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Lord of the Rings:
A quest for decent compression in a Super Hurricane 226 engine

By Eric Seeger

I know a lot of things.

I bought this Willys wagon knowing that it burned oil. I knew that the stock 226 engine spent over a year under a tarp in the PO's back yard. I also knew that it took a little doing to get the crank turning again. All I asked was that the seller would reinstall the engine and get it to a point where it could run again before I bought it. "Run" was a very open term specifically chosen to make sure I was getting all that I ever wanted in an old car. And I wanted it good and hard.

When the wagon arrived at my house, I came to understand that my needs went beyond the original demands of merely running. I wanted to be able to start the engine whenever I damn-well pleased. After all, I couldn't expect to be welding inside my one-car garage, and I don't want to drive it into the middle of my driveway and then have to push it back up the incline when I'm done working that day. As it was, the old engine was very hard to start, but ran fairly well once it got going. However it would smoke profusely whenever it was revved up. Once it started smoking, it wouldn't cease until it was turned off and a sat for a few minutes. So I embarked on a five-minute, five-dollar quest to learn what was ailing the poor engine.

The Test
I bought an old compression tester on eBay for $5. I was surprised when it arrived in the mail and actually worked. I checked each cylinder by pulling the spark plug, jamming this little mechanical suppository into the hole, cranking the engine for a few revolutions, and writing down my findings on each test.

Let's start by saying that spec numbers for this engine are supposed to be at least 125 psi per cylinder with all cylinders within 5 or 10 psi of each other.

My findings on the test showed a veritable Rainbow Coalition of compression numbers. It had 2 cylinders that were coming in less than 50 psi each. One was about 65 psi, two were about 90 psi, and one was about 110.

Now take a moment and appreciate just how far off the engine was from spec numbers, and remember that this thing could actually run and idle smoothly after starting. It says a lot about the usable life that could be drawn from these of 226 engines. I was really impressed. The only problem was getting it to fire on that one good cylinder in order to kick off the party.

Figuring that the piston rings were probably bad from sitting for so long, I did the next test. I poured an ounce or two of oil into each of the lowest cylinders, let it sit, and then redid the compression test. The idea is that the oil will create an improved seal between loose rings and the cylinder wall. So, a sudden jump in pressure after the addition of oil is an indication of bad rings. If compression remains the same, it means either the valves are out of adjustment, their seals are bad, or the valves need to be resurfaced/replaced.

My original assumption was correct. The cylinders that originally tested the lowest suddenly jumped to over 90 psi with the oil test.

That decided it for me: I needed to put in some new rings. And so the fun began...

GETTING STARTED