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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>For the compression to drop from 210 psi to 90 psi,
I would think that there is a pretty large leakage path. You said that you
had checked the cylinder leakage. Did you check it both cold after initial
assembly and then hot after the cam break-in? What were the numbers that
you got. Again, I would expect the leakage when you have low compression to be
extremely high in the cylinders with only 90 psi compression. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial> What is the
top compression ring end gap that you are using? What are the top rings
made of? different materials require more or less end gap. If the
ring gap is to low, the end of the top ring should show some signs of the ends
touching one another. probably a polished surface compared to machine
marks. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial> I would not
expect that amount of leakage that your engine is experiencing would be
from a head gasket unless there were an open passage connecting cylinders 1
& 2 . </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial> We recently
had an MG-A engine that a good machine shop had completed a valve grind on
in the shop. It showed 70% leakage out of one cylinder and 130 psi
compression compared to 165 in the good cylinders. It turned out that the intake
valve seat in the bad cylinder was not ground on the center line of the valve
guide. I am not sure exactly how that happened but after we took the head apart,
reground all of the valve seats, narrowed them to the proper width, check them
with prussian blue, lapped them into each valve with fine lapping compound, the
compression came up to 165 in all of the cylinders. The bottom end had about
25,000 mile on it and the cylinder leakage now varies from 5% to 9% in all of
the cylinders. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2
face=Arial>
Greg Solow</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>