Causes of Low Compression in a Car Engine

Information may not be reliable

Compression is an important part of a vehicle. It helps the engine to run smoothly without any hindrance. In a healthy engine, the pressure should be 100 PSI in each cylinder. If your vehicle has two cylinders and each cylinder has low pressure, then the blown head gasket is most likely to be the cause of the problem.

If you are looking for better engine performance, identify leaking components of the engines such as (piston, piston ring, camshaft, head gasket, or valves) and replace them with quality used engines. To overcome the stress, read this article thoroughly where you will find information to overcome your low compression problem.

Causes of low compression 

Your vehicle may have several causes if the cylinders are losing compression. One possibility reason cold be blown head gasket. The head gasket is typically connected to the cylinder head at the top of the engine. In case of any issue, you’ll notice a gap between the head gasket and the cylinder, and gas will outflow the cylinder, leading to a low compression problem.

How to fix low engine compression

If your vehicle has a compression problem immediately contact your nearest technician. Don’t simply go and buy used engine for replacing the old part. An experienced or trained technician probably diagnoses the issue more clearly. Ensure root cause and make sure your engine problems aren’t from another issue. While checking the issue, you could choose to purchase a compression gauge to do a compression test. Turn off the engine, while you are testing the cylinders.

1. Replace the damaged head gasket 

The head gasket is mainly used to separate the oil, coolant, and compression in the engine. If your engine’s head gasket is failed work properly while driving means you need help. Fix this issue as soon as possible if you don’t want any obstacles while driving. You can also check for a low mileage engine for sale to fulfil your need.

2. Check the valves of the engine 

Faulty valves can affect the overall performance of the vehicle. The most common cause of low compression is faulty valves. Usually, each cylinder has two valves, 'intake, and exhaust". Both exhaust and intake valves get affected if your engine has a low compression problem. Sometimes these valves get damaged by overheating. Hence, suggested checking valves periodically, to confirm everything is fine and working gently inside the engine.

3. Fix damaged pistons

Piston rings make sure that there will be no leakage in the combustion chamber. Piston rings are worn out or degrade their value due to prolonged use. Overheating can be another reason. Due to overheating, pistons wear holes and allow gas to escape into the combustion chamber and resulting in low compression. 

Conclusion

Due to low compression, you may have lots of engine-related issues that are not at all good for the vehicle. It could be expensive too at the time of repair. So, inspect your engine thoroughly once a year to know whether all components are working properly or not. In case you find an issue in your engine, choose to replace it with a high-performing used engine. You can buy used engines online by accessing Used Engines Inc website.