terzoman

I can't drive the car, it misfires badly due to what ever problem (presumably the head gasket)

Right, pretty sure its head gasket failed. Signs of water vapour in exhaust, coolant level has dropped a bit, and it smells of exhaust fumes. So, opinions on best course of action? Replace the head gaskets? considering the engine only tested 120~125psi on the cylinders that dont seem to have a head gasket problem? Or get another running engine?

Right, I will likely have to remove the engine from my car soon :( I had a quick look, and it looks a relatively straight forward removal! Right, presuming the head gasket is the reason for misfires etc, I will replace both head gaskets, and since the timing belt will be disturbed I will replace that as well..... BUT, I can't see the engine will suddenly gain 20psi+ compression... So, is it worth just chucking new head gaskets on, or should I dig deeper?

thats definitely higher than my budget at the moment :(

On a low budget sadly :( as for how much work, aside from machining (skimming, etc) I can it all...... but as I said, my budget is very low....as in ideally sub £500 :/

Pretty sure mine is a V4 :/ Coil in centre of inlet manifold Its the 8S ECU model (so can't be remapped without daughterboard) Hmm so will look for a good engine.....

OK will see about a coolant sniff :/ 120psi seems to be the lowest 'ok' compression before problems start.... the 102 is borderline misfire from low compression alone :( I don't know whether to simply replace the head gaskets (they are composite ones I believe) and see how it goes....or simply chuck a good known running engine in for similar money :/ My car is a 1998, but if I got a 1999/2000 engine (different coils, MAF, etc), and then fitted my coil, MAF etc would it be fine? basically are the engines themselves identical?

Could it be a failing headgasket? No water in oil, no noticeable water loss, but the coolant does have a slight smell to it :/

Can't see the injector causing low compression :/ Really need some decent advice on best course of action please! :/

Fuel pump is fine, is only a couple of months old, and it primes perfectly. injectors possibly, but I'm more worried by the 102psi cylinder reading! :(

Just done a compression test. Engine had cooled down for about 30 minutes (oil temp was 75 degrees celcius). Presuming I have cylinder numbers correct: Cylinder 1 (drivers front) - 102psi Cylinder 2 (passenger front) - 125psi Cylinder 4 (passenger rear) - 122psi Cylinder 3 (drivers rear) - 110psi (Thats the order I did them in, so engine temp had dropped a bit by the time I got to the final cylinder test, cylinder 3) Now to me, that looks low across all cylinders especially cylinder 1 at 102psi :( However, seeing both cylinders on that side are lower, could it be a head gasket or something? it doesn't lose oil or water......

Brand new coil and leads fitted, sparkplugs were new a couple of days ago..... Still misfiring....... I have reset the ECU and will pull the plugs in a minute to see if there is any signs of something wrong......not happy though :( also checked crank sensor, it looks clean....

Ordered a new set of leads and just to make sure I have bought a new coil as well..... If it turns out the coil is ok, well I have a spare for the future :) Fingers crossed the leads/coil cure the problem :) I checked the resistance of the lead and it measured 11k which I know is quite high, new leads are around the 6k mark..... IF the coil/leads doesn't cure the misfire, I will compression test each cylinder (will have to do it cold but will still see if one cylinder is low). what are the cylinder compression psi figures meant to be out of interest?

the coil is definitely sparking, have checked that, the plugs are PFR7B gapped at 0.7mm I think.... looking at the leads they are date stamped 1998, so are old! and yeah, unplugging the maf stalls the car instantly so am ruling that out for the moment :P will order some new leads and see from there :/ definitely thinking the lead is at fault as the car doesnt run much worse with it pulled off!

update.... with new clean plugs 2 spark plugs (back cylinders) are showing signs of sooting on the insulator (as I would expect) front passenger plug shows a slight hint, but very clean front drivers......thats wet with fuel and sooty which looks like poor combustion. have looked inside plug cap and it looks corroded..... So will get a new set of leads (Magnecor 8mm or 8.5mm) and might get a new coil at the same time, simply as its probably original as well......