Compression Test: Bad intake valve?

[zazzomicron]

Hey all,

Newbie here with a 2000 SR5 and 322km. I bought her blind a few weeks ago and have had zero problems but thought, hey, maybe I should take her in to get a once-over and see if anything is on the way out.

One new inner-tie rod later and I think I'm in the clear... so I order a compression test! Might as well check out the engine while we're here.

All cylinders come back in the 190s except cylinder 4 which comes back at.. 90. Strange, since it has been running fine - even the tech commented on it. They dug a little deeper and found that one of the intake valves has some damage and may be on the way out (details to follow when I head to the shop tomorrow).

This is a bit out of my league so I'm not even sure what to do next. This doesn't sound like a cheap fix.. any advice?
:canada:

 

[Newb99]

I feel your pain. I have lost a valve also and yes it is costing a pretty penny to fix. More like a bar of gold

One of the things my mechanic looked at was, is the truck worth fixing? My truck is still in good condition and so it is worthwhile for me to fix it as I wish to keep it.

If you do decide to get it fix do some other stuff while it is all apart, like the time belt. Save some money on labor as you are just paying for parts.

:canada:

 

[zazzomicron]

Did you go to Ryan in Abbotsford?

I'm still hoping that this is a scam because she runs great. I'm going to call Ryan as a trusted SME on 4Runners and see what what he says. I figure it's worth at least getting his opinion on the cylinder in question.

What did it set you back for the whole deal?

 

[Newb99]

I am in North Vancouver, Larsen Auto. I trust this shop.

I also had the signs and symptoms of the problem so it was not real surprise when I was told the news. It just hurt like hell as I was hoping for some inexpensive fix.

If it is running good get a second opinion. Don't tell the other shop about the problem, just tell them you would like a compression test.

Another suggestion, post on Facebook to the Four Wheel Drive Association of BC or the BC 4Runners page. You should find some good mechanics out your way through them.

I don't have the final bill yet but I am looking at close to $4k, That is inclusive of doing the timing belt and other stuff.

 

[zazzomicron]

Awesome! Thanks, man. Really appreciate it

Any idea what the valve job would have been on it's own? I was estimating $2k, so 4 sounds like a lot to me!

 

[zazzomicron]

Update from a local guru:

This engine will run fine even with one cylinder on low compression, but it means that likely this engine is going to die soon. Drive it until it starts acting like crap then expect a rebuild/replacement.

There are three options:

1. Cut your losses.

2. Buy a new motor and swap ($2000 with a local used motor)

3. Rebuild this sucker ($5500)


Not a fan of any of these options because I've barely got any value out of this car to-date.

 

[baja1]

could you hear that bad valve ticking?

 

[zazzomicron]

could you hear that bad valve ticking?

Nope, it sounds fine. Drives fine.

I just picked her up from the shop. Here are the stats:

195 190
95 190
195 155


Leakdown test confirmed an intake valve issue but they actually don't think a replacement is necessary and suggested I should get one of those Mr. Lube intake cleaning services.

Aside from running a shitload of Seafoam I'm not going to do anything until symptoms actually arise. Then I'll look into a rebuild.

 

[pauldub]

One of my Cherokees had a leaking valve that I found with a leak down test. We drove it that way for 10 years and it was still running fine when I sold it at 250K miles. It had less power than my other Cherokees but otherwise, no issues.

 

[zazzomicron]

One of my Cherokees had a leaking valve that I found with a leak down test. We drove it that way for 10 years and it was still running fine when I sold it at 250K miles. It had less power than my other Cherokees but otherwise, no issues.

Fingers crossed I'm in the same situation

 

[nevada]

Fingers crossed I'm in the same situation

was the valve lash checked? perhaps that one is just a bit tight, and not fully closing.


also, assuming it runs good, and has adequate power, it would likely run for a very long time without much issue.

but, I would have the lash checked on that cylinder at least. but might as well do the rest while you are in there.

 

[zazzomicron]

Here are the actual results:

Edit: Why aren't my images showing up!?

 

[phattyduck]

Here are the actual results:

Edit: Why aren't my images showing up!?

You are putting a like to the webpage, no the image itself. Look for the "get share links" option, then use the BBCode link here. Use the 'huge thumbnail' option to get a good forum-sized image.

So:

IMG http://imgur.com/wvBuN5ah.jpg /IMG 
(with square brackets added back)

Will show:

-Charlie