4AGE smallport low compression help!

[lolwat]

either way the heads gotta come off

[shortround]

Just ripped the head off... I can't see anything obviously wrong, so rings are looking more likely?

Head gasket had no issues, seems to be a metal one? and looks pretty new:


Head looks fine. Will test if the valves are sealing tomorrow:


Nothing visibly wrong with the block. The pistons also look pretty clean around the edges. There does seem to be more build up around the top of cyls 2 and 3 though:


I get the feeling the block was rebuilt recently. All gaskets and seals look new-ish, along with the welsh plugs and the pistons are pretty clean... maybe the rings in cyls 2 and 3 didnt bed in after a rebuild??

Could it be anything else but rings?

[SamsTA22]

There are so many places air can leak from.
Assuming the headgasket wasn't blown, and there's no leakage from the valves, Piston rings are a good bet. The rings would also explain your initial symptoms.

[lolwat]

considering when you get a wet comp test it went straight up, i would go with rings, as said before

if it was rebiuld recently your coolant galleries look pretty poo already

number 1 looks like its been burning oil also, may be wrong, but if i pulled a plug out and it looked like that chamber i would say its burning oil

[timbo]

Is it just me or is cylinder's 1 and 2 look over oily?

[lolwat]

exactly what i was thinking

[tottacrolla]

"Head gasket had no issues, seems to be a metal one? and looks pretty new:"

If it is a metal after market gasket, TRD etc. they can be difficult to get to seal properly and typically
requiring a head and block skim.

[lolwat]

its not metal, well not like ones ive seen, look how its separated on the block

[shortround]

Thanks for the input guys!

I think the angle of cyls 1 and 2 are making them look oily? Here is another photo:


I don't know much about head gaskets, but I just took another look and most of it is metal? took some more pics:




And from underneath:



Also I poured some oil in each of the bores to see if it leaks past the rings, but more than 24 hours later its all still there.

[skin]

wet comp test over 200 each cyl theres hardly an issue there lol