Spark plug reading

[Popeye775 16]

Can someone help me read my spark plugs? Yes i have an AFR but i didnt have anyone to read my AFR while i was on the throttle when i was driving, so i pulled plugs to see how they look. I drove for about 30 minutes on and off throttle after letting the car warm up for about 10 minutes. Here is how the plug looks (all of them look the same as this one).

 

 

The ring does look dark, im assuming its idling rich but other than that anybody able to help me read these?

 

 

 

 

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[vw rule 19]

Hello there,

they look ok to me if all 4 plugs look like that one, yes you have a little bit of black soot around the body of plug, this will probably brush off with your thumb or finger, if not then might be running on the rich side or just short journeys.

The white porcelain insulation looks in really good condition, and the platinum tip from what I can see look good also.

The earth electrode on the top looks ok also, not much discoloration or any carbon build up.  Looks like they're fairly recent plugs to me.

If the plugs came out wet with fuel or really smelt strong of fuel, then it definitely is over fueling or weak spark. All spark plugs will carbon up over time as they degrade, but like I say yours look fine.

Photo below of a new plug and a well used warn one.

 

Hope this helps

Si 

[Popeye775 16]

21 minutes ago, vw rule said:

Hello there,

they look ok to me if all 4 plugs look like that one, yes you have a little bit of black soot around the body of plug, this will probably brush off with your thumb or finger, if not then might be running on the rich side or just short journeys.

The white porcelain insulation looks in really good condition, and the platinum tip from what I can see look good also.

The earth electrode on the top looks ok also, not much discoloration or any carbon build up.  Looks like they're fairly recent plugs to me.

If the plugs came out wet with fuel or really smelt strong of fuel, then it definitely is over fueling or weak spark. All spark plugs will carbon up over time as they degrade, but like I say yours look fine.

Photo below of a new plug and a well used warn one.

 

Hope this helps

Si 

Hi sir,

The plugs didn't smell like oil at all. They weren't wet either. If anything they just smelled like exhaust almost? Didn't smell like oil or fuel. I can't really put my finger on the exact smell. I just wanted to be sure that these looked ok because I have been having a lean running issue. My AFR tends to read lean (which could just be an exhaust manifold gasket or something like that giving me a weird reading) but more than anything I just wanted to have someone see if these looked ok since I was on and off throttle while driving around for a bit. Especially since I just put a new cam and lifters in as well to match the adjusted fuel pressure. 

[vw rule 19]

1 hour ago, Popeye775 said:

Hi sir,

The plugs didn't smell like oil at all. They weren't wet either. If anything they just smelled like exhaust almost? Didn't smell like oil or fuel. I can't really put my finger on the exact smell. I just wanted to be sure that these looked ok because I have been having a lean running issue. My AFR tends to read lean (which could just be an exhaust manifold gasket or something like that giving me a weird reading) but more than anything I just wanted to have someone see if these looked ok since I was on and off throttle while driving around for a bit. Especially since I just put a new cam and lifters in as well to match the adjusted fuel pressure. 

If you think your car is running lean, it'll normally be on the inlet side possibly after the MAF basically unmeasured extra air entering in, possible inlet manifold gasket or vacuum hose/s, but you sometimes can have a symptom with an air or vacuum leak, like sluggish throttle response or weak idle, plus I think it might pop very slightly out the back of exhaust, but really depends how lean the mixture is.

If your exhaust was blowing/leaking from manifold or down pipe, you'll normally hear it or smell the extra exhaust fumes, plus you might even see slight black soot marks on or near manifold heat shield, but this depends how bad it is, plus the lambda sensor will still be able to check/adjust the fuel trim, as it detects fuel deposits, but this all depends what reading the MAF is sending to ECU, like I say if you have an air or vacuum leak, the ECU may not pick it up as the VR6 doesn't have a MAP sensor, so doesn't have that secondary backup so to speak.

