Compression test. Am i doing this wrong?
Here's my deal,
My motor's been running like crap the last day, found a bunch of fowled plugs, figured id do a test to see what outcome i got.
So i hooked my compression gauge up, hit the ignition, counted 4 turns, and read my gauge, read 150psi. I figured it might be hurting, but not that bad.
I tried just holding the key to it to see how high it got, and it eventually reached up to 180psi.
Question here, is if im holding it open longer, am i just allowing it to keep piling up compression and giving myself an inaccurate reading?
it hits 175-180 and it doesnt go past there after i hold it over for 10-15 seconds.
Just looking for some clarification here to know whether my motor's fubar'd, or just lower compression
All help appreciated.
Kept the key over for 10 seconds:
1 - 170
2 - 175
3 - 175
4 - 180
5 - 180
6 - 178
7 - 170
8 - 170
So, im thinking the motor is hurting. I dont have a leakdown tester unfortunately.
If you had 1 cylinder that read about 144 psi, then I would be worried. That would be about 20% below your highest reading.
A leakdown test is a completely different test. It will tell you where you arer losing your compression.
Next time you do one, don't do it for that long. Gonna burn starter up. All you need is a few turns of the motor. In the 3-4 sec range is all.
Also, make sure battery is strong. As a weak battery will turn motor over slow, and give you false readings

I also do test with all plugs out (to help starter out)
And as said, as long as all numbers are within range of one another, you are good to go (unless of course, they are ALL low
) Our motors (depending on compression, and cam, etc...) will make @ 160-190 cranking PSI Also, make sure battery is strong. As a weak battery will turn motor over slow, and give you false readings

I also do test with all plugs out (to help starter out)
And as said, as long as all numbers are within range of one another, you are good to go (unless of course, they are ALL low
) Our motors (depending on compression, and cam, etc...) will make @ 160-190 cranking PSITrending Topics
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