92 Marathon 295 Low Compression?

[TQC]

Engine starts and runs... It's kinda weak, and I have to choke it a lot to get it started (and to keep it running)

I've cleaned the carb pretty well, but it could still be part of the problem.

What should the compression be? I get 80-85lbs on each cylinder. I've adjusted the valves...

I want a little more power on the cheap..

I've looked for re-ring kit, but all I can find are master rebuild kits $$$

Thanks for any input!

[sccowboy]

You should be around 140 psi depending on the age of the engine. With your pressure, you may have leaking valves or worn rings. If you pour some oil into the cylinder and recheck, you should see the psi come up. This is where you have to make the decision to either rebuild the engine or replace it with a drop in. Good luck

[TQC]

Thanks Cowboy,

I wonder if there's a way to test to see if it's just the valves, or just the rings...

I'm sure it's probably original, so it's probably both...


I'm not afraid to rebuild it, but it looks like you can get a re-man engine or predator for about the same money as the kit!

[sccowboy]

The kit is around 300, the drop in engine is around 7, but you will have it running again in a couple of hours. Its not hard to pull the head and check the valves. Look in the tech section and grab the engine and service guides. They will walk you through it. I rebuilt mine recently and enjoyed the project but if I had to do it again, I would probably do the drop in from CT rebuilds.