Sorry dude, I'm not tryin to drag you down. I just don't want you doing all this only to find more issues after you put it back together.

At this point I think you're at the limit of what you can do from a diagnostics standpoint. I would call the dealer and ask them for the leak down numbers. If cylinder 1 had less than 10-15% loss of pressure, replace the springs and then put it all back together and see how she does. If they come back with some bull**************** though and say "oh we forgot to tell you that the compression on that one only held 15%" then you have a choice - put it back together and see what happens, hoping that there was a spring issue there as well that's now fixed, or drop the motor and dive into the block.

Unfortunately, with the piston at tdc, boreoscoping won't show you anything. Wall scoring happens at the bottom of the cylinder, and even it can be hard to see from the cylinder side with the piston in bdc because the piston covers it up. I remember reading that it's possible to scope it from the crank case side, but I don't know any details. Maybe someone can help out here.

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I gave them a call. went to voicemail and i haven’t heard back. i’m not too worried about bore scoring, i just want it to run, and then drive it till it eats itself one day. maybe it would take a month, maybe it would last a little longer, who knows. I might just bite the bullet and do the springs. I have all of next week off work, so plenty of time to re work things if the springs weren’t the solution.

Just put in new springs, slap it back together, get it in time and then see what happens.

At least we can rule out that this was fuel related.

No no i swear it was the fuel!
jokes aside, that’s my plan. i feel cautiously optimistic that it’ll turn out alright. I’ll post an update probably some time this weekend when i can get to it.

I got the new springs and retainers in right before the rain started.

Any tips for setting the cam timing on a 3 chain? i marked the sprockets, chains and have an alignment tool, but want to make sure i’m not gonna blow it on start up.
I was planning on getting it all re aligned with the markings and tool and rotating it over by hand a bunch of times and re check the alignments but if i’m missing something feel free to chime in

Believe I put a link in earlier for doing timing.

I found something odd about a lifter on cylinder one. the part that touches the valve i can push in by hand, but the other ones i can not. is this normal? or should i replace this lifter. or maybe it’s just like that when oil drains out of it?

most likely drained down.

to be honest you should just replace all the springs & lifters. But...doing this on a budget like you are just means if there is an issue you will have to tear into it again. At a minimum I would stock up on cam plugs so you have them if you do need to take the head off again. If it were me I would of just had all the springs & lifters replaced and a shop go through the head to make sure the valves are good.

I did all the springs, might do all the lifters too. i put them in an oil bath and they’re not pumping up at all, just more and more air bubbles. By they i mean both of the exhaust lifters on cyl one.
I’m wondering if the cyl one lifters contributed to it, there’s always been a noise from this bank.
i keep a bunch of cam plugs around, the always come in handy!

It wont hurt to replace them all. At least you will know they are all replaced anyway.

Car fired right up, time to enjoy the new suspension!

That's great, you got very lucky there.
I am surprised there was no other damage.
Drive it for a few days or weeks and give us an update.

There’s still a slight tick on bank one. could just be bore scoring, or an exhaust leak. i’ll just enjoy it while i can and deal with it when i need to. who knows how long it’ll last!! I’m just glad it didn’t blow up on the first start up:D

I don't think bore scoring is going to cause a ticking sound.
Here is an old shade tree mechanics trick;);
Get a section of garden hose,Use it like a stethoscope.
Hold one end to your ear then move the other end around the engine tell you pinpoint where the tick is coming from.
Works very well.

Put that in your mental toolbox, you can use it in the future;)

It was an exhaust leak! the HOA decided to harass me about it right before i got it on the ground. drove it around the block and it feels nice and smooth. time for a real test drive

First drive was a success. The engine runs smoother and sounds happier. Thanks for all the tips and advice from everyone. Hopefully i won’t have to post a bad update but in a couple weeks i’ll post something to share how it’s doing.

Very pleased!!!!

Congratulations!! I hope you can get out and enjoy your car.

Update
 

Car is still running strong. The only issue I have run into was having to replace my aftermarket bremi MAF back to the original Bosch. Reason being after a week or so, I noticed the fuel trims started going too far into the negatives (-25 at idle). Put the original back in after cleaning, fuel trims look normal, and engine runs much better.
Since I have a bigger throttle body, k&n orion filter, full “race” exhaust, I’m sure it needs at least a little more fuel than a stock motor.
And yes I know some people have MAF Issues from the k&n, but I’ve taken my intake apart and the inside is squeaky clean, so I’m not too concerned about contamination being the issue. If it becomes a reoccurring thing though, I’ll have to think more about it. Trust me, the intake noise is much better than the desnorkel, and to me at least, just fitting the new system felt like when I replaced the original fried clutch (110k), and new exhaust. There was that much more of a punch to it.
New suspension feels great, but stiff. The old stuff was completely shot. I could push the old shocks down all the way by hand. Current setup is bilstein b6 with blue H&r springs. Ride height looks great, but it is stiff. Handles fantastically though. If You are thinking about lowering springs be advised that you’ll ned rear adjustable toe links to get the rear toe in spec. Mines pigeon toed in the rear and sometimes when I go over bumps or uneven roads, the car gets upset in the rear, so I have those ordered to get it fixed.

Thank you again to everyone who helped me stay sane during this, and im glad to have my car back!!!
Also, I got a citation in the mail. One of my neighbors claimed I was running an unlicensed business for repairing my car. I had a good laugh at that. If I was running a business, I would have filed for bankruptcy by now. :D

Good to hear from you.
great that the car has come out so well.
I feel you really dodged a bullet with just valve springs being the issue.
You should play the lottory
Have fun, enjoy, be safe;)

I am getting the same all of a sudden too - flashing CEL out of nowhere and misfires on 4,5,6 - HUGE plume of white smoke out of the exhaust... wonderful. engine started up really rough and lumpy - the white smoke seems bad - ecl did you have this symptom too?