Some more variables. Crank until gauge stops rising. You can hear the
change. Count the number of strokes. Should be 4-5. The design of the
gauge can affect this. The hose length and placement of the valve will
make a difference. Of course you will also want to do a leak down test. On
older engines it is common for the front two cylinders (1-3), to show
lower compression then the rear and still check good with the leak down.
This can indicate worn cam lobes.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
David Kao
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 10:31 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: How do you check compression?

I was told by a mechanic that when checking compression for a 4 cylinder
engine I should get 4 strokes, no more than that, and get the reading.
But Bentley Manual says to continue to crank until getting the highest
reading. So how do you folks do it? How many strokes on the average do
you crank to get the highest reading?

David

__________________________________________________________________________
__________
Luggage? GPS? Comic books?
Check out fitting gifts for grads at Yahoo! Search
http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=graduation+gifts&cs=bz