Low compression on Cylinder #2

Discussion in 'Modifications & DIY how-to' started by stirhino, Sep 7, 2014.

  1. stirhino

    stirhino Member

    OK long story short.... I was in kill mode and running hard up into 6th, After market oil cap blew off like a missile (think maybe vibrated a little loose but not sure??). Got the car home no issues, Car ran fine.

    Decided to do the oil cap off while car is running test. Sure enough it was puffing smoke from the oil cap, nothing out the exhaust and oil is clean and full. So I pulled all plugs and did a compression test.

    1 = 150
    3 = 150
    2 = 70
    4 = 135

    Car starts fine, idles fine, drives fine, does not smoke while driving. No coolant in oil.

    Head gasket toast? Or other issue?

    Price guess on head gasket from allpro?

    OK to still drive like a baby 12 miles to work?
     
  2. Sparta

    Sparta Active Member

    Probably rings. Stock motor?
     
  3. Mike@TSM

    Mike@TSM Member

    Ya, it's pretty unlikely that it's a head gasket... by any chance did you complete a leak down test?
     
  4. stirhino

    stirhino Member

    No leak down test. Don't have leak down gauges and didn't feel like buying some and doing the crap again.

    CP Pistons
    Manley turbo tuff I-beam rods
    king bearings
    ARP head studs
    BC stage 2 cams
    BC springs and retainers
    GS lightweight crank pulley
    PT 6266 turbo
    Tial Q BOV
    Tial 48mm wastegate
    Rotated intake
    FMIC
    TGV deletes
    Killer B oil pickup
    Walbro 460
    AEM fuel pressure regulator
    Perrin rails
    ID2000
     
  5. Mike@TSM

    Mike@TSM Member

    Hmmm.. have you drained the oil yet?
     
  6. stirhino

    stirhino Member

    No I haven't.

    I drove it home 35+ miles from C&O with zero issues after it happened. Oil on dip stick looks clean and good of course that doesnt show debris.

    If it was the rings on Cylinder 2 wouldnt it push oil into combustion camber and smoke?
     
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2014
  7. Mike@TSM

    Mike@TSM Member

    I hear ya, well it doesn't sound like a head gasket to me but some more investigation is really needed to confirm anything. I would drain the oil and see what it looks like and go from there. Either way, it's going to have to come apart to truly pin point it. Feel free to shoot me a call or email this week and I can run everything by one of my techs to help diagnose it a little more - those guys are the actual experts haha.
     
  8. integroid

    integroid Supporting Member

    The ringland could be cracked and the reason why it seems to be ok....sorry man but sounds like it will have to come apart:(
     
  9. stirhino

    stirhino Member

    Will a leak down tell me if it is ring/piston issue, or head gasket or something else?

    CP piston have ring land failure?
     
  10. Sparta

    Sparta Active Member

    Anything can fail if not installed right or overdone. You just got this thing on the road didn't you?
     
  11. stirhino

    stirhino Member

    Motor probably has 6-8k. I bought it about 4 months ago.
     
  12. Mike@TSM

    Mike@TSM Member

    The leak down will help determine where the compression leak is coming from to give you a better idea upfront of what you're dealing with.

    Yes, aftermarket forged pistons are stronger but the factory ones don't fail because they are weak; they fail because Subaru set the top ring gap tolerance too tight for as large a bore the EJ25 has - the same thing can happen with aftermarket pistons if it's not assembled correctly.
     
  13. Who/or where did you buy your motor?(or have it built)I might be wanting one and wondered about this.
     
  14. stirhino

    stirhino Member

    It was done in NY. So no worries if your going local.
     
  15. b reel

    b reel Active Member

  16. Mike@TSM

    Mike@TSM Member

    Were you able to figure anything out?
     
  17. stirhino

    stirhino Member

    Haven't had time to do anything honestly but I Sure you are right. Ringland or ring failure. I will for sure post once I have it figured out and what the plans are.
     
  18. Mike@TSM

    Mike@TSM Member

    Well I hope I am not right! Let me know if there's anything we can help with.
     