I'd scan your ECU for any logged fault codes if any ?  And get someone to drive your Corrado whilst your looking at the scan tool in live data mode, or use freeze frame if it has it. You'll probably want to look at the fuel injector readings, as any weakness in the fuel system can also effect the air to fuel ratio.

Hope this helps

Si 

[Popeye775 16]

If you think your car is running lean, it'll normally be on the inlet side possibly after the MAF basically unmeasured extra air entering in, possible inlet manifold gasket or vacuum hose/s, but you sometimes can have a symptom with an air or vacuum leak, like sluggish throttle response or weak idle, plus I think it might pop very slightly out the back of exhaust, but really depends how lean the mixture is.
If your exhaust was blowing/leaking from manifold or down pipe, you'll normally hear it or smell the extra exhaust fumes, plus you might even see slight black soot marks on or near manifold heat shield, but this depends how bad it is, plus the lambda sensor will still be able to check/adjust the fuel trim, as it detects fuel deposits, but this all depends what reading the MAF is sending to ECU, like I say if you have an air or vacuum leak, the ECU may not pick it up as the VR6 doesn't have a MAP sensor, so doesn't have that secondary backup so to speak.
I'd scan your ECU for any logged fault codes if any ?  And get someone to drive your Corrado whilst your looking at the scan tool in live data mode, or use freeze frame if it has it. You'll probably want to look at the fuel injector readings, as any weakness in the fuel system can also effect the air to fuel ratio.
Hope this helps
Si 

Since it is a G60, there is no MAF sensor. It pops slightly on idle for the first couple minutes but that’s while it’s running rich, none after that first couple minutes.


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[Popeye775 16]

I will drive it though and have someone sit passenger and let me know how the AFR looks though for sure sir,

Thank you


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[vw rule 19]

13 minutes ago, Popeye775 said:

I will drive it though and have someone sit passenger and let me know how the AFR looks though for sure sir,

Thank you


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Sorry mate I presumed yours was a VR6 🙈  Ok so it's a G60. Yeah I'd definitely drive the car and have someone or yourself view the scan tool readings in live data, just to confirm it is or not running on the lean side.

Si 👍 

[Popeye775 16]

Sorry mate I presumed yours was a VR6   Ok so it's a G60. Yeah I'd definitely drive the car and have someone or yourself view the scan tool readings in live data, just to confirm it is or not running on the lean side.
Si  

Thank you sir will do


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[Popeye775 16]

Update:

Checked fuel pressure: reading at 3.5 bar fuel pressure consistent. Turned down to 3 bar consistent. I am running stock injectors that duty cycle 80% @ 3 bar of pressure. 

Held down WOT switch and the AFR dropped to only 15.5-16. Something wrong with the WOT switch? Do I need the 30lb injectors instead to push the 3.5 bar of pressure?

Here is a list of things that I have checked or done to try to combat this lean running issue (and just for maintenance as well) so far:

- Fuel Pressure: checked

- Injectors: New (stock size)

- Pump: 5k miles

- filter: 5k miles

- Pressure regulator: New (adjustable)

- Injector wiring: New

- New Intake manifold gasket

- New Vacuum lines

- All new spark

- Timing set to 6 degrees BTDC

* Currently running basically all of the stage 3 kit from BBM with a 268 cam and 68mm supercharger pulley. 

Apologies for the long post. Anybody have any recommendations?

Edited December 2, 2020 by Popeye775

[vw rule 19]

On ‎12‎/‎2‎/‎2020 at 12:10 AM, Popeye775 said:

Update:

Checked fuel pressure: reading at 3.5 bar fuel pressure consistent. Turned down to 3 bar consistent. I am running stock injectors that duty cycle 80% @ 3 bar of pressure. 

Held down WOT switch and the AFR dropped to only 15.5-16. Something wrong with the WOT switch? Do I need the 30lb injectors instead to push the 3.5 bar of pressure?

