Engine problems still?

[tight fart]

I have a tuned 2L Zetec from the late 90s.
It was built by Dunnells and puts out about 225 bhp (did).

I lost compression on no.2 that we traced to a broken valve spring, thankfully without any other damage.

I sent the head to a race engine shop and they fitted new guides, springs and cleaned the ports up.

On refitting I now had no compression on no.3.

Apparently the hydraulic valve buckets hadn’t been de-hydraulic’d
So they came out went back to the workshop and have now been refitted.

The problem is still there, so is there anything I can do or check before removing the head again?

[GreenV8S]

tight fart said:

Apparently the hydraulic valve buckets hadn’t been de-hydraulic’d
So they came out went back to the workshop and have now been refitted.

Not sure what 'the workshop' did. Have they rebuilt the hydraulics for you? The symptoms might suggest they are not self adjusting properly, or they have run out of travel. Have you checked the preload on them?

[stevieturbo]

Obvious first thing would be remove cams/buckets and see if the cylinders can hold pressure then.

And inspect to see if installed valve heights are all the same...or at least very damn close

[227bhp]

You need to do a leakdown test.
Why is a performance built engine using hydraulic tappets? Surely it should have been converted to solid lifters.

[Boosted LS1]

I prefer hydraulics and some brands are said to offer the same performance as solids (in LS circles).

[tight fart]

Waiting for a leak tester to arrive, cams are out and blowing down a plug hole via a peice of
pipe dosen't feel like they are holding much pressure. (I know but we all get inpatient)

[scoobydo123]

if going for cheapo ebay leak down tester you need another gauge and remove the one with the low/moderate/high indicators on them as they are not rated to 100psi so they go off the scale when you turn the pressure up. Also be careful that some have the valve still in the flexible tube that needs removing. 2 cheapo ebay ones sorted out my set up.