Hey Gang,
Total newb question (again), but what does it mean if your car passes the cylinder balance test? All I've been able to find so far is what a fail means, e.g., weak power output from a cylinder, but not so much on the "good news" end. In other words, which potential problems might a "pass" help rule out? For instance, would a passing CB test indicate good piston rings?
I got to thinking about this because I've been having some wicked blow-by, which pops out my PCV valve and grommet on a regular basis. I've read that excessive blow-by can indicate bad piston rings, so I'm wondering if (and hoping that) my positive test results can rule that out.
Note: I have tried two new PCV/grommet setups--first from Advance and second from LMR--so I don't think that's the problem. The system blows either setup out in short order (BTW, the Advance PCV/grommet looks (is?) exactly the same as the one that comes in the LMR kit--obvi didn't realize that beforehand ). Would a Motorcraft unit make a difference? I'm thinking probably not because the blow-by seems pretty fierce. One time I noticed white/gray smoke coming out of my air cleaner box, which I think I read is an indicator or super blow-by, yes? I was able to rig up a piece of rigid plastic tube--actually the one that normally goes from the oil fill tube to the intake--to keep the PCV/grommet pinned down in its hole, but I'm guessing that's not an officially-sanctioned "fix." Haha. I just had the tube lying around because I replaced it with rubber tubing so I could pop an oil catch can in the line.
Addendum: I understand that a compression/leakdown test can indicate bad rings, but I haven't gotten around to that yet.
DM
Total newb question (again), but what does it mean if your car passes the cylinder balance test? All I've been able to find so far is what a fail means, e.g., weak power output from a cylinder, but not so much on the "good news" end. In other words, which potential problems might a "pass" help rule out? For instance, would a passing CB test indicate good piston rings?
I got to thinking about this because I've been having some wicked blow-by, which pops out my PCV valve and grommet on a regular basis. I've read that excessive blow-by can indicate bad piston rings, so I'm wondering if (and hoping that) my positive test results can rule that out.
Note: I have tried two new PCV/grommet setups--first from Advance and second from LMR--so I don't think that's the problem. The system blows either setup out in short order (BTW, the Advance PCV/grommet looks (is?) exactly the same as the one that comes in the LMR kit--obvi didn't realize that beforehand ). Would a Motorcraft unit make a difference? I'm thinking probably not because the blow-by seems pretty fierce. One time I noticed white/gray smoke coming out of my air cleaner box, which I think I read is an indicator or super blow-by, yes? I was able to rig up a piece of rigid plastic tube--actually the one that normally goes from the oil fill tube to the intake--to keep the PCV/grommet pinned down in its hole, but I'm guessing that's not an officially-sanctioned "fix." Haha. I just had the tube lying around because I replaced it with rubber tubing so I could pop an oil catch can in the line.
Addendum: I understand that a compression/leakdown test can indicate bad rings, but I haven't gotten around to that yet.
DM
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