1988 Nissan Sentra E16i low compression on #1,#2

Joined
Dec 9, 2002
Messages
1,239
Location
Stillwater, MN
Last fall my 1988 Sentra started running a little rough on a leisurely drive through the back roads of WI. It ran fine for about 30 minutes then it starting ticking just a little under full throttle (it sounded like an exhaust leak) It gradually got worse and I limped back to the garage. It didn't have time to mess with much it last year but I did pull the valve cover, spark plugs and the timing belt cover and nothing seemed out of the ordinary when I turned the engine over by hand. 2 days ago I had it towed to shop in Woodbury MN to see what's wrong with it. Apparently #1 and #2 cylinders had low compression (under 30lbs) and #3 and #4 were spot on. The car never lost any oil, coolant and it wasn't smoking. I'm at a loss on why 2 cylinders would just fail (car has less than 104,000 miles on it and longest it went between oil changes was maybe 3,000 miles). Sourcing parts for this has been a nightmare. I can find master rebuild kits but no long blocks. I'm currently waiting for the shop to call me back again and see if they can find parts. My dad said he's paying for the repairs (since mom willed it to me) but I'm not sure dropping thousands into this car is worthwhile.

EDIT: I attached photos of the repair history my dad had from 1995 forward.

Sentra01.webp


Sentra02.webp


Sentra03.webp
 
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Wow, spent some $ on that car. That is why some of us have no choice but DIY.
Yeah, unfortunately I moved out of Colorado in 1991 to Minnesota and if I was close by most of those repairs I could have done myself. Looking over the shop receipts it seems a lot of the work that was done was probably unnecessary and in the case of the rear struts completely wrong (the left rear strut was the wrong part). And the constant starter replacements seems suspect along with the fuel system cleaners. But my dad had money and it kept mom happy that she had a working car.
 
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