Time to start finding out just what state of affairs this Marina i have bought is in. Being that it is now 45 years old i need to dig in deep here and see what condition things are actually in. Who knows what the ravagers of time and peaples use and repair and maintenace have left the condition of this vehicle in.
I drove the car up and down the driveway and it just did not have the acceleration punch that it should have. At least all the basics are working maybe not 100% but working so that's a great start. Anyway now i am keen to try and find out why the engine is down on grunt.
First thing an engine compression test to see if there is some majour issues like burnt or stuck valves or maybe a piston with a hole in it etc.
Some engine bay photos as bought.
Taking out the spark plugs.
All spark plugs removed for compression testing. There are two different brands and none of them are the correct type the things peaple do. This maybe part of the problem of the lack of power.
Time to get the compression tester out and start checking each of the 6 cylinders one by one.
The tester screws into were the spark plugs go. Then you crank the engine over with the starter to check the pressure then compare these readings with the specification from the factory. I got from 105 to 122psi that is way down on the listed specs of 170 to 187psi.
Compression tester fitted.
Being this low on compression though still being even enough across all six cylinders seems a bit strange. I start thinking i need to check the cam shaft timing is correct.
Here after removing the cam cover you can see the camshaft in the center of the engine the item with the bright shiny lumps on it. This item opens and closes the valves as it is turned by the timing chain that is driven by the crankshaft. If the timing is not correct the engine will not run properly.
There are two timing marks that have to line up to be correct. First is to position the crankshaft mark to top dead center seen here circled in green.
Next the camshaft timing marks should line up now as you can see here in the green circled area the dot on the cam does not line up with the notch on the camshaft bearing cap. Bingo found a big problem here.
So i removed the camshaft timing gear moved it around one chain link and fitted it back on the camshaft and now all the timing marks line up. Checked the compression again and got a nice bump up in that to 120 to 135psi still a bit down tough i am starting to suspect the gauge is reading low.
I hope your were able to understand all this for those of you not very familiar with cars? This is the first time ive ever put this type of thing into wrighting.
Thanks for following along with my journey on the Marina.
