My TR's compression test results....

Well as you all know my car is up for sale. One of the interested parties requested that a compression test be performed. This always seems to be a subject of debate...so I thought I would post my results. I took the car to a local shop that has lots of foreign car experience, they work on all kinds of imports.

If you are doing a compression test on your car, there are several things to do first:

1. Let the car cool down. Doing a test on a hot engine will give false-low readings.
2. Remove all the spark plugs from the engine. Also check the plugs for evidence of lean or rich running conditions.
3. Disconnect the ignition coil module at the top connector, not the lead wire going to the dist. cap.
4. Disable the cold start injectors and fuel pumps, by removing the relays from the mother board.
5. If necessary, hook a battery charger up to keep from excessively draining your battery during the cranking for testing.
6. If you have one, hook up a remote starter switch....if you don't...just turn the key to crank the engine.
7. Be consisten in the amount you turn the engine over for testing.

Just out of curiosity, I did the test with the engine hot and the readings were 125 Lbs to 134 Lbs. See Final Results below.

For my tests....the physical engine temperature was 105 degrees F as verified with a calibrated infrared thermometer. The motor was cranked the engine 4 revolutions, no more - no less, for each cylinder test. Here are the results:

Cylinder #1: 151 Lbs
Cylinder #2: 152 Lbs
Cylinder #3: 157 Lbs
Cylinder #4: 152 Lbs
Cylinder #5: 152 Lbs
Cylinder #6: 151 Lbs
Cylinder #7: 153 Lbs
Cylinder #8: 155 Lbs
Cylinder #9: 157 Lbs
Cylinder #10: 151 Lbs
Cylinder #11: 151 Lbs
Cylinder #12: 149 Lbs

These are good numbers for a Testarossa, considering the low compression ratio of the motor. I hope information helps others out who may be looking to buy a Testarossa.

 

Oh.....I took a few random pictures while the car was on the hoist. I try and keep the engine bay clean, but I see I've neglected the underside of the car - shame on me. Nothing like letting it all hang out on a public forum eh?
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To PWEHMER: The car has a little over 40k miles on it. I did discover from reading the spark plugs, that cylinder bank 1-6 is running very slightly rich. So I will have to make a tiny adjustment to the fuel mixture for that bank. The motor has always been very tight and smooth.


To LAGATED360: The car did have a bit of oil film around the lower-left-front corner of the motor. The shift shaft o-ring weeps a little bit, this is a common issue amoung Testarossas. When driving down the road....the air flow blows the lubricant back towards the rear of the car. If I drive the car frequently it leaves only a speck occasionally. If the car sits for a while it seems to drip a little more. So the more you drive the car, the less it drips, it's a great excuse to the car out of the garage!! To replace the shift shaft o-ring, you have to remove the left-front motor mount, the left-front exhaust header, and then the transmission side plate to access everything. Not a big deal to do. Other than this....this car will not leave any spots on the garage floor. This is a VERY minor issue.

 

Hello Mr. Chairman...I filled the gearbox using the same method you did, with Redline 75W-90NS. If I drive the car often it practically stops weeping. If the car sits for several weeks to several months it will get "damp". I'm sure that overfilling can also be a cause for a leak too.

 

Yes....they followed the way of the British. If you buy an old British car and it DOESN'T leak oil.....then it is out of oil. If they have oil and are dripping.....they are not leaking.....they are just marking their territory.

 

I will take a 2004 - 2005 or newer Audi A8L as a partial trade for the gray TR....if this helps anyone out....?