Hey guys. Sorry for the ignorant question but, would bad coolant seals effect compression? I did a compression test on my engine and both the front and the rear read about 60 with just holding that little valve open which i just recently found out does not give you a true compression reading, that you actually have to take the valve out. To see the real reading, do that, then let go of the valve to see where it stops. jumps up to a good 80-85ish. Ive been getting paranoid that my coolant seals are bad and was wondering if they were, would it give me bad compression? Also on a side note with this new engine, we got it running and all but, it heats up EXTREAMLY fast. It seams the heat mainly begins from the front of the engine. Then the whole thing starts to get real hot. I was thinking it would be the water pump. Any ideas guys?

 

Bad coolant seals would cause low compression, because the pressure would escape outwards through the seal into the coolant passages. Start the engine cold with the cap off and see if bubbles are produced (which would be different from air bubbles).

The other engine you mentioned - could be other more likely things, but make sure the thrust bearing isn't jammed behind the spacer, although that would produce quite some noise. I say this because of the place you mentioned that is heating up fast.

 

thanks alot man. i did a compression test again and it looks fine. rear was like almost 90 and front was like almost 85ish, but this was on a cold engine. now to figure out the cooling problem. i have a hunch its the water pump, but we shall see.

 

Have you checked the Thermostat,and made sure that it is IN Correctly?.(two bolts Pop,and look)and What are you Referring to,when you say it heats up?..the stock gauge is not really Reliable.

 

1. Coolant seals do in fact effect the compression on an engine. Think of them as a head gasket on a piston engine, If it goes bad the compression can escape into the coolant system and really screw things up. Look up some info on checking to see if you have bad coolant seals, there's plenty of posts where people test the seals.

2. Be careful with your new engine over heating. Let just say Rotary seals don't like a lot of heat... I would first check you thermostat. Its always a good idea to replace that frequently anyway. There's a good chance that its bad. Next check the water pump. They don't good bad too often but its definitely a possibility. A good rule about the stock gauge is to not let it come much over half, pretty much all FC's run at a quarter on the temp gauge unless you are running AC or driving it hard, even so its not supposed to come above half. If it does check your system. Oh have you ever flushed the cooling system in it? Any questions just ask me.