  19. Honestly man it is VERY VERY rare to see a ring land fail on a forged piston.

    I would be more inclined to think it was in the head than in the bottom if it isn't pushing oil to be honest. If a leak down is done correctly it will tell the tail.

    If the oil looks good, it isn't using an excessive amount and it has forged pistons, its 90% in the valve job or the head someplace.

    Hope this helps, I think we charge 100 bucks or something for a diagnosis if you want us to tell you for sure just give Mike a call. If there is any help we can give free over the phone we are happy to do that too.
     
  20. superhawk28

    superhawk28 Member

    Since this is a CP piston engine with the harder alloy, I'm in agreement with Cicio. I'm inclined to say either valve or spark plug thread failure (like the pic below).

    [​IMG]
     
  21. stirhino

    stirhino Member

    Would valve issue cause low compression? I need to figure it out for sure, because the I have new short block plans but if I have head issues Ill need that addressed. Also if the head has formed a crack can it be welded / fixed?


    Mike, if I take a day off work and drive up to top speed can you guys do the diagnosis while I wait?
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2014
  22. superhawk28

    superhawk28 Member

    Yes it can cause the head isn't sealing up
     
  23. this
     
  24. Mike@TSM

    Mike@TSM Member

    Absolutely. Give me a ring today and we will get you on the schedule - 678-297-7770.

    Thanks!
     
  25. superhawk28

    superhawk28 Member

    If you end up needing head work there's a great set of Cosworths for sale.....Mike has em.
     
  26. stirhino

    stirhino Member

    Well hopefully we will know what the issue is today.
     
  27. stirhino

    stirhino Member

    Thanks to TopSpeed we now know it is short block related.
     
  28. Mike@TSM

    Mike@TSM Member

    Thanks again for coming up man! Look forward to hearing from you.
     
  29. the_anon_message

    the_anon_message New Member

    What specifically about the short block? If you don't mind me asking
     
  30. stirhino

    stirhino Member

    Won't know 100 percent until I pull the motor but it's either pistion Ringland failure, ring failure or I ovaled the cylinder. Most like I ovaled the cylinder because I was running the car hard in kill mode at 25psi. High boost and non reinforced blocks don't mix well. But we know cylinder 2 was leaking 90%! And it's not head related. That was my main concern.
     
  31. superhawk28

    superhawk28 Member

    25 psi isn't high boost....I ran 28 psi on the 2.0L for 50k miles! My built 2.5L was running 28 psi daily.
     
  32. Justin V

    Justin V Member

    Depends on the compression ratio

    mine is nearly 8.8:1 so I doubt I'll see anything that high on my 93 map.
     
  33. superhawk28

    superhawk28 Member

    Mine was a hybrid....wrx heads. My CR was quite high to. Granted I did run methanol injection though.
     
  34. the_anon_message

    the_anon_message New Member

    I'm sorry to hear that, but I hope everything works out.
    Keep us updated though!
     
  35. digitizedsoul

    digitizedsoul Moderation is a vice Supporting Member

    Meth / water changes everything.
    Ryan runs 93octane and so does Justin (and myself).
    For non pinned blocks 23-24psi is absolutely plenty for the size turbo's we run. In fact Ryan and I have the same precision turbo.

    Believe me I was very tempted to turn mine up at the 1/2 mile this Saturday to break 150mph, but after reviewing my datalog last night from one of my runs, my inlet air temp went from 109 to 148 for the duration of the 1/2 mile run.
    Once it crossed 130 it started to pull timing and I even saw a couple 1.4's feedback knock (not concerning really) but it definitely confirms that I am on the limit of 93octane with that boost level.
     
  36. digitizedsoul

    digitizedsoul Moderation is a vice Supporting Member

    Also Ryan Chris and I are trying to get together for him to drop off my hoist and stand. As soon as he does it's yours to use, and of course let me know when the rebuild happens i'm there bro
     
  37. stirhino

    stirhino Member

    No rush not pulling for about 4 weeks.
     
  38. digitizedsoul

    digitizedsoul Moderation is a vice Supporting Member

    k well I got it at the house now Chris dropped it off.
    Whenever u are ready
     

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