Compression Test and :(

I

Iceman31

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Feb 13, 2011
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67
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52
Location
SK, Canada
OK I let my 2000 SRX700 warm up this morning - after a very hard start. Then I shut it off and did a compression test on all 3 cylinders. News not good. 20psi on cylinder 1 and 100 psi on 2 and 3. I do not have a shop (my first downfall). How much is the dealer going to soak me for repair of this sled? Do I have to redo all 3 pistons? Can I get away with redoing 1 and just the rings and such on the other two? I am no professional mechanic but I do have some skills. I have a feeling this job may be above my head. The sled still runs fine but idles rough with a pop coming from the exhaust. I am hoping to get this fixed but also hope it does not cost a fortune. Any ideas on what cost is what all I might have to do? Can this be easily done because I can buy a piston kit for approx $200.00. Your opinions are appreciated but :bash:
 
I feel for you. I just went through the whole thing. I still haven't fixed mine yet. I just received my replayed cylinder, it's going to be my project this week.
I say pull the head on that cylinder you'll find out how bad the situation is....
I needed a piston head and cylinder quite costly. The guys here are an excellent source of help and info.
 
You won't know for sure what needs to be replaced until you tear it down, inspect and measure. I recommend OEM pistons which you can buy separately if you only need one. However, the first thing is to find out what is causing the lack of compression, and then find the root cause beyond a doubt. Simply replacing damaged parts without identifying root cause will likely result in a repeat. This is a fairly easy job, but if it is your first one it pays to get lots of input from an experienced engine builder.

First thing I would do is determine if it is a lean burn down or other issue. You can get a benda-light (or similar) and inspect the piston crown through the spark plug hole. Focus on the exhaust side and the wash areas. Even before that, what does the spark plug look like?

Post pics as you go and we can help you as much as one can over the internet.
 
If your going to do the job yourself and leave the engine in the chassis you wont need anything other than metric sockets and wrenches but if you want to remove the engine then you'll need a clutch puller for the primary.Ask as many questions as you can think of and heed any and all advice because most guys on here have undertaken this task,some more than a few times,and we can tell you short cuts and things to check while your engine is tore down.
If your doing this yourself you should try to find a warm place to do this because it's no fun working on an engine with a steel wrench in your hand outside in the freezing cold.
Just tell the wife you need to use the dining room table for a few hours lol.
 
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Noobtosleddin said:
Oh there is a guy on kijiji Sask that has a newer 99 engine I believe. Just an idea
Click to expand...
99 and 2000 are different spec engines. 98-99 = Same, 00-up = different specs than 98-99...
 
What kind of time should this job take? I could use some shop space on the factory floor in the evenings but not if it drags out for a long time. I have never done pistons before once you get in there is it as simple as popping the pins out and swapping the old pistons with the new ones?
 
An experienced mechanic would do it in an evening. Swapping the piston is easy, but cleaning, measuring and inspecting will take most of the time. There should be a good post on this somewhere if not on this site. You will likely spill coolant so will want something ready to clean it up. If you determine that only the one piston needs to be changed, then a bunch of paper shop towels will suffice. You will need tools to measure, or you can take to a machine shop to measure for you.
 
OK I found a mechanic who can get my sled back to me in about a week. He charges $60.00 per hour. He tells me I should do all 3 pistons given my compression numbers. He figures to do this job the bill will be $800 - $1000 dollars. This quote is based on hopefully not finding anything else when he gets in there. Does this sound like a fair price? I have also contacted two dealers to get there feedback but so far have not heard anything as most dealers service guys don't work Saturdays. If I had a shop I would attempt this job myself but I don't so looking at having to bite the bullet if I want to keep this sled. The other alternative is to sell this sled as is and look for another older sled.
 
I just did a 2001 700 last month. I bought all my parts in the states total cost just over $400.00 and installed all 3 pistons in about 2.5 hrs at an easy going pace. I can see it costing 800 to a 1000 easy to have someone do it for you.
 
Mileage on sled? Depending on elevation/process of compression test 100 on #2,#3 isnt that horrible. $200 on piston kit? assuming aftermarket, Would need to be more patient letting sled fully warm up. I would be tearing into engine before you come up with a plan. If 2&3 pistons are ok you could pick up oem cylinder/piston and put new rings on all 3. Everything is speculation until you tear it apart. You said it had a miss/sputter....could o-ring on the head be blown out? Popping the heads off and take some pics for us to see we can speculate more of a plan.
 
10300km or 6400 miles on sled, elevation here is 680m or 2231 feet. That is an aftermarket kit that I found on e-bay. I don't really want to tear into the sled as I don't have a shop and would have to do that in my backyard.
 
Iceman31 said:
10300km or 6400 miles on sled, elevation here is 680m or 2231 feet. That is an aftermarket kit that I found on e-bay. I don't really want to tear into the sled as I don't have a shop and would have to do that in my backyard.
Click to expand...

Even if you just pull the head/heads off and post pics we can than give you a better idea of what we would do.
 
Just a quick question on your compression test procedure. When you did your compression test did you hold the throttle wide open because if you didn`t that will give you a lower compression reeding.
 
Whenever I did a compression test a closed or open throttle never made a difference. To make it easier on the body you may wish to pull the rest of the spark plugs.
 
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