It will be easy to tell when you have a low compression problem because you may experience a misfire when you try to start the engine. Either that or the engine will provide a weak performance as you’re driving the vehicle down the road. The worst-case scenario would be the car not starting if all the cylinders have no compression.
Top 5 Common Causes
There are many reasons why low compression might exist in a car engine. Sometimes there will be low compression in just one cylinder of the engine and other times there will be low compression in all cylinders. You just have to understand the main possible causes of low compression in a car engine and then fix or replace whatever is damaged. Below are the top 5 causes of low compression in car engines.
Holes in Piston – You probably know that the cylinders of an engine have pistons in them. These pistons are typically made from aluminum alloy and are supposed to be able to handle the power of combustion. However, if there overheating in the engine, then hot spots will get onto the piston.
After a while, these spots will burn holes right through the piston. Once that happens, gases will leak through these holes and cause low compression to take place.
Leaky Valves – The top of each cylinder contains exhaust valves and intake valves. Air and fuel go into the intake valve for the combustion process. The gases which form from this go out of the exhaust valve. If these valves become overheated, they could start to leak gas prematurely out of them. Once this happens, you have low compression.
Worn Timing Belt – There is a timing belt in every engine which connects the camshaft and crankshaft together. If the timing belt were to be broken or damaged, the camshaft would no longer be able to turn anymore. This means it cannot open or close the exhaust valve or intake valve properly. As a result, the combustion in the cylinders will be ruined and no gases can get released. So, you have low compression because of it.
Head Gasket Fails – There is a gasket between the area on top of the engine where the cylinder head is connected. If for some reason the gasket becomes faulty and starts to break, then it will leave a tiny hole in between the cylinder and its head. This causes the gases in the cylinder to leak out of the hole in the gasket. Then you will have low compression and a weak engine.
Bad Piston Rings – Overheating can cause the rings of the piston to become damaged or broken. This will cause carbon gases to leak through the rings because they are no longer able to seal them inside of the cylinder.
How to Fix
The first thing you need to do is use a compression gauge and test to see if there is actually low compression in your engine. This process will usually take 45 minutes so make sure you have some free time on your hands. If you don’t have a compression gauge, then you can either purchase one or take the car to the auto shop and have them test the compression for you.
If they find there is low compression, the next step is to inspect the cylinder, piston, valves, and gasket to see if any of them are damaged or broken. From there, you can replace whatever is damaged. However, this will be a lengthy and costly job because it involves taking out the engine. Be prepared for that.
Is low compression samething as inability for the car to power very well? I had loss of power with my car and I took it to the auto shop and was diagnosed with P1121. The technician repaired it and it came back to life only for the check engine to reappear and it lost power again what do i do?
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