Come and listen to a story ‘bout my nine five one,
Had ‘nuff boost and suspension to make it really fun.
Then last week all the boost went away,
Got advice from some rennlisters that helped save the day.

Wastegate’s a leaking. Compression test, Leakdown.

Well the next thing you know my compression’s looking sad,
Leakdown test said number one’s bad.
Hissing from the filler pipe and exhaust too,
Pulling off the head seems the only thing to do.

Fingers crossed. Hope it’s head gasket, and not something worse.

Looking at the photos, I think you’ll all agree
The scoring in the cylinders is damn easy to see.
But it doesn’t catch your fingernail when you drag it all across
So are the cylinders a complete and total loss???

Y’all comment at will now. Ya hear?



Anyway, what else can a guy do but maintain their sense of humor in situations like this?

Another aspect of my tale of woe- I've been loosing coolant, about a cup every two weeks or so. Check out how shiny clean the number one piston top is- water injection!

My big question- I'd like to do the rebuild (whatever that would be- bore/pistons or sleeve/stock pistons or new block), but am tight on funds and time right now. I'd like to start saving for a rebuild or a low miles 2.5 liter short block if needed, but for now throw a new headgasket back on, button up the engine so the car is at least driveable, and then dig into the project when time and money are in supply.

A friend that's a factory trained porsche mechanic came by yesterday and felt like the block would hold up for a while with a new head gasket, giving me time to research, determine and budget the solution (sleeving, a replacement short block, or boring and re-finishing)

Has anyone else had cylinders scored to this level and left them as is? Number two is the worst, you can feel the ridges with a fingernail, barely. 1, 3 and 4 aren't detectable to the nail, only to the eye. #2 has exhibiting 10% leakdown.

I think i was getting some leakdown across cyclinders as well (one into two). I could hear exhasut hissing but the exhaust valves look to be seating well.

Any and all advice welcome


Note how clean #1 is


Headgasket- top side


Headgasket- bottom side


#1


#2


#3


#4

 

The combustion chamber images---



#1


#2


#3


#4

 

BTDT! Whatever you do, don't call AMW!
Nice song though, a sence of humor really helps at a time like this. Bore/etch/hone and new pistons is big bucks, sleeve and custom pistons is even bigger bucks but extra displacement is nice. Unless you want to spend the $$$ on the bigger motor you'd be better off finding a good used block. If you end up putting your current motor back together for a while why not pick up a decent used shortblock, refresh it yourself and then swap it when it's ready?

 

BTDT? translation please

Dave, you're reading my mind or something. That's the plan I'm most comfortable with. 270-300 hp with the stock block and guru kit is plenty for me.

I'm hoping to hear someone tell me they re-assembled their block with similar scoring and got 50,000 miles out ot it...

 

do what you will, but my 85.5 ran beauituflly with some NASTY NASTY scores in it. those are nothing!!! you were getting no compression? weird stuff man, its funny how these engines are. on one with minor scoring you lose compression, and on another with SICK scoring the compression was fine.

good luck!
-Mike-

 

Dave- you're THE Dave with the AMW story... Now I get it BTDT= been there done that... That was a very sad story. You should write up some lyrics to your saga to the tune of Mission Impossible...

 

Yesterday:
Compression was 125 and bouncing, 155, 155, 150
Leakdown was 30%, 10%, 7%, 4%
Note: One number 1, I had to crank up the pressure to hear it in the oil filler. I think i was getting leak through into #2 across the HG and that was hissing into the exhaust- a guess

Back in November, less than 5000 miles ago:
compression was 153, 155, 155, 151
leakdown was 7%, 4%, 7%, 7%

 

That story wouldn't fit into Alice's restaurant!

 

even with 8X10 glossy photos?

 

Forget about all the circles and arrows, there isn't enough room on the back for all the paragraphs!

 

That's encouraging news. A light at the end of the tunnel?... or is that the Union Pacific with a load of broccoli?

 

Rule of thumb on scored cylinders:

If you can catch the edge of your nail on them, they are too deep and the block needs work. Anything less and you should be able to re-ring and run it.

They don't look terrible to me.. but it's hard to tell from pictures.

 

At the risk of sounding like a nit-wit, how would you define "catch the edge of your nail"? I'd guess it to be that if the nail hooks and snaps off the edge of a scratch, while being dragged acorss the scratch, that would be a "catch", as opposed to feeling the smooth, subtle ridges of the scratch with your nail, which would not be a catch.

To re-ring, I'm going to need to drop my pan, aren't I? Ick! That was a pleasant job.

 

Funny song...

 

Not THAT's a sense of humor.. Nice song.