I think its time to part with the car

[trashcop 80s 80s]

I have been noticing a very slightly rough idle lately, actually for a while. I thought it was the plug wires, so I ordered some and went to change them. While the old ones were off I decided to do a compression test. Good ol cylinder four is at 60psi. I squirted some oil in the cylinder and it jumps up to 170~. I am wondering what the problem is. I thought rings pretty much wore evenly, all the other cylinders were ~140psi. I just changed the HG about 8k ago. I am thinking maybe a bad valve seat is the problem. I couldn't believe it. The car runs so strong. I raced a friends 98 Prelude VTec and beat him by a car length so I was surprised when I found this out. I figured it would run so much shittier with one cylinder compressing so poorly.

Anyway, I am in college, and I don't really want to deal with the car anymore. I love e30s, but I think I will wait until I graduate so I can enjoy modding one more. I guess I'll be driving my boring ass Nissan until I graduate. Start making some offers on the e30 I guess.:(

[PeaveyBassist]

If you put oil in it and it jumps up THAT high... its the rings in that cylinder. That sucks though. My cyl 3 is 75psi and 2/4 are 95psi and others are 120/130.

Will

[RobertK]

If you're not up to rebuilding it then I would just drop another M20 in it and call it day. You could probably find a good M20 for the price of what it would cost to have a shop install a new head gasket.

With the right tools & help I bet you could do it in 8-10 hours.

[AdironRider]

Depending on the condition of the rest of the car youll probably be better off selling it. Anyone here whos in college can attest that trying to rebuild a beater is not feasible on a college budget. Spend your money on having a good time while you can, you can always buy a project e30 later on down the road.

[trashcop 80s 80s]

I honestly don't think I can sell it. I have had this thing for nearly four years.

If I knew exactly what the problem was then it is no problem for me to fix it. I don't want to go in and not fix the problem though.

Could a leakdown test pinpoint the problem? A friend has a guage set that I could use, but I don't know how to do the test.

[misterlance]

I honestly don't think I can sell it. I have had this thing for nearly four years.

If I knew exactly what the problem was then it is no problem for me to fix it. I don't want to go in and not fix the problem though.

Could a leakdown test pinpoint the problem? A friend has a guage set that I could use, but I don't know how to do the test.

If you are getting blow-by in the piston rings you should see burning oil. If a bad valve seat, the spark plugs should tell the story. If its bad rings and you're strapped, just drive it. It'll foul plugs quickly but will run a long time. Either way you'll have to rebuild, so be a trooper and drive it till you hear metal knocking or it explodes.

[RobertK]

Or sell it to me...