Results from my compression test

I think the numbers speak for themselves:

Cylinder 1 - 190 psi
Cylinder 2 - 135 psi
Cylinder 3 - 150 psi
Cylinder 4 - 170 psi

The car in question is a 1999 Chevy Metro Lsi 4-door sedan, 1.3L inline four. These were my results for the compression test I just did. I'm wondering, is this normal for an engine with 86,000 miles on it? Should I be worried about such huge differences in the data? ...or is it time to sell my car... :(

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

First, I would ask how well does the car run!? Is it all that bad!?

Second - how much would a Head Rebuild cost where you live (phone shop around for a good price)?
My 3 cyl cost $120....not bad!

Could you take the Head off yourself? You'd save $200-$300.

At 86,000 miles, I'd take the Head off myself - only if the vehicle wasn't running well.

Get some further opinions from here - if anyone will respond...come on guys!

DoctorBill

10% difference between the cylinders is considered acceptable. your past that. did you warm the engine up before checking compression, did you take all the plugs out and floor throttle while cranking for the compression test? if yes to those squirt a tablespoon of oil into cyl and check compression again. if it goes way up then its worn rings, if not its valves

After having done the Head and the Rings - I would attempt a Head Rebuild
again, but not the rings...That was the hard part.

The Rings weren't that bad - but too much for someone my age (63) w/o a good place to
do it in...like a clean, warm garage not filled with crap so you can't even walk
in it!

Your posessions slowly start to own you! Not the other way around!

DoctorBill

The first set of compression tests (the ones posted) were done on a semi-warm engine. I redid the tests this morning on a fully cold engine and got the same results. I put a cap-full of oil into each cylinder to see the psi change. They were as follows:

Cyl 1: 265
Cyl 2: 260
Cyl 3: 280
Cyl 4: 295

Cylinder 4 actually ended up getting half a cap of oil more than the others, and my buddy is unsure if the first two were completely "done". Nevertheless, they all seem quite a bit higher than the compression numbers I got earlier. As to the "how good is it running" question: it actually seems to be running decently, although the engine itself seems to sound not-so-good. Also, the steering wheel shakes pretty hard at idle, but that could be a different problem altogether since it doesn't do that while in neutral.