hey_obie Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 I have a buddy's 88 manual in my garage. Used to run good and it started over heating because it was losing radiator fluid. Then it would not even start (which is a different problem). So I pulled it into my garage to take a look at it and find reason for the loss of radiator fluid. I drained the oil and it was very dark. I was looking for water and didn't see any. I checked in the intercooler and it was dry. The plugs looked good to me. I am not an expert, but the plugs were all the same and looked clean with a whitish/grey tint on them. So I then I did a radiator leak down test. Pumped it up to 13PSI and guess what happened. NOTHING. It stayed on 13PSI for an hour. Are there things that will eat radiator fluid only when the car is running? Heating system, turbo, head cracks expanding when car gets warm? I noticed the floor boards under the passenger side near the door are rusted pretty badly. Maybe it cold be heater related, but I would think that would show up in a leak down test. Any thoughts appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy larry Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 bad radiator cap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiana Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 You'll have to put coolant in it and run it and let it get hot and see if it begins to smoke while idling that means the head is cracked. If its a gasket leak for the intake or throttlebody it may smoke a little to and the harder to find gasket leak won't show up until boost pressure exceeds coolant pressure which doesn't usually happen on a stock setup. If it had no coolant in it and it was ran the plug might look ok but coolant laying in a cylinder for a long time gets sort of crusty looking but you have to check that before you run it. So why won't it run? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hey_obie Posted January 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Thanks Indy. I am trying to figure out what is wrong with it. I did a compression test on the cylinders yesterday and got zero pressure. I must be doing something wrong. All 4 cylinders have no pressure. My pressure tester is good. I forced air into the tester with my compressor and it responded and held. I have only done a compression test a couple of times and it was always on a working engine. This engine does not run. I pulled all the plugs to make it easy on the starter and battery. I crank the engine for 10 seconds and nothing shows up. I am going to crank it for a longer period of time, but I think 10 seconds was long enough. I don't know what happens to compression if the timing chain has jumped. Looking at that angle today. The engine just doesn't sound right when I crank it. I had my buddy crank the engine while I blocked the spark plug hole with my finger. Felt no air. I thought it should push my finger off, but nothing. I dropped the oil pan thinking that something could be wrong on the bottom. It all looked fine to me. So today, I'll try to figure out if the timing chain jumped. Any guidance appreciated. I have replaced a head on my quest and I think that is where I am headed (no pun intended). But I hate to pull it if I can not prove what the problem is. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hey_obie Posted January 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 I went to check the timing and it is out of wack. I found the timing mark on the crank pulley and turned it to 0 (zero) on the timing marks on the engine. When I looked at the cam sprocket, the pin hole on the sprocket is supposed to be at 12 o'clock. Well it was between 1 and 2 o'clock. And the rotor on the distributor was not at the #1 wire like it should be. It looks like the timing chain is off about 4 teeth. Would this explain why I have no compression? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aruggs15 Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 yup it takes four things for an engine to run fuel compression spark and timing if your timing chain is off your valves would be open when the piston is on the compression stroke therefore no compression. as for the coolant leak i had a problem like that ended up being a hose clamp on the heater that wasnt tight couldnt see it leaking unless the car was reved up so check your hoses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiana Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 The cam gear dowel pin could have sheered off. Remove the cam gear bolt an pull the gear onto that little tin shelf an dsee if the pin is chopped off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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