About 3 weeks ago, my car started having trouble starting. I'd have to hold it cranked for like 10-15 seconds for it to fire up. It would only be like this the first time in the morning and then for the rest of the day it would start up fine. This went on intermittently in the morning for about a week. And then it just stopped starting altogether. That day I expelled almost the whole battery cranking it and it would have really brief ignitions but wouldn't start.

I then took the battery out and recharged it. The next day when I cranked it it wouldn't even have brief ignitions. It would just flat crank. I changed the spark plugs, and then i changed the distributor cap and still no luck.

Finally, after a couple weeks of it just sitting there. I called a mobile mechanic. He tested the electrical system, the fuel pressure, the spark plugs and ignition. and everything was fine. Finally he did a compression check on the valves. and it was super low like 30psi so there was almost no compression in the engine. there was also oil in my spark plug holes.

He said something like I have leaky valve seal gasket or something. and if he can get the engine to have compression and fire up then he can change the gasket and fix it. But if the engine won't fire up then there's nothing he can do, you'd have to open up the engine or rebuild it or something (I didn't really understand this). So he tried all these tricks, he blow torched my spark plugs. and he sprayed some sort of lighter fluid into my valves and then put the spark plugs back. and it STILL wouldn't start. He checked the compression again and it was almost zero.

So he said since there's not enough compression to fire up. The engine is done. And I'd need a new engine or something. I was going to scrap the car, because it's not even worth a new engine and I don't have the money...

Can someone confirm that it's a goner? Is it fixable or something I could do by replacing something? I don't know how to rebuild an engine or anything. I don't understand why I can't just replace the seal he was talking about and then have compression again...

If I could fix it for like 200-300 I would totally pay that. But to do an engine swap would probably be over a grand for sure. And I really can't afford that. Thanks for the help guys.

 

I would suggest having a 2nd opinion on the engine condition.

Request the mechanic 1) confirm the engine timing belt is intact and engine/camshaft timing indicators are correct, 2) repeat the compression checks to verify low compression, and 3) if low compression is correct, determine whether the loss of compression is from leaking compression rings or leaking valves.

If loss of compression is leaking valves, the cylinder head can be rebuilt and reinstalled at a cost of $500-$600. If compression rings are worn, the engine will need to be rebuilt or replaced.

regards