Here is a list of things that I have checked or done to try to combat this lean running issue (and just for maintenance as well) so far:

- Fuel Pressure: checked

- Injectors: New (stock size)

- Pump: 5k miles

- filter: 5k miles

- Pressure regulator: New (adjustable)

- Injector wiring: New

- New Intake manifold gasket

- New Vacuum lines

- All new spark

- Timing set to 6 degrees BTDC

* Currently running basically all of the stage 3 kit from BBM with a 268 cam and 68mm supercharger pulley. 

Apologies for the long post. Anybody have any recommendations?

Yeah it does look like your G60 is running on the lean side with the reading you've listed 15.5

From what I've read and my understanding of it, is the air to fuel ratio ideally should be close to 14.7:1 which is baseline pretty much for petrol engines,  and possibly slightly richer fuel mixture for some of the newer turbo engines ?       I think 14.7:1  means you need 1kg of fuel to 14.7kg of air to burn correctly in the cylinder, but I think from what I've read the G60 has been known to run on the lean side sometimes, it can be the sluggish signal adjustment characteristics between the ECU and lambda sensor in it's standard setup but it's not all the time from what I've read, which is why you guys I presume get a remap to gain more power but to obtain a more consistent richer mixture when driving hard.  Also it looks like the G60 does have a MAP sensor (G71) which is located inside the ECU, which is partly why it's important to have a bang on length of 1 metre (100 cm) for the vacuum hose from the throttle body to ECU, otherwise you can have running issues.   According to the Bentley manual the MAP sensor inside ECU is limited to 17.4 psi = (2200 mbar) 

The WOT switch is I think the Wide Open Throttle switch, again according to the Bentley manual the G60 has two throttle switches,    1) close position at idle,   and,     2) full/wide open position at full throttle.   I think the standard green injectors are set to operate up to 3 bar (43.5 psi),  specs I think are 255cc (operating resistance 15.9 ohms) Duty cycle = (g/min 191.9)   I think that's right anyway.

 

This is a PDF file I've found online of all or most Bosch injectors. Link below.

https://www.accurateis.com/images/23641354-Injectors-calc-flow-data.pdf

 

I'll have another look in the Bentley manual.

Si

[Popeye775 16]

Yeah it does look like your G60 is running on the lean side with the reading you've listed 15.5
From what I've read and my understanding of it, is the air to fuel ratio ideally should be close to 14.7:1 which is baseline pretty much for petrol engines,  and possibly slightly richer fuel mixture for some of the newer turbo engines ?       I think 14.7:1  means you need 1kg of fuel to 14.7kg of air to burn correctly in the cylinder, but I think from what I've read the G60 has been known to run on the lean side sometimes, it can be the sluggish signal adjustment characteristics between the ECU and lambda sensor in it's standard setup but it's not all the time from what I've read, which is why you guys I presume get a remap to gain more power but to obtain a more consistent richer mixture when driving hard.  Also it looks like the G60 does have a MAP sensor (G71) which is located inside the ECU, which is partly why it's important to have a bang on length of 1 metre (100 cm) for the vacuum hose from the throttle body to ECU, otherwise you can have running issues.   According to the Bentley manual the MAP sensor inside ECU is limited to 17.4 psi = (2200 mbar) 
The WOT switch is I think the Wide Open Throttle switch, again according to the Bentley manual the G60 has two throttle switches,    1) close position at idle,   and,     2) full/wide open position at full throttle.   I think the standard green injectors are set to operate up to 3 bar (43.5 psi),  specs I think are 255cc (operating resistance 15.9 ohms) Duty cycle = (g/min 191.9)   I think that's right anyway.
 
This is a PDF file I've found online of all or most Bosch injectors. Link below.
https://www.accurateis.com/images/23641354-Injectors-calc-flow-data.pdf
 
I'll have another look in the Bentley manual.
Si

The injectors capping out at 3 bar would make sense as to why when i turned my fuel pressure down to 3 bar from 3.5, the AFR didnt change. I have a leak down tester on the way (should arrive Sunday) just to check for piston rings going bad, bad head gasket, or bad valves. Im not assuming any of these right off the bat just because im not losing any extra oil or coolant. Not sure if bad valves would show up on a compression test, but the last one i did, all cylinders were within 10% of each other and still within spec of the Bentley as well.

