Mitsubishi Repair: 96 eclipse - no compression, leak down test, head gasket

Question
Anthony,  my daughters '96 2.0 non turbo 5 spd eclipse recently blew the timing belt.   We had the head/valves replaced redone at local reputable engine shop and after we re-installed we can only get approx 30lbs compression now.   we have looked at everything, we think, hoping for some kinda silver bullet....
The car ran perfect before belt broke.

thanks for your help...
Dave

Answer
Dave,
Having the head rebuilt after a timing belt snap was definiately wise.  Hopefully, your mechanic also checked the pistons to be sure the tops of them were not warped.  Warped or damaged pistons is fairly common after a timing belt failure.  The piston rings should have also been checked.

Along with a head rebuild, your mechanic should have also replaced the head gasket.  A warped head gasket will lead to severe loss of compression.  Confirm with your mechanic that this was replaced.  

A compression test is a good first start, but all it does is show the compression for each cylinder.  It does not actually show where the compression leak is happening.  Your mechanic should now perform a Leak-Down test.

A leak-down test is also sometimes called a cylinder differential test.  A leak down test pinpoints where you are losing compression and exactly how much.

Many garages don't even know what a leak down test is. They confuse it for a compression test, which anybody can do in 10 minutes with a $20 gauge. Call around to find a shop that has a leak down gauge. Be very, very specific that you do not need a compression test, you want a leak down test, the one that uses the compressed air. I actually lost my time showing up at 2 garages who swore over the phone they could do a leak down test and when I got there they were expecting to do a compression test.
Good luck!