subject: What Can You Do To Recover Engine Compression? [print this page] Recovering Engine Compression Recovering Engine Compression
Hey, does your car have the power it had when you first got it?
Remember the first time you took off out of the dealer's driveway with your new car?
Wow, it just took off so smooth and powerful.
(Did you chirp the tires? I did.)
So, now what happens? Is the accelerator a little more spongy? Can you chirp the tires without taking off in a sharp right hand turn in a wet spot?
Chances are your engine rings and cylinders are showing wear.
Newer engines are lasting longer true, but if you have a pre 2001, what do you do?
Drive it the way it is and when it gets too bad, you keep driving it smoking and putting in "stuff" so it stops using oil and hoping that it will last it for another year, right? Working at recovering engine compression.
AND if you really want to keep the car and L O V E it to death, you spend $3,000 to $5,000 to get the engine rebuilt. Hey that is cheaper than a new car, isn't it? Sometimes, maybe.
Technical stuff here . When the pistons are driven up and down, the rings with their spring steel design hold close to the cylinder wall so that the burn of the fuel drives it back down the cylinder. A thin coating of oil protects the ring from touching the cylinder wall almost all of the time. Almost, but not all the time, making recovering engine compression something that becomes real.
Due to oil shear and the microscopic imperfections in the surface of the cylinder wall, the ring in real life does strike the cylinder wall, carving out microscopic "wear metal" particles. Plus, as the fuel burns, it leaves behind unburned and partially burned fuel that results in carbon particles that are hard and gritty. Fact of fuel combustion. That is why you have to change your oil to get those contaminants and the acids out of the engine. Oh yeah acids; think they don't eat away at the engine walls? Think again.
All of this wears out the engine cylinders.
More about Recovering engine compression
So what happens? The rings do not seal between the cylinder and the piston properly and the burned gasses blow by the ring into the crankcase. Now you have power being wasted and compression is low.
OK, so what are your options?
First - remember the engine overhaul. Depending on what you are driving and where you live, that is going to run $3,000 to $5,000 or more. Hey - you can also replace it with a used one that hopefully has lots of miles left in it. Costs less and they are readily available. Get a good mechanic to do the exchange.
There are also the traditional "add to you oil every oil change" like Restore and Bardahl that will run you $11 to $15 - better than nothing.
There is a new system for engine repair without an expensive engine overhaul. Engine Ceramics. Best one we found are the CerTech Gels and Quality Ceramics. We tested a whole slew of products. Some are cheaper and some used to be better than they are now (they cut on costly active ingredients and increased their profit margin). They don't work as well as they used to. Others will make a gooey mess of the oil. So watch out which product you buy. Don't just go for price. Remember, you are looking for results. Extra benefit; both these are made in USA.
You just add it to your oil and drive. Creates a microscopic patch of ceramics every time metal strikes metal. After a while you have a new low friction ceramic surface on the rings and the cylinders. No, it will never build up so much that it damages the engine. Matter of fact they tell us in hundreds of thousands of cases there has never been a claim of damage. This is a super easy way of recovering engine compression. Plan on spending $100 for 4 and 6 cylinder engines and $150 for a V-8. Your Turbo Diesels will run $200 or so.
And make sure you get a money back guarantee.
Let's face it - maybe time for a new car. Check out the used ones on the market and for sure - if you can afford it, go to the new car dealer. Maybe it is time to get a new one. They sure are nice and you get a warranty that in some cases just does not stop. But remember, your 2 to 3 year old used cars are a lot better bargain. Chances are if your buy one 2 to 3 years old, it is a trade in for a new model, which is the best ones. At least they are not lemons.
Just thought I would share what I have found out - good luck out there.
