washed rings?

[clffkirts]

hey guys, first time ive ever had to post a question.. background is as follow.. 05 pt cruiser non turbo 130000 miles... friends car.. bought it a year ago with no problems.. this winter she drove it home and shut it off.. next morning acted like a dead battery.. she had it charged and they tried to start it but no start..cranked good though.. i looked at it a few days later, put cbls on it, pulled air filter and used a shot of either.. got backfire through intake so im thinking jumped timeing belt.. never could get a straight answer on interference or non... brought home to the garage for warmth and a compression test... all cyl very low highest was 55 on #1 ..the others were 35..pulled plugs and wet tested..#1 jumped to 175..the others not so much but over 150...so I assumed that the first guy who tried to start it (or possibly the owner) might have washed the rings... i it did once a long time ago ..small engine and the float stuck open... however like a dummy i didnt pressure test the cylinders.. while pulling the head i discovered a note that had been lost(?)in the engine compartment that had compression test number for a 05 pt cruiser 2.4 ... they were all very low as my readings were but not the same order... after pulling the head i found no valve damage, no cylinder damage...only that someone prior to me had the head off.. and the head gasket was separated every where..three layers blue steel blue.. no signs of blown head gasket ..

any ideas?? i didnt think you could wash rings on a used engine unless it started after being dosed with gas

thank

[clffkirts]

just to update... rings were bad... 'frozen' to the piston..

[ptcruisersteve]

Was the engine overheating a little before it happened?
Were the pistons and rings varnished when you pulled them for inspection?

[clffkirts]

it is a friends car... she had been driving it with no problems ..she pulled in her driveway and shut it off, then would not start the next morning... cranked and sputtered... this was in the winter so i brought it to my house.. found very low compressions due to ring leaking so pulled it apart..

new batt..all connections good and all fuses and relays checked... the only thing i didnt try was to power up the pcm independent of the ignition switch ...

[Busted_PT]

Originally Posted by clffkirts

it is a friends car... she had been driving it with no problems ..she pulled in her driveway and shut it off, then would not start the next morning... cranked and sputtered... this was in the winter so i brought it to my house.. found very low compressions due to ring leaking so pulled it apart..

new batt..all connections good and all fuses and relays checked... the only thing i didnt try was to power up the pcm independent of the ignition switch ...

Sounds like the ring were washed. I would have squirted some oil in and cranked it and read the compression and if ok Put some plugs in and try it again. Possible bad crank or cam sensor as well.

[ptcruisersteve]

Is your engine light on? If so what are the codes?

[dalandon]

What are washed rings? I've never heard that term before

[cruserdad1976]

well to me it means that the engin flooded and the unburned fuel got into the cylender and washed all the oil off the rings leaving them pretty much netal to metal not sure why they werule stick but who knows