1.9 liter compression

[WestyNoobie]

Hi all, i picked up an 85 westy, with what the previous owner said
had low compression in one cylinder...Well my intentions were to just
purchase a rebuilt engine and pop it in...then i got to thinking, it
runs, smokes a little with what smells like unburnt fuel...So i
checked the compression witha compression tester and found all
cyliners to close to 110-125 psi. i dont find any leaking coolant or
anything, but it looks to be plenty of oil leaks....Is this engine oK?
I thought a compression test was a good sign of the health of these
engines... I still plan on getting a rebuilt, for my own peace of
mind...

[weinerwagen]

I struggled with one of my own 1.9's for several months. Bought it from a guy in Socal, who CLAIMED it had a good engine, had a dead miss in #4. 0 compression. I popped a new ANC head on it. Was a struggle trying to get the compression to equalize.

Its twin, was my example. I found, by using a compression tester, loosen the valves up a bit, I saw the compression jump to 150 on ALL four cylinders.

But, I had to run the valves loose to get that compression. Every morning, it would smoke, miss and toss me all kinds of hate until it warmed up.

Again, its twin was quiet, started easy...etc

Finally, someone suggested vacuum leaks. The idle stablizer removed helped but it needed it in the mornings. Timing was tweeked, I left the valves a bit loose, now after 200 miles later its coming around to a nicely running 1.9.

Long and the short of this, play with the valve train, make sure the vacuum lines and intake are tightly sealed, unplug that idle stablizer to see if that helps when tweeking, BUT it still needs that stablizer for proper running.

125 isnt bad on compression, my 2.0l air head westie has 115 all around. But its getting a rebuild this fall....

I'd loosen the valves up one turn...