3sgte died..., Cut out on me...?? Options

[Celica_At_GT]

Well here is a little history first (since haven't posted on this board much - use to a lot on cnet (celica.net) back in the day though....

I had done a 3sgte engine swap and had a buddy do all the wiring for me (about 3 years ago). After finishing the mechanical stuff and putting th engine in, I found out the wiring was hosed. I took it to a shop to get it looked at and they put a microtech standalone ecu in it.

I finally got it running and it ran great for about 2 hours of usage and then just died on me. I haven't been able to restart it since then (but haven't been working on it too much)...

The pistons all seem to have really low compression (all around 90-100 psi). I am wondering if
1. what the compression should be.
2. if it is low, why is it low on all of the cylinders - does this mean the head gasket may have been put on wrong?? What could this imply?

Thanks for any assistance.
Ben

[lagos]

well... if you are getting spark and fuel, then chances are its not the ecu or harness...but you never know for sure with these things.

seeing as how you took the head off, there is a very good chance you might have done something wrong. you might not be getting a good seal. thats why its really a good idea not to mess with the head gasket unless you know its bad. you can never get as good of a seal as they did in the factory.

them min spec for compression is 128psi, so hot or cold, i think you need to get at least that in order for the car to start. google "compression test", there are a lot of tips and tricks to help you diagnose why the compression is that low.

when i bought my 3s, the guy who sold it did a cold test at my numbers were around 175 all accross. ... make sure you floor the gas pedal, pull out all the spark plugs, and watch the gauge as you are cranking it, every time you see the needle jump, thats 1 compression stroke. you should crank it for about 5 comression strokes.