Re: Blown head gasket?

["Christian Els" <tiAn@usiw.net>]

Stuart,

Those numbers are a little low for an 8V, but not awful (if a DX is 8.5:1
compression, yes?).

They are pretty uniform (almost within 10%, a normal rule of thumb for
acceptability) so I would suspect either worn rings or valve guides/seals
instead  of the head gasket, especially since the low cylinders weren't
adjacent.

I would suggest doing three sets of readings and averaging them per cylinder
if you are unsure of your results. Standard deviation will likely swap which
is the low cylinder for each run-through, but the average gives a pretty
accurate overview.

Also, make sure the engine is up to operating temperature and that you have
the throttle wide open, these are part of the normal procedure and will
raise the returned values over cold/no fuel in the chamber if you feel your
car otherwise runs/drives OK.

Another possibility for missing coolant is a small split in a hose that
either drips off the car when hot/under pressure, or leaks onto a hot
surface that boils it away. Look for white stains on the hoses and radiator
to corroborate this. When was the last time you verified the coolant level?
Some evaporation over time is normal...

Cheers,

Christian
87 16V



----- Original Message -----
From: Stuart Castledine <castledine@btinternet.com>
To: scirocco list <scirocco-l@scirocco.org>
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2000 7:06 AM
Subject: Blown head gasket?


My coolant light started flashing yesterday and I had to add 2 pints to
bring the level up to the maximum. I can't see any water leaks, so that
leaves the head gasket, although I haven't noticed excessive steam coming
from the exhaust.

I've done a compression test today, with the following results (the engine
is an 8V DX):

No.1 - 142 psi
No.2 - 128
No.3 - 140
No.4 - 128

How much variance is acceptable between cylinders?
I find it a bit strange that two non-adjacent cylinders are low, rather than
just one or an adjacent pair.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Stuart




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