Compression test after head gasket

S

stevo82

Member +
My head gasket blew recently, I had my mechanic replace it but he used the old head bolts. After a month something went horribly wrong, after a drag race the car died, struggled to start again and did not want to idle. There was milky oil in the oil cap so I took the head off and the gasket wasn't blown, but it showed clear signs of leaking between all cylinders and it was leaking through to one water channel as well, and there was milky substance on all pistons, consisted of mainly water, little bit of oil, no water in the sump though.

So I got a new gasket and new head bolts, replaced the gasket but the head bolts are crap, 1st one I tried to torque to 44Nm broke, replaced it with one of the old ones, which easily torqued to 44. The rest I just tightened to around 40 Nm, no degrees. The car starts up and idles but sounds a bit wrong (almost like running on 3 cylinders) and is blowing a lot of air out of the breather.

I just did a compression test, got about 125 -130 Psi at all 4 cylinders, this was with an open throttle. From what I read this is very low. So what do you guys think, is it because of the shitty head bolts, maybe the gasket is not sealing? I'm going to have to find better bolts, but its not easy finding parts in Namibia or South Africa (where the shitty ones came from).

Will appreciate any suggestions! :confused:
 
S

stevo82

Member +
Yeah just checked the valve timing again now, all lines up. Can timing cause this amount of air coming from the breather? Its quite a lot and a bit smoky.
 
S

stevo82

Member +
Ok so the car was not fully up to temp the first time round. Got it up to temp now and the 1st 3 cylinders give 130Psi and the last one only 60. I should also mention when I replaced the gasket I saw that the piston in the 60Psi cylinder was clean on top while the other 3 was black. Faulty injector? So the problem might be worn broken rings?
 
Rob H

Rob H

Member +
Could be one or more of many things. The head bolts wont help anything, it could be a cracked piston, broken rings but you should be able to see score marks on the bores with broken rings, it could also be valve related if a injector has gone this can also burn out the valves causing the same problems as you have. I would be pulling the head off again any way to fined out more!
 
S

Skalabala

Member +
Eish...
You did not torque the head 90 90...
The head obviously lifted after you started it.
There is someone in Namibia that had a strong starlet. He will be able to help you.
But your best bet will be to get the part numbers of the parts you want and get OEM parts.
 
C

crazyman

Fresh Recruit
Im not a mechanic but I am an enthusiast. Doesn't the head need to be skimmed after a head gasket fails (just in case it warped)? Its something that ya should check out.
 
ChrisStarletGT

ChrisStarletGT

Member +
crazyman said:
Im not a mechanic but I am an enthusiast. Doesn't the head need to be skimmed after a head gasket fails (just in case it warped)? Its something that ya should check out.
Click to expand...

i am a mechanic and yes after head gasket failure it is best advised to get the head skimmed your mechanic should hav checked it with a straight edge and torch
 
S

stevo82

Member +
Nah I bought a new gasket. The Toyota dealers here are full of sh!t when it comes to imports, they either dont want to help you or they charge you a lot extra and you have to wait for weeks (and that was before the tsunami!). Anyways, took out the piston and its broken off a piece between the top and middle rings and a piece between the bottom and middle rings. Luckily I have another engine for spares. Also found a complete second hand engine but they want N$9000 for it, I bought my current engine for N$5000, apparently its this expensive because of the Japan tsunami. Theres no way Im paying N$9000!

Im gonna try and find quality headbolts online. Here I cant even find a no 9 spline socket to buy, had to borrow one from a mechanic!
 
T

tersplat

Member +
see if someone on here will buy and ship you a set. It could be easier to do that then go through your local dealer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top