[MR2] 1987 Mk1 advice - revisited

[Kurt Krueger]

On 2/17/2012 4:37 PM, Jeff Richter wrote:
> Gentlefolk,
>
> To recap, from my messages of a few weeks ago, my 1987 MKI NA was 
> stored for three years, wouldn't start after I had it towed to 
> mechanic to give it a once-over.  Engines turns, but backfires, 
> doesn't catch.  He though it might have stuck valves, hilarity ensued 
> here on the list.
>
> So anyway, I just got off the phone with the mechanic (it's been a 
> busy few weeks at work so I haven't been in touch).
>
> Turns out the valves are perfect.  No problems at all.
>
> Compression is bad on the 2 & 3 cylinders.
>
> Compression numbers by cylinder are:
> 1: 135
> 2: 60
> 3: 90
> 4: 160
>
> He tells me at a minimum it's a bad head gasket, more likely is a 
> warped or cracked cylinder head [said something about a "hollow 
> hump"].  Because of the tight tolerances, odds of successfully 
> re-machining a warped head are low [got into a variety of factors with 
> valve clearances and stuff after the fact that go to this that I won't 
> rehash here unless someone insists he's a hack and it should be the 
> simplest thing in the world to fix].
You can't rely on compression number from a cold engine.  If you read 
the procedure, they always say to do it hot.  These numbers are very 
close to my '83 Camry's cold numbers.  When hot, it's pretty close to 
150 straight across. And the engine runs great.