I did not realize it does actually have a MAP sensor. I will double check the length of my ECU vacuum tomorrow to ensure that it is SPOT on. I also switched to a colder spark plug as recommended by multiple people for the tuned G60s.

I appreciate all the help as well sir. I will update you with anything i find tomorrow when it comes to the ECU vacuum and on sunday with the leak down test as well. If you find anything else in the Bentley or come up with any other ideas sir, i would greatly appreciate any of it. Again thank you!


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[Popeye775 16]

So i am now in need of an opinion...

I did a leakdown to reveal that two cylinders have piston rings going bad. No smoke yet, and no major oil loss yet. I am considering rebuilding the engine forged or swapping the motor. Anybody have any opinions for me?


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[vw rule 19]

2 hours ago, Popeye775 said:

So i am now in need of an opinion...

I did a leakdown to reveal that two cylinders have piston rings going bad. No smoke yet, and no major oil loss yet. I am considering rebuilding the engine forged or swapping the motor. Anybody have any opinions for me?


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Hello mate,

which two cylinders have weaker readings is it two cylinders next to one another ?    Also how long did you do the leak down test for and what were your readings. 

Have you done a compression test also or just the leak down test ?

Si 

[Popeye775 16]

18 minutes ago, vw rule said:

Hello mate,

which two cylinders have weaker readings is it two cylinders next to one another ?    Also how long did you do the leak down test for and what were your readings. 

Have you done a compression test also or just the leak down test ?

Si 

Hi Si,

The two were cylinder 2 and 4. 2 had 50% and 4 had 40%. I did a compression test not too long ago - around the time that the issue began - and the compression was still good. Cylinder 1 and 3 had 20% leakage. I did it for probably a minute per cylinder to make sure the leakage stayed the same. 

Edited December 8, 2020 by Popeye775

[vw rule 19]

2 minutes ago, Popeye775 said:

Hi Si,

The two were cylinder 2 and 4. 2 had 50% and 4 had 40%. I did a compression test not too long ago and the compression was still good. Cylinder 1 and 3 had 20% leakage. I did it for probably a minute per cylinder to make sure the leakage stayed the same. 

Ok so looking at your readings then cylinders 1 and 3 are within acceptable range which is I think 20% or under.

But cylinders 2 and 4 are miles out of range 😱    Q: Can you hear any air escaping into crank case or hear/feel any with the breather hose or oil filler cap removed ?   If so then this could well be rings worn.

Or can you hear any air escaping into exhaust or inlet manifold/s.   Exhaust you might be able to remove the blue plug off the exhaust emission probe tester tube, that's sometimes fitted to 16v and G60 exhaust manifolds, check for any air escaping out. Regarding the inlet manifold again listen for any echoing sound escaping air, you might have to remove the air inlet pipe to throttle body to feel for any air escaping, or isn't there a breather hose that connects close to the CO/air temp sensor in the inlet pipe to throttle body, just to gain access for any mass air escaping. 

At TDC or close to it both the inlet and exhaust valves should be closed, on cylinder 1,  I think the cam lobes will be pointing upwards but out at roughly 45 degree angle, (valve 1 exhaust) (valve 2 inlet)   20% leak down test reading so valves and rings possibly ok for mileage, I think 20% or under is within range.

At TDC on cylinder 2  I think the cam lobes will be pointing down wards but out at roughly 45 degree angle so should be closed (valve 3 exhaust) (valve 4 inlet) 50% leak down test so could be damaged warn valves or rings.

At TDC on cylinder 3  the came lobes I think will be pointing upwards but out at roughly 45 degree angle, again valves should be closed (valve 5 exhaust) (valve 6 inlet)  20% leak down test reading so valves and rings possibly ok for mileage.

