I thought I would do a compression test on Barney before I do any work on the
engine. This way I can tell if I am winning or losing:-)
I plan to replace the timing chain, but that entails removing the head, which
I had intended anyway to decarbonize and replace the gaskets (if any) that I
might find. Looks like the engine leaked a little oil around the head, or
cylinder, if you remember the pictures of
2/7/2007
Now a shameless plug for
Harbor Freight
Their compression tester for $14.99 seems like a very good deal. It even comes
in a nice carrying case that isn't shown. Anyway, time to measure the engine.
Up to 90 psi. Just starting to pump it up by kickstarting! No carb, no muffler, no spark plug
but compression gauge instead. I only put the usual rough quart of 10w 30 oil
in the crankcase, no squirts on top for ring sealing or anything like that.
So we keep on kickstarting, each time it jumps up a little more.
Now up to about 140psi. Getting harder to do now! Barney is fighting back a little
every now and then on the kickstarter.
A few more kicks and..
I may have been able to go a little higher but I think that was pretty good
for old Barney.
I had to mount the engine on the frame so I could hold the engine while
kickstarting.
So is this decent for this kind of engine or should I expect more compression?
It holds the pressure for some minutes, I am not sure how long before it
slowly drops. My C200 with roughly 8000 miles shows 180 psi! So maybe I have
some work to improve the compression? Anyway, this tells me that the valves are
lashed just about right and there aren't any major compression leaks. So I have
hope that this will turn out to be a good engine. Any thoughts anyone, while I
wait for my cam chain and top end gasket set to arrive?
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