"Jason" <jason@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:jason-1504052128070001@pm4-broad-2.snlo.dialup.fix.net...
> It's my guess that you have a very serious problem--probably bad rings in
> at least one of the cylinders. In most cases, if the rings in one cylinder
> are bad--the rest of them will need to be replaced very soon. In other
> words, a mechanic or yourself will have to replace all of the rings. In
> some cases, it's cheaper to buy a rebuilt engine. Prior to selling rebuilt
> engines--all of the rings are replaced regardless of the condition of the
> old rings. If other people respond, there advice may be better then my
> advice since I am NOT a certified mechanic--just a back yard mechanic that
> in the past has done only minor work on various types of automobiles. I
> should note--in case you don't know--replaced rings involves taking the
> engine apart.
>
>
The reason I'm not focusing on the low reading is that 15% low shouldn't be
noticable to the driver. I've driven a 67 Chevy that had 2 of its 6
cylinders below 50 psi, and it wasn't the biggest problem that clunker had!
The cylinder being dead is the real problem, and it's possible the
compression will be normal enough once the cylinder starts burning the
gasoline instead of bathing in it. Of course, if the compression is bad
enough the cylinder won't fire at all, but that is usually when the
compression gets lower than the tire pressure!

Mike