Mitsubishi Repair: Lost compresion, valve seals, head gasket


Question
The car has lost compression in 3 cylinders(2,3,4). Cylinder1 has 65psi, the cam timing marks line up. I did not check the crank mark. The engine was rebuilt at 116k at a local Oregon shop with lower (9.1:1) compression forged pistons with eagle rods. what do you think could have happened.

Answer
Shawn,
You may have a cracked ring, warped head gasket, or worn valve seals or guides. A compression test is good to find the general area your engine has lost compression.  A more precise procedure is called a leakdown test.  There is quite a bit of information on the internet regarding this procedure and the tools necessary to perform it.  Poor compression can be brought on by a number of things.  Any time non-stock parts are put into an engine to change the compression ratio, that increase the number of possibilities for a cause.  Either way, you'll want to pinpoint where the problem is to save you time and money in parts and labor.
Good luck!