Compression test results

Harbor freight fun

Alright so after visiting the local HF I picked up and compression tester and achieved the following results.
Dry test
Cylinder 1. 150psi
Cylinder 2. 148psi
Cylinder 3. 148psi
Cylinder 4. 150psi
Cylinder 5. 154psi
Cylinder 6. 150psi
Avg. 150psi
Max difference 6psi

After some more research apparently the HF compression tester reads a little low compared to other testers due to the location of the valve, but hey they are all consistent and higher than the minimum valve in the Bentley manual so good enough. Next I put a little oil in each cylinder to run a wet test just as the manual describes.

Wet test
Cylinder 1. 159psi
Cylinder 2. 157psi
Cylinder 3. 156psi
Cylinder 4. 158psi
Cylinder 5. 163psi
Cylinder 6. 160psi
Avg. 158.8psi
Max difference 7psi

So overall my engine is fairly healthy and I was pretty happy with the results, but she still eats oil so next is to figure out where its coming from. So I returned the compression tester to good ole HF and got a cylinder leak down tester. After taking the airbox and fan out of the way and getting all the plugs and fun stuff out of the way I found out that the stupid HF hose connector wouldn’t connect to the air hose >:(

SO after trying to file the connector and trying to get the hose to seat on the connector and realizing I need a new adapter, I decided to just plug in the compressed air tank directly to the cylinders and listen. Since my car was taken apart and I couldn’t go get a new hose fitting, and from the results of the last test I knew that the leakage shouldn’t be too bad I just need to know whats leaking. One by one I listened to each cylinder and each one is about the same where you can hear air coming from the oil cap. A few of them were leaking a tiny amount through the intake and exhaust, but NONE of it was making through to the coolant.

So my conclusion is that the head gasket is fine and just the fact that my car has 172k miles on it and I’m just going to drive it as is and keep the oil changes regular even though it eats oil. If and when it ever needs more attention I’ll deal with it, but for now its fine. I am going to get some new hose fittings and try the leak down tester again, because since I have the tool I would like to know precisely how much each cylinder is leaking.