Powerhead compression bench test

[skanders01]

I bought a CD-11 parts motor and have broken it down. Before I do anything with the powerhead; is it possible to bench test it for compression? Not stuck at all, and it did run before I disassembled, but boy was it ever cobbled together with welds, field engineered parts, etc….but I digress… I thought about clamping it down to the bench, giving the cylinders a good drink of fogging oil, and turning the crank with a drill. Would that give me valid readings?

I appreciate any feedback.

Kyle

Kyle Anderson
Trempeleau, WI
skanders@triwest.net
920-764-0501

[fleetwin]

Well, it’s too bad you didn’t check compression prior to disassembly, oh well. You can clamp it down somehow and pull it over with the recoil, but don’t squirt oil in the cylinders, this will just hide problems.
You mention this poor thing has been cobbed together with many mcgyver repairs, so it probably isn’t worth doing a lot of powerhead work…
I would just pull the cylinder head to have a better look if compression readings seem low…You probably won’t see more than 70-80PSI, which is normal for these engines.

[chris-p]

Yeah, as stated, clamp her down, but you will need to use the flywheel on the crank to pull over. Don’t use a drill on it. As Fleetwin stated, don’t pour oil in it either, false readings. You want it as it is, to be able to see if it actually is low, and to give you a baseline for future readings.

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