Cylinder Head Options
 

Hello everyone,

I recently discovered my motor has low compression in cylinder 1 which explains my misfire and rough idle but smooth driving. Performing a valve adjustment showed that both intake and exhaust valves were extremely tight.

I believe my valves are burned up and leaking and I figure the next course of action is to repair the cylinder head.

I see some cylinder heads local to me and am wondering if it's worth buying a used good one after I test it for straightness and leakdown or sending mine to a shop to rebuild?

Thanks!

Any details of age, milage, previous owners, you know, an abbreviated history of the car?

Are you referring to the cylinder head for sale or my car?

You need to do a leakdown test (after valves properly adjusted) to co firm leak is valves, and only valves.

Where you hear air leak hiss, will tell ypu if leak is valves vs rings, and intake or exhaust valves.

If your valves seats aren't really bad, you might be able to just get new valves, lap them, new valve seals just because. You might not need a new head.

Rebuild. Read the service manual

Do the valve adjustment. See if that fixes the issue.

If it does, why rebuild the head? You haven't confirmed burnt valves. So maybe they're fine.

Do VA

Do leakdown test & compression test

Evaluate results

Performed a leakdown test. I have 27% loss in cylinder one and I can feel air escaping from cylinder 2 spark plug hole. I also can hear air coming from out the back exhausts. No air coming from coolant though.

Already did the valve adjustment. Performed a leakdown as well. Air is leaking from cylinder 2 even though I’m leak down testing cylinder 1 at TDC.