Then on cylinder 4 at TDC the cam lobes will be I think pointing down wards but out at roughly 45 degree angle, so again the valves should be closed. (valve 7 exhaust) (valve 8 inlet)  40% leak down test so could be damaged valves or rings.

So you definitely had the same PSI of air going into each cylinder when your leak down tester was connected using compressed air via compressor ?   I think you want roughly 80 PSI which is about 5.5 bar of air pressure, plus I don't think you can complete the test in about 5 minutes, I think it can take up to roughly 30 to 40 minutes per each cylinder, to be 100% sure the cylinder is holding pressure long term, and not just for 1 or 2 minutes. Were the valves 100% closed on cylinders 2 and 4 as that is one hell of a reading 40% & 50%  Apologies mate I just want to be sure you're testing correctly 👍

Hope this helps

Si 

[Popeye775 16]

2 minutes ago, vw rule said:

Ok so looking at your readings then cylinders 1 and 3 are within acceptable range which is I think 20% or under.

But cylinders 2 and 4 are miles out of range 😱    Q: Can you hear any air escaping into crank case or hear/feel any with the breather hose or oil filler cap removed ?   If so then this could well be rings worn.

Or can you hear any air escaping into exhaust or inlet manifold/s.   Exhaust you might be able to remove the blue plug off the exhaust emission probe tester tube, that's sometimes fitted to 16v and G60 exhaust manifolds, check for any air escaping out. Regarding the inlet manifold again listen for any echoing sound escaping air, you might have to remove the air inlet pipe to throttle body to feel for any air escaping, or isn't there a breather hose that connects close to the CO/air temp sensor in the inlet pipe to throttle body, just to gain access for any mass air escaping. 

At TDC or close to it both the inlet and exhaust valves should be closed, on cylinder 1,  I think the cam lobes will be pointing upwards but out at roughly 45 degree angle, (valve 1 exhaust) (valve 2 inlet)   20% leak down test reading so valves and rings possibly ok for mileage, I think 20% or under is within range.

At TDC on cylinder 2  I think the cam lobes will be pointing down wards but out at roughly 45 degree angle so should be closed (valve 3 exhaust) (valve 4 inlet) 50% leak down test so could be damaged warn valves or rings.

At TDC on cylinder 3  the came lobes I think will be pointing upwards but out at roughly 45 degree angle, again valves should be closed (valve 5 exhaust) (valve 6 inlet)  20% leak down test reading so valves and rings possibly ok for mileage.

Then on cylinder 4 at TDC the cam lobes will be I think pointing down wards but out at roughly 45 degree angle, so again the valves should be closed. (valve 7 exhaust) (valve 8 inlet)  40% leak down test so could be damaged valves or rings.

So you definitely had the same PSI of air going into each cylinder when your leak down tester was connected using compressed air via compressor ?   I think you want roughly 80 PSI which is about 5.5 bar of air pressure, plus I don't think you can complete the test in about 5 minutes, I think it can take up to roughly 30 to 40 minutes per each cylinder, to be 100% sure the cylinder is holding pressure long term, and not just for 1 or 2 minutes. Were the valves 100% closed on cylinders 2 and 4 as that is one hell of a reading 40% & 50%  Apologies mate I just want to be sure you're testing correctly 👍

Hope this helps

Si 

No no I appreciate it sir! 

So, I heard the air coming out of the oil dipstick hole. There wasn't air escaping anywhere else. I had each cylinder at TDC when testing so the test did take about an hour to do. So the valves should have been closed during this test. I can guarantee that there wasn't air escaping anywhere else as for that is the only spot that I heard the air escaping from. As for the PSI coming from the tank, I used enough air to zeroed out my gauge. I am not sure what PSI that was exactly but it was enough to have my gauge zeroed out. 

[Popeye775 16]

Also 20% were still in the good range, the 40% was borderline between mild and low leakage. At least on my gauge. 50% was also in the moderate range but was definitely really far off from that 20% in those other cylinders.

