Jennifer Joy asks for an explanation of a leak down test.
Jenn, a leak down test simply measures your engine's ability
to *sustain* it's compression. You say your engine has acceptable
compression. That's good since it means there are no disasters
lurking inside. No holes in piston tops, missing valves or head
gaskets with large sections missing.
When you do a compression check you run the engine with the starter
and no plugs. The compression tester in one plug hole, measures the
compression in that cylinder on a guage reading in pounds per square
inch. Let's say, for discussion purposes, that you have 160 lbs in
each cylinder. A leak down test measures the drop in psi over a period
of time. The faster the drop in psi the less your engine is able to sustain
compression and consequently, the more wear in it. In a new engine you should
see virtually no drop in psi after several minutes. If your compression drops
immediataly and/or quickly, it points to just what your mechanic said; It's
just plain worn out. This, however is not a disaster in and of itself.
*Worn out* engines can be rebuilt to *as new* specs and performance.
It's not cheap, but then neither is a *new* engine. It sounds like
you're in for a total engine rebuild to me. Have a mechanic who really
knows British engines do your work, don't scrimp on the machine shop
work or parts and be prepared to have the car down for a while. But take
heart, it's really worth it in the end.(I'm assuming from your post that
you're not going to do your own work.)
I hope this helps, (apologies to all for whom this is all elementary)
and good luck with it to you, Jenn.
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