rebuild (btw i rarely drive the car hard or push it past 5 grand b/c i don't want to rebuild before i can afford it cause i'm still in college so money's kinda low) Bottom line is i really wanna just boost it but i don't wanna fuck myself in the ass by doin it. Any advice/suggestions/opinions?

Did you do the test with a fully warmed up engine, or was it cold? If it was cold, then those numbers are fine. Even so, if it runs good, and doesnt burn oil or anything, then just go ahead and boost it. You will want to run more boost anyway, so you will want to rebuild later on regardless.

it was warm i just had driven it for like 15 minutes, it seems to run good though and only burns a little oil, btw there was a little oil on the plug in the #1 cylinder

oil on the pluggs is caused by leaky spark plug gaskets on the valve cover, that if it on the top. Now if the tip is wet though that could indicate a headgasket thats going or valve steam seal/guides.

Heh all the top of my pistons are wet with oil and its neither of those thing could be the rings though. oh yeah it could be the rings also.

150s are kinda low thats where my engine was when it started lagging a lot. So your engine is worn out, if you do rebuild it buy the pistons after you take the block out unlike a dumbass like me that just assumed the cylinder was fine and popped in some standard pistons. Cuz I'm thinking thats my problem right now.

oh yeah if you want some higher compression and slow the oil consumption you can try putting thicker oil in than you normally run. Like 10w-40 instaed of 10w-30 or gasp maybe 20w-50 if you live in a place that gets pretty hot. Or you can put some kinda oil additive that will increase your oils viscosity like Lucus Oil Stabalizer or something that seems to be the route I"m going -_-'

thanks, anyone else?

Since your a college student, I would risk it with the low comp. Just something to think about imo.

i guess its not that bad. when you do a compression test, all the cylinders are supposed to be within about ~14psi. did you try putting some oil in the low cylinder? also, serviceable compression numbers are 100psi for a 420a NT, so in that regards you're "alright".

go to a shop that has a LEAK DOWN TESTER and see what they come up with.

Boost it anyway. You'll blow it up eventually just the same.

Originally posted by DarkOne
Boost it anyway. You'll blow it up eventually just the same.

rightON! Atleast it will give you an excuse to spend the extra money and rebuild.:shrug

one other thing, nobody was lookin at the gauge when the engine was being cranked is it possible that the guy who did it didn't crank the engine long enough before the gauge stopped bouncing around (he held it for like four turns)

yeah you might wanna crank it a bit more like 8 times or something. But if you got a helper just tell him to let you know when it stops rising. You can use a hand signal to indicate it or just yell really loud.

yeah if you do boost it just be ready to rebuild it. also even though the number are close to each other (which is good) the stock compression spec for a good engine is 215 so your short like 65 psi so yours is pretty tired.

did you mean 4 turns of the key? did they disconect the relays on the firewall?

Originally posted by eclipse_99rs
did you mean 4 turns of the key? did they disconect the relays on the firewall?

no, holding the key while the engine cranked four times not going from off to on 4 times, and no the guy didn't disconnect the relays on the firewall would that have anything to do with the low #'s?

The relay prevents the fuel injectors from spraying fuel but as far as your numbers go, you should crank it at least 5. I say boost it, you can always built it later. :D

I always crank it until the reading doesn't go up anymore. Usually 5-8 times.

Turby said it already. Get a leakdown Test to find out where your problem lies in those 2 crappy cylinders.

I don't think "I" would just boost it cause the first time it sees boost something shitty might happen. :(

Then you just wasted the time putting your kit on.

Although.........I've had the turbo out of the silvia like 12 times now and I can pull the manifold, exhaust, turbo in like 20 minutes. :)