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Hey just wanted some help interpreting the compression test results i just got.
car is a 2003 kia optima with 2.4 engine.
I performed the test the same as ye old compression test video from a million years ago. I never did it before, here are the results.
|-Cyl-|-1- |-2-|-3-|-4-|
|Dry-|182|196|185|155
|Wet-|215|280|255|210Cylinder 2 when i pulled the spark plugs out, was covered in oil. Inspecting down it looked like there was oil in the cylinder. I am not sure if that oil was pooled in the spark plug hole and fell in, or the other way around. What cuases oil in the cylinder like that? I have had a mystery oil leak for years now. I did the valve cover gaskets years ago and it had saturdated the end of the spark plug, so i think it was inside the motor.
Cylinder 3 squeaked on the dry test
Would it be higher if i put more oil in, or accidently cranked too many times? like with the 280 on cyl 2?
A picture of the spark plugs is attached.
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your oil rings on #2 are not sealing well anymore. Not much you can do at this point. I’m not much for a mechanic in a can, But
there is a product called restore engine which some people have had good luck with. At this point you could try it. if it helps you did good.
If not your shopping for a new car.Oil rings, hmm never heard of that. Thought you meant piston rings before i looked it up. They are a component of the piston rings i guess.
Does this cause the oil in the cylinder, or the high compression, or both? I guess i am still hoping to find oil above the sparkplug as the source of the leak next time i open it up (maybe this weekend) as then its just a gasket or some kind of problem with the valve cover being warped. rather than piston / oil rings.
its been running like this since i purchased it 65,000 km ago… takes a top up of about 1L of oil every 2 months (aprox 1500kms), which while somewhat annoying to keep on top of, could be much worse.
EDIT: looked up that engine restore stuff, they have it at canadian tire. I am super weary about adding things to the motor but it has good reviews. I thought my compression on the wet test was way too high (The book says reference compression should be 178). Doesnt this increase compression? i could see it being useful on cyl 4 in that case but cyl 2 is actually above the spec as with the others sitting at ~180. Will this make it go so high that the engine will blow?
New to engine issues and what to look for, but your compression numbers are way beyond tolerance at cyls 2 and 4…+-10. If money is tight, but you’re attached to the Kia, keep up with the appropriate levels of oil and just drive it out. At this point an additive will only prolong the healthiest part of your vehicle, but don’t be surprised if something catastrophic happens out of the blue. You could be looking at another 75k or 10k. Darn Kias. Good luck brotha.
Maybe i misspoke. There are usually three piston rings. Top keeps compression in the cylinder. middle does the same but also aids in scraping oil
from cylinder walls. bottom ring is a oil scraper ring which aids in oil control. keeping the oil in the crank case. Either way your rings are not sealing well
anymore. as for the engine Restore, it will only restore compression back to normal if it can help.
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