Hey, guys:
I know this may sound like a dumb question but, the truth is I just flat
don't know. I'm going to be helping a friend of mine try to chase down a
high rpm miss tomorrow in his '60 Austin Healey 3000 Mk1. He has already
changed the obvious things, such as plugs, wires, rotor, cap, points,
condenser, coil, fuel filter, etc. We are going to check out the entire
ignition circuit tomorrow for loose or possible broken connections in an
attempt to find something amiss.
He has stated to me however that, even though the engine was rebuilt only
approximately 4000 miles ago, #2 cylinder shows significantly lower
compression than the other five. A squirt or two of oil down the plug hole
will raise the compression back up to the level of the other cylinders, so
a possible broken ring is suspected. My question is this...could this
situation be the cause of his high rpm miss? His miss only happens when
the car is hot (in hot weather) and running at highway speeds. He reports
that, when pulling a mild upgrade on the highway at 70 mph, his engine will
begin to miss and his speed could, depending on the length of the grade,
drop off to 50 mph.
I have offered to help him but I will be there more for moral support than
technical, as I am just as much at a loss as he is for an explanation. If
some of our mechanically minded listers out there could give me any insight
on whether or not his low compression problem in one cylinder could be
causing this, please let me know. My friend and I will be forever
grateful.
Thanks,
Andy Walker
|