[vw rule 19]

4 minutes ago, Popeye775 said:

Also 20% were still in the good range, the 40% was borderline between mild and low leakage. At least on my gauge. 50% was also in the moderate range but was definitely really far off from that 20% in those other cylinders.

Yeah it does point to the piston rings possibly if you say you can definitely hear air escaping out of dip stick tube, that's definitely by pass pressure getting into crank case, you'll always have a small amount which gets collected in crack case breather which is recirculated back into inlet via air filter or inlet manifold. In that case then you'll probably hear the air escaping with oil filler cap removed and your thumb over dip stick tube opening. Could also be a head gasket but it's escaping from two cylinders and they're not next to one another, plus I think the larger oil ports are near cylinders 1 and 4 so like you say could well be rings, if it was a piston gone it probably would be smoking out the exhaust, and possibly misfiring.

Si 👍

[Popeye775 16]

Yeah it does point to the piston rings possibly if you say you can definitely hear air escaping out of dip stick tube, that's definitely by pass pressure getting into crank case, you'll always have a small amount which gets collected in crack case breather which is recirculated back into inlet via air filter or inlet manifold. In that case then you'll probably hear the air escaping with oil filler cap removed and your thumb over dip stick tube opening. Could also be a head gasket but it's escaping from two cylinders and they're not next to one another, plus I think the larger oil ports are near cylinders 1 and 4 so like you say could well be rings, if it was a piston gone it probably would be smoking out the exhaust, and possibly misfiring.
Si

No smoking at all out the back but does have a small misfire for the first couple minutes on a cold start


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[vw rule 19]

2 minutes ago, Popeye775 said:

No smoking at all out the back but does have a small misfire for the first couple minutes on a cold start


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Ok and how long ago did you say you had a compression test done on all 4 cylinders, did you say they were very similar readings between all 4 ?

According to the Bentley manual the compression should be between 116 & 174 PSI (8 to 12 bar) difference allowed between cylinders is 43.5 PSI (3 bar)

Wear limit it states is 87 PSI (6 bar) but realistically if your readings are close to 90 or 95 PSI then your engine will have weak performance.

Si 

[Popeye775 16]

12 minutes ago, vw rule said:

Ok and how long ago did you say you had a compression test done on all 4 cylinders, did you say they were very similar readings between all 4 ?

According to the Bentley manual the compression should be between 116 & 174 PSI (8 to 12 bar) difference allowed between cylinders is 43.5 PSI (3 bar)

Wear limit it states is 87 PSI (6 bar) but realistically if your readings are close to 90 or 95 PSI then your engine will have weak performance.

Si 

Last compression test done showed 125-140 PSI in all cylinders

[vw rule 19]

9 hours ago, Popeye775 said:

Last compression test done showed 125-140 PSI in all cylinders

You do have then half decent compression going by your readings, it's dropped a bit from 165 to 174 PSI from when the engine was new, but that is to be expected a reading of 140 PSI + or - 15 PSI is pretty good and shows the compression between the cylinders is fairly close. Basically then cylinders 2 and 4 are producing compression and holding it in cylinder for that short amount of time up until the power stroke umpteen times a minute, but those two cylinders in question can't hold pressure long term during leak down test, so possibly is wear in those two cylinders and or piston rings, especially if you can hear air escaping into crank case via dip stick tube.

Thinking about it I'm sure there's two TDC sequences that happens during full cylinder cycle      1) is the compression stroke when valves will be closed.     2) is on the power stroke when the exhaust valve will be open or partially open. So ideally you should do the leak down test I think at TDC on the compression stroke and follow the firing order of 1, 3 , 4, 2  to aid testing on the correct compression cycle for the other cylinders, so to speak.  Because if not you may get false readings during test and thinking you have air escaping into exhaust or inlet manifold, when actually you might have a valve open if at TDC on the power stroke. But from what you've mentioned you can't hear any air escaping into exhaust or inlet manifolds so that tells me you're on the correct TDC sequence.

