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Low compression readings and burning oil - 1952 M38A1

Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2013 10:51 am
by Laztlain
Hi Gang,

My '52 M38A1 has recently been burning oil - and lots of it. I noticed about a quart gone in 50 miles of driving. Per the Technical Manual, the first thing I did was check the compression in each cylinder. I did this with the engine cold because I really do not want to run it anymore until I can fix it. Here are the readings:

Cylinder 1 - 90 psi
Cylinder 2 - 50 psi
Cylinder 3 - 0 psi
Cylinder 4 - 50 psi

Can zero compression be caused by bad rings, or is there something else at play here?

This may or may not be related.... but I was doing a little off-roading about a month ago and I went into what I thought was a "puddle" but what turned out to be a small lake. The front end was in deep enough such that the tires were completely under water. Im worried I may have cracked the block with the cold water, but there is no evidence of antifreeze in the oil or vice-versa. Also no evidence of oil leaking out of the engine.

Thanks in advance for the help!!
Jason