Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 Club compression problem in 1 cylinder

Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 Club compression problem in 1 cylinder

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Discussion

chill96

Original Poster:

3 posts

115 months

Tuesday 5th August 2014
quotequote all
Just had the car back from the garage and they measured the compression as followed:
1:210
2:100
3:220
4:230
1+2 spark plugs were fouled.
Only had this car 1 month and I am the 3rd owner, car has done 45K and burns 2L of oil with every full tank. Recently the engine emissions warning light came on when i was doing 70, it crawled home at a max of 35 and a really faint rumble noise.
The next day it was fine except the sound of spluttering.
The garage recommended a new engine at the cost of £1500-£2000 as the cost of reconditioning the original engine would be about the same.
This is way too much, are there any cheaper fixes?

shoehorn

686 posts

142 months

Tuesday 5th August 2014
quotequote all
I have seen these with completely gummed up piston rings,to the point of not actually being able to see them on the piston without some considerable cleaning.


stevieturbo

17,229 posts

246 months

Tuesday 5th August 2014
quotequote all
chill96 said:
Just had the car back from the garage and they measured the compression as followed:
1:210
2:100
3:220
4:230
1+2 spark plugs were fouled.
Only had this car 1 month and I am the 3rd owner, car has done 45K and burns 2L of oil with every full tank. Recently the engine emissions warning light came on when i was doing 70, it crawled home at a max of 35 and a really faint rumble noise.
The next day it was fine except the sound of spluttering.
The garage recommended a new engine at the cost of £1500-£2000 as the cost of reconditioning the original engine would be about the same.
This is way too much, are there any cheaper fixes?
Sounds expensive for a used engine swap.

Hard to imagine the car being worth that much either ? What age is it.

Either way sounds like either head gasket or piston damage..

Without pulling it apart or a proper inspection, impossible to say from here.

I'm sure a repair could be cheaper if exact damage was known. But when you're paying dummies for labour...swapping an engine is the easiest bit ( usually...often even that is beyond the abilities of many garages it seems )

chill96

Original Poster:

3 posts

115 months

Wednesday 6th August 2014
quotequote all
We bought the car cheap knowing that it was burning oil and suspected it to be the head gasket. I did tell the garage that i thought it was the head gasket however they were very certain that it was not.
If the millage is genuinely 45K then is it possible that gunk around the piston rings could actually cause such a loss in compression, high oil consumption and fouled spark plugs?

The car is 2003

shoehorn

686 posts

142 months

Wednesday 6th August 2014
quotequote all
Yes,short journeys,abuse,poor or little servicing esp oil changes,etc.will shag stuff reasonably rapidly,combined with small design flaws or errors,crap materials and so on.
Modern stuff goes from tolerable noise to BANG!much quicker than older stuff.

Have your garage tried a compression test with some oil down the bores for comparison?
Or even a cylinder leakage test,which will determine through compressed air where the escaping air is predominantly coming from.
These are simple tests,basics,that any garage should be undertaking before getting anywhere near giving a verdict.

chill96

Original Poster:

3 posts

115 months

Wednesday 6th August 2014
quotequote all
No I don't think the garage did any of these tests because i asked what tests they did and all they really said was about the one compression test.
I will be taking it to another garage that someone recommended to me tomorrow.If they tell me the same thing price wise then i will try a whole load of forte treatment, new oil and oil filter and maybe some engine restorer and hopes this helps.
I have a feeling that as it is just one cylinder that has such severe compression issues then it won't really do much

DVandrews

1,315 posts

282 months

Thursday 7th August 2014
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A leakdown test may reveal if it is head gasket , rings or valves.

Dave