Engine Mechanical problem
1996 Ford Taurus 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 174,00 miles

The car is a 1996 ford station wagon. I check the compression in the front row of cylinders. The first two were 150, 130, the last one (drivers side) read 60psi.
I checked the compression when the motor was cold. The car has a long crank before it starts. My question is head gasket blown on the inside or is it the valves or rings.

Hi there,

You can do a wet comp test, warm the engine up and remove all plugs, add a small amount of engine oil to the cyl to be tested just enough to coat the rings as this will temp seal them, do the comp test, if the comps come up the rings are faulty, if the stay about the same it will be a valve or a head gasket problem, try this.

Mark (mhpautos)