low compression and a spun bearing? help?

[XOsilvia]

So i pulled out my old sr with a cracked sleeve and totally punished head, and had a local shop drop in a new sr20, the owner did the swap, it was his 11th sr20 swap, so i figured he could be trusted consdering i know other sr20 240 owners that he did the swap in. well, two days ago i ran a compression test on my new motor (in my car for 13 days) and got 105 110 110 110. I had no idea what to expect or what spec is but i made the mistake of assuming and trusting a local ase certified mechanic that since the numbers were so close, that they seemed resonable. Well i just read a post on here and a guy was complaining about 135 140 150 140 being low? is this the case? what is the specs for an s13 redtop sr20? today, i downshifted from 5th to 4th at 65 (which does not send the RPM's soaring as you know) and the engine started knocking fairly bad. To me it sounds like a spun bearing, where the oil galleries are blocked and no oil is making it into the bearing. It is a very metal on metal sound, grinding almost, that increases with the RPM's. I know it is either a spun rod or main bearing. I'm going to call the shop tomorrow to talk warrenty/replacement because i only put 1700 miles on this motor and it was toast.

Basically...what are the compression specs for a redtop s13 sr20det?

thanks guys

[Hijacker]

150 would be for a good motor. 160 for a strong motor.

redtops are getting older, so the compression is starting to go down from worn rings and valve seats. my motor barely pulls a 130 across the board.

now one thing you have got to remember is that we are taking junk yard motors that have been sitting for a long time and just dropping them into our cars expecting them to run as good as the day they left the factory. the days that could happen are long gone as the good motors (ie the ones spared during car totalling collisions) are pretty much bought up. Now we're seeing motors that had mechanical issues really start to show up on our shores, and people keep wondering why their motor isn't as good.

Motors rarely get pulled apart and really inspected before they're installed. Your problem could have spawned from dirt in the crankcase to a slightly dented oil pan. When I do a motor swap, I like to pull the oil pan and baffle out to make sure. I also hammer the oil pan until it bows out a bit to ensure that it won't starve the pickup.

I wish you luck with your talk tomorrow. Hopefully the guy will be understanding and help you out.

[XOsilvia]

help? any more?