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1997 Toyota Corolla

Tiny
GREYBRD
  • MEMBER
  • 1997 TOYOTA COROLLA
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 120,000 MILES
My car was running fine then one time I went to start it and it turns over like there is no compression I checked the timing belt and it is good. I checked the compression and it is very low (30-70) I can't figure what could start so sudden
Saturday, May 9th, 2009 AT 11:18 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
Hi greybrd,

Thank you for the donation.

If it is timing, it most probably would have very low or 0 compression. Did you cross check the belt timing marks?

When compression drops, they could be caused by:
1 Overheating. The head gasket is bad and the overheating has caused the oil in the cylinders to dry out leaving no sealing for compression.

2. If the vehicle had been left idle over extended periods, the piston rings could be dry. Remove spark plugs and pump some engine oil into cylinders and crank without the spark plugs.
Retest compression.

3. Valves not closing fully. Could be insufficient valve clearance or the valves are prevented from closing due to carbon buildups that has dropped onto the valve seats.

A compression leak down test would enable you to find out where the leaking is coming from.
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Saturday, May 9th, 2009 AT 1:35 PM

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