You could carry out the test again to be 100% sure, but it does look like the engine is wearing in cylinders 2 and 4,  I think you could possibly use a tea spoon or table spoon topped with engine oil, and carefully drip it into those cylinders, during the leak down test the air pressure should push the tea/table spoonful of oil to the sides of cylinder, and try and force it out of the weakest point, in your case past the rings, so for a few seconds the escaping air should stop possibly, which would then confirm your problem.

On your piston I think you'll have 3 rings, top and middle will be compression rings, and the bottom is your oil ring,  the oil ring allows oil droplets to sit in it's cavities to penetrate up the cylinder to aid lubrication, but it's the two compression rings that normally get a hammering. You've mentioned that your engine isn't smoking but has a small misfire on startup, that clears after a few minutes or once up to temperature. Also I think running an engine on a fairly lean air to fuel ratio long term, can possibly generate more heat into piston's resulting in damage over time.

Si 

Edited December 9, 2020 by vw rule

[Popeye775 16]

You do have then half decent compression going by your readings, it's dropped a bit from 165 to 174 PSI from when the engine was new, but that is to be expected a reading of 140 PSI + or - 15 PSI is pretty good and shows the compression between the cylinders is fairly close. Basically then cylinders 2 and 4 are producing compression and holding it in cylinder for that short amount of time up until the power stroke umpteen times a minute, but those two cylinders in question can't hold pressure long term during leak down test, so possibly is wear in those two cylinders and or piston rings, especially if you can hear air escaping into crank case via dip stick tube.
Thinking about it I'm sure there's two TDC sequences that happens during full cylinder cycle      1) is the compression stroke when valves will be closed.     2) is on the power stroke when the exhaust valve will be open or partially open. So ideally you should do the leak down test I think at TDC on the compression stroke and follow the firing order of 1, 3 , 4, 2  to aid testing on the correct compression cycle for the other cylinders, so to speak.  Because if not you may get false readings during test and thinking you have air escaping into exhaust or inlet manifold, when actually you might have a valve open if at TDC on the power stroke. But from what you've mentioned you can't hear any air escaping into exhaust or inlet manifolds so that tells me you're on the correct TDC sequence.
You could carry out the test again to be 100% sure, but it does look like the engine is wearing in cylinders 2 and 4,  I think you could possibly use a tea spoon or table spoon topped with engine oil, and carefully drip it into those cylinders, during the leak down test the air pressure should push the tea/table spoonful of oil to the sides of cylinder, and try and force it out of the weakest point, in your case past the rings, so for a few seconds the escaping air should stop possibly, which would then confirm your problem.
On your piston I think you'll have 3 rings, top and middle will be compression rings, and the bottom is your oil ring,  the oil ring allows oil droplets to sit in it's cavities to penetrate up the cylinder to aid lubrication, but it's the two compression rings that normally get a hammering. You've mentioned that your engine isn't smoking but has a small misfire on startup, that clears after a few minutes or once up to temperature. Also I think running an engine on a fairly lean air to fuel ratio long term, can possibly generate more heat into piston's resulting in damage over time.
Si 

I did accidentally do the test on the wrong TDC sequence for cylinder one but that was quickly realized when the air was escaping out of the intake hose so i made sure to go according to firing order at that point. The lean issue i am assuming is coming from those bad piston rings as well as the misfire. Especially since once all oiled up and warmed up the misfire goes away.

A solution i was told about is taking an ABA bottom end and strapping it to my head. It’ll be a temporary fix while i build my bottom end the way that i exactly want it to be. If i go to drive the car, would you say i should drop a little oil down into those cylinders to help lubricate them?


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[vw rule 19]

8 hours ago, Popeye775 said:

I did accidentally do the test on the wrong TDC sequence for cylinder one but that was quickly realized when the air was escaping out of the intake hose so i made sure to go according to firing order at that point. The lean issue i am assuming is coming from those bad piston rings as well as the misfire. Especially since once all oiled up and warmed up the misfire goes away.

