Hey guys,

Recently moved to the area from Arizona, first time posting in this chapter. MY04 with 60K miles. Completely stock.

So my car has recently been throwing up a steady CEL. Had the codes pulled and got the dreaded p300, p301, p302, p303. Spent hours researching through the forums and went right to having spark plugs replaced, swapping coil packs and changing air filter. No change. Had leak down test performed @ P-Tuning last weekend and the results that came back were: 56%, 58%, 71%, 6% with leak reportedly coming from valve train. Recommended removing the head and sending it to machine shop for further evaluation and are advising possible full head/valve job. Cost quoted for just the analysis part is $1200, not including what it would be to fix beyond that.

To be frank, I am pretty skeptical of these results though as the car seems to be running perfectly fine otherwise (no problems starting up, smooth idle, not losing any oil and consistent power throughout RPM range). The only noticeable symptom is I have been getting is very poor fuel economy (less than 180 miles to the tank). Could it be just bad fuel injectors and/or O2 sensor? Maybe just in need of a good valve adjustment? If it really were bent valves/bad rings/head gasket/retainers wouldn't the car be undrivable at this point with numbers like that?

At any rate, thought I'd ask if perhaps any local forum members would be willing to help me diagnose the vehicle this weekend? I’ll admit, I’m not the most experienced when it comes to getting under the hood so a lot of the other stuff I’ve read about to test (IAC valve/map sensor/TPS/vacuum leak/etc) has me a bit overwhelmed and I could really use someone who’s knowledgeable about cars or has experienced this problem before to help guide me.

I live in in upper NW DC but would gladly make a trip out and bring ample amounts of food/beer/and good company for a much needed second opinion. Please PM me if you might be available.

JP

 

BaZurk just had his head replaced. Same misfires from cyl. 2 and he had about 50% compression in it compared to the others. He and Tamadrummer replaced the head and he's got all the compressions back over 200 psi and the car runs pretty well. I told Tamadrummer to check the forum to see what he thinks about it.

 

Text or call me. 2404341435.

 

Any recent service? Any other problems? Text Chris and let him know. We can take a look at it for you. WCS you would need to pick up another head and swap it with the one you have.

 

A leakdown, by nature, can't really lie to you unless it was performed incorrectly. (Unlikely given Ptuning's proven record.) The test verifies that there is a mechanical problem. There is no involvement from any faulty electronic sensor in the test. Injectors, coils, O2 sensors, etc have all been eliminated.

I just replaced a broken valve spring on a 2006 MINI Cooper, so I understand why you might be reluctant to drop big bucks. The MINI dealer would have replaced the whole head at parts and labor approaching ~$3000. It cost me $80.