Hello people, Im a noob, I just bought a 98 Porsche Boxster but have problems : (

[dti]

so I did the compression test and the results state that there is no head damage:

1 st head on the drivers side:

170 ( 1st puff got up to 80)
160 ( 1st puff 70)
160 ( first puff 65)

2nd head on the passenger side

165 (1st puff 80)
150 ( 1st puff 80)
160 (1st puff 80)


So I guess this means the culprit has to be the heat exchanger?
can't be the thermostats or waterpump since that doesn't cause oil to go into the reservoir cooling system right?

I am going to take out the heat exchanger and have it pressure tested next just to make sure and pinpoint the trouble.

But thank god it's not the heads. When taking out the spark plugs I noticed that they were really black so it's running rich. The mechanic said if it was the heads or gasket at least one of the spark plug would be clean because of the coolant. :dance:

[dti]

here are my notes copied from the mechanic's notes

[Paul]

1st step done, 2ond step drain the oil and look for coolant.

[texomawaves]

Don't let the compression test fool you to believe that you don't have an issue with the head. You could still have a cracked head (or block), just not right against the combustion chambers. I'm hoping it's as simple as your oil cooler. Let us know what you find with the oil cooler.

[Paul]

The reason I always recommend a compression check first on a 100K+ motor is to determine if the motor is worth saving.

[texomawaves]

Definitely agree on that Paul.

Looking at the comp #'s i'd say it's a tired motor. The 150 cyl is more than 10% less than the 170 cyl... just an old rule of thumb. Better readings could be taken if the motor was warmed up, and whether or not a shot of oil was injected to see if the numbers pumped up or not (ring vs. valve issue). Not sure if all that was done in this case. If this was my engine, I would rebuild it or replace it with a bigger 3.2

[dti]

Hey guys sorry for being M.I.A. ok so today we will be taking out the oil and also the oil cooler. I meant to do it sooner but I had a nasty cold this Sunday, so I just recooped. I wil post the results tonight. Thanks for all the help guys. As far as the compression test goes is the engine is worth saving? and also If there is no coolant does that mean it's likely to be the heat exchanger? Although I will get a pressure test on that too.
any idea where I can get this pressure tested? or at any mechanics shop?