cylinder scratched (Carvan '94)

[John Acebo]

Hello,
What exactly does it mean cylinder scratched? How bad is this? The car runs but has some engine noise. Thanks,

[RIP]

A cylinder is a metal tube the pistons move up and down in. It's where power (compression) is produced that makes the car move. They take a lot of punishement. Cylinder walls are normally very smooth. If even the tiniest metal particle breaks loose, it can scratch or gouge the cylinder wall. If the scratches are severe enough, the gas pressures will leak past the scratches creating a loss of compression in that cylinder. You'll see a loss of power, lower gas mileage and eventually starting problems.

[John Acebo]

I really appreciate your time to answer my question. I want to keep the car so I'll take it in for repairs before more things go wrong. Again, thanks,