A solution i was told about is taking an ABA bottom end and strapping it to my head. It’ll be a temporary fix while i build my bottom end the way that i exactly want it to be. If i go to drive the car, would you say i should drop a little oil down into those cylinders to help lubricate them?


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Yeah realistically that's not going to help the air to fuel ratio with warn cylinders or rings, but possibly you might have had an issue in the past or still do slightly, to of caused cylinders 2 and 4 to wear that much more then 1 and 3, possibly over fueling or other issues in the past have caused the rings or bores to wear out sooner ?  

Like I say on the 16v and some G60 Corrado's they have the exhaust emissions inspection tube, attached to the back of exhaust manifold allowing you to test/check the emissions before the catalytic converter, there is also some adjustment from the CO/air temp sensor but I wouldn't touch that unless the car was hooked up to the proper equipment.

I suppose you could put a small amount of oil down the bores to aid lubrication, it wouldn't hurt as you do have some compression still from the rings in cylinders 2 and 4, but how long that oil would last I don't know.

Your engine possibly is burning some oil, you don't always have to see blue/grey smoke out your exhaust, plus the extra boost air pressure from your supercharger in the cylinders, might be keeping some of the oil at bay, as some of that boost will be escaping past the rings. Ideally you'd want a slightly richer fuel mixture as it'll be diluted more due to being supercharged anyway, i.e loads more air being forced in.

Plus the smell you mentioned in one of your earlier posts from your spark plugs, is the smell more of a burning one as the plugs do look very slightly on the hot side, but only very slightly, like I said before it does look like soot around the edge of plug which normally just brushes off with your finger, that might leave like a charcoal mark but will clear. If it had oil residual within the soot, it'll leave more of a congealed mark on your finger, that won't clear off so easily if you know what I mean, plus you'll possibly smell the oil residual from plug ?

Regarding the ABA short engine is that from an Audi, those blocks might be similar to the 9A block, but I'm not 100% sure though. 

Si 

[Popeye775 16]

Yeah realistically that's not going to help the air to fuel ratio with warn cylinders or rings, but possibly you might have had an issue in the past or still do slightly, to of caused cylinders 2 and 4 to wear that much more then 1 and 3, possibly over fueling or other issues in the past have caused the rings or bores to wear out sooner ?  
Like I say on the 16v and some G60 Corrado's they have the exhaust emissions inspection tube, attached to the back of exhaust manifold allowing you to test/check the emissions before the catalytic converter, there is also some adjustment from the CO/air temp sensor but I wouldn't touch that unless the car was hooked up to the proper equipment.
I suppose you could put a small amount of oil down the bores to aid lubrication, it wouldn't hurt as you do have some compression still from the rings in cylinders 2 and 4, but how long that oil would last I don't know.
Your engine possibly is burning some oil, you don't always have to see blue/grey smoke out your exhaust, plus the extra boost air pressure from your supercharger in the cylinders, might be keeping some of the oil at bay, as some of that boost will be escaping past the rings. Ideally you'd want a slightly richer fuel mixture as it'll be diluted more due to being supercharged anyway, i.e loads more air being forced in.
Plus the smell you mentioned in one of your earlier posts from your spark plugs, is the smell more of a burning one as the plugs do look very slightly on the hot side, but only very slightly, like I said before it does look like soot around the edge of plug which normally just brushes off with your finger, that might leave like a charcoal mark but will clear. If it had oil residual within the soot, it'll leave more of a congealed mark on your finger, that won't clear off so easily if you know what I mean, plus you'll possibly smell the oil residual from plug ?
Regarding the ABA short engine is that from an Audi, those blocks might be similar to the 9A block, but I'm not 100% sure though. 
Si 

Thank you for all your information and help sir! It’s been greatly appreciated. I found that i can strap an ABA motor to my head as long as i put two head gaskets on if I’m running a smaller pulley. And slight modification has to happen to the distributor in order to make it work. But nothing major. Other than that seems pretty straight forward.

So here’s the plan:
Source a low mile ABA to temporarily be on the car and rebuild my bottom end in the meantime


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