if the valves were gone on my ca18det id lose pressure true? does anyone know how to distinguish btwn having cracked rings and broken valves? the engine seems to be running smooth im hoping its the valves thats more a long term problem so im sure thatd be fine for an exchange... also the pressure is only low in one cylinder 75psi compared to about 150 to 160 in the others....help appreciated

Just a thought, if the pressure ring goes you'll have sump pressure and oil getting out of the breather pipe, a valve not seating correctly will cause misfire's iether through the tailpipe or towards the inlet

what about water coming out of the exhaust?

Hi Mikali!!
You could have some workshop to perform a leakdown test on your engine. With that test you can see if it

wish i could turbo but ive already got the motor out of the car:P

what do you mean by water out of the exhaust, was it still running @ that time, or do you start the engine outside of your cabbie

it was splutterring black water substance on my driveway mainly in the mornings there was a fair bit it wasnt just a little bit of dew the engine was running smooth too im hoping the valves have gone that would give me a lifeline with regards to the warranty mini-series im in at the moment

could be head gasket if it is blowin alot out of the arse

The engine doesn't need to be in the car to perform a leak down test, just complete.

What you do is get an old spark plug break/drill the insulator out and weld in an air hose fitting, then screw in the in place of a spark plug, pressurise the cylinder and check the exhaust, inlet, breathers, water jacket entry, and spark plug fitting of neighbouring cylinders, this will tell you where the leak is!

Yep, Matt's exactly right. You can even buy an air hose adapter for the spark plug threads. Put the bad cylinder on TDC and prevent the engine from turning somehow. Use an air-compressor, you should hear hissing. To narrow it down listen with a length of heater hose -- stick the hose in the exhaust manifold and intake manifold to see if a valve is leaking. If the hissing only comes out the oil cap, but not the manifolds, it's likely the rings, possibly head gasket. If hissing comes out the thermostat hole, think blown head gasket.