I did a compression test on my 1982 air cooled van last week and got 141-
50 on cylinders 1,2, and 3 and 157 on number 4 with the throttle held
open.  The numbers were about 20 psi lower with the throttle closed.

Ben, why do you say that the compression on air cooled vans doesn't get
higher than 120psi?

Jake

>
>On 30-Apr-07, at 11:47 PM, Burdett, Jean-Pierre wrote:
>
>> Hi Guys,
>>
>> I just did a compression check this weekend and it seems almost too
>> good
>> to to be true - 110 lbs in the 2  forward  barrels and 115 in the rear
>> 2.
>>
>> The engine has not been torn down recently -  I think it has about max
>> 50,000 kms  (30,000miles) on professionally rebuilt engine done in
>> 1996
>> including new cylinder heads.   (  I can't tell exactly how much
>> mileage... from my records the odometer was broken for 3 years)
>>
>> 1.      got engine up to operating temp
>> 2.      removed all plugs
>> 3.      put in the compression tester
>> 4.      let the engine turn over about 4-6 times
>> 5.      repeated on all cylinders
>>
>> All 4 of my month old plugs have consistently grey white tips but the
>> ceramic around is black.
>>
>> So my question is....did   I  skip a step that skewed the results
>> or do
>> I just have a strong engine? What do you guys think and how often
>> should
>> I do compression checks to verify the state of the engine?