I am disappointed that's there is no discussion about this. Talking to the service manager this is a very common problem. #1 cylinder has no compression. The other 3 seem normal. This car has 180,000 interstate miles. He explained that it had to do with the instant start feature, #1 cylinder is engineered with higher compression. Said I could replace with a crate engine. I want to see why. Disassembly will begin in the coming days and weeks.
#1 Cylinder no compression
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No. This was a service manager who knew nothing about the car. I told him that the engine was bad and without any further information he told me the symptoms and diagnosis. It was not a coincidence. I can't wait to open it up to see what happened. Originally I expected to find low compression but when I finally got the right adapter and tested it, it was zero. Now I am wondering if I should pull the whole motor or just the head because it could just be a valve problem. If the compression is higher in that cylinder by design, how did they do it. Stroke, piston or head?
I wasn't doubting his diagnosis, I was questioning his statement that it was a "common problem" with Soul engines. Could that be why you weren't able to find other discussions here about this "common* problem?
For all I know it actually is a common problem with Soul engines (you still haven't told us what year or trim your car is), but I would never assume this just because a single service manager told me so. If my doctor tells me I have cancer, you can bet I'm gonna be seeking a second opinion. 😉
Good luck.
2017 KIA Soul base, Titanium. Bought some better taars.
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If it's a common problem why has it not cropped up here before? I've never heard of this until now. So one service manager does not a trend make.
Good points. I think in today's world, most people would just replace the engine because it is tired and never look for the cause. Why is it not uncommon to see a Toyota with several hundred thousand miles? Why can't these engines do the same? I will find out and tell the world.
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Re do the compression test. On the cylinder with no compression, pour a table spoon of oil in it. If that raises the compression, rings are bad. If no change you most likely have a burnt valve or a valve hung open.
So I'm not a manager but work at a dealer and look at and repair these things everyday. You either misheard this manager or he is full of crap. For one thing the #1 cylinder is no different than the other 3. For two I see low compression on random cylinders not always on #1. 0 compression sounds fishy. Get a leak down tester on it, unless you threw a rod. Does this car still run just with a misfire on cylinder 1?
Still runs. No knocks so I think the bearings are ok. When you get it up to speed the miss isn't as noticable. Not going to be able to get to it till this weekend.
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I think if one cylinder has no compression and you are then running on just 3, it would be vibratingly obvious.
What was your compression on the other 3 cylinders? I've never seen 0 compression happen suddenly from rings. Either a hole in the piston or a dropped valve. You can get a $20 tiny scope camera that hooks to your phone and have a look into the cylinder before you disassemble. Also rent a leak down tester from auto parts store and see where it's coming from
Solved. I apologize for not being more thorough doing a compression test. I finally took it apart and I am amazed at how well the motor is designed. The cylinders have the original crosshatch from the factory (180k miles) but do have some aluminum residue from the piston skirts. The rings end gap are tighter than factory spec...... Now the issue, there is a hunk missing from an exhaust valve. After researching, this is a problem with most direct inject fuel systems. The valves build up with carbon and get hot spots. Sounds like the carbon comes from the crankcase via pcb valve. Toyota solved their problem with a fuel cleaning sequence. Fuel additives will not solve this issue. You need to put a cleaner in through the intake manifold after the mass airflow sensor. Years ago the way that we did that was to get the engine running and warmed up and run a trickle of water into the carburetor for a few minutes. The steam from the water would loosen up the carbon and clean it from the engine.
Which engine do you have? I'm assuming it's the 1.6 since you said GDI. Make sure you get the clearance right on the bucket when you install the new valve, they have numbers stamped on them for their shim height so they all have to go back in same spot and the new valve may need a different bucket shim. For removing the valve seals when you redo the head, they are not easy to pop loose even with the Kia tool for them, I use a chisel on the bottom of the seal and gently tap it to try to get it to spin and then you can pull them up. Do not use anything abrasive to clean the head, just solvent and rags, aluminum is soft, I have special wheels with rubber like brushes that are safe for that as it won't remove any material. Same for the valves, clean them with solvent and soft brushes, make sure they go back in same spot with same bucket or you'll have clearance problems and a noisy top end. I recommend the Lisle tool for removing the valve springs, it's $50 and it takes minutes to pop all the valves out with it, it has a magnetic end that catches all the retainers from flying, just stuff a rag under the valves so when you push on the tool the valve stays put.
Nope, you didn't say which engine you have. 1.6s have buckets. On the lifters just pull them out and make sure they don't stick in the bore. I use assembly lube on the roller when putting it back together so you don't run them dry when restarting before oil gets up there to coat them.
Update.... Really starting to hate kia. Rebuilding the engine is nearly impossible. Not only do you have several hundred dollars of torque to yield bolts but every main bearing size is different. Every cylinder bore is different, rod bearings are different, etc. I have never seen such a clustered up engine. So you buy oversized piston rings and grind the ends to fit the end gap. You are supposed to be able to see colors on the rod bearings to determine size and plastigage to verify spec. Mine have no colors. Now the valves.... The stock valves have raised lettering and logos on the top. A great place for the carbon to start the buildup. I ground and polished the lettering away. The replacement valve from autozone was already smooth. I've seen many issues on the forum concerning the catalytic converter. It appears to me that it is an avalanche starting with carbon buildup. If you clean the engine every 20k miles you will probably be fine. Otherwise the blow by and burning oil will plug the catalytic converter. Come to find out the root cause is the fuel delivery. Every manufacturer has issues with gdi engines. Toyota solved theirs by changing the fuel delivery periodically.
There should be a way to burn the oil out of the catalytic converter. A person could make a lot of money.....
There should be a way to burn the oil out of the catalytic converter. A person could make a lot of money.....
Torque to yield bolts are nothing new and have been around and in common use by most manufacturers for some time, my 2002 Audi TT had plenty so at least 2 decades they've been around that I know of. If you ask my brother, who is an engineer and naval architect, there are formulas for re using them based on the material and a whole bunch of other factors to predict their stretch but I never felt like trusting his math although I am sure he is right.
So what did you find on your valve? Was it something like this picture of a 1.6 I recently tore apart with a dead cylinder missing a chunk of one of the valves? This one needs a cylinder head which I just got late today, it beat up the valve seat on that valve and the other exhaust valve next to it and somewhat trashed the combustion chamber. If you have a chunk missing like that make sure that there is nothing in the intake, they are very hard to clean unless you open up the variable runners and blow it all out.
I guess I don't see these motors as being any different than anything else and since I work at a dealer it is easy to just give my parts guy a list and tell him get me all this that I need so your experience is probably quite different than mine. It also helps that we do this quite regularly and have every special tool and seal installer you need. BTW, if you are replacing your valve seals (highly advisable) the 2.0 seals get stuck to the head pretty good and even the Kia tool for removing them does not pop them off very easy. The trick is to just use a chisel on the bottom of it with a little baby hammer so you don't slip and hit the seal on the bottom to try to get it to spin, if it spins you can pull it off with pliers after that. Also not sure what you have for a valve spring tool but I don't even use a spring compressor, just use the Lisle tool (it's like $50) and you can pop them all out and back on in 10 minutes, it has a magnet in it so the retainers don't go flying.
So what did you find on your valve? Was it something like this picture of a 1.6 I recently tore apart with a dead cylinder missing a chunk of one of the valves? This one needs a cylinder head which I just got late today, it beat up the valve seat on that valve and the other exhaust valve next to it and somewhat trashed the combustion chamber. If you have a chunk missing like that make sure that there is nothing in the intake, they are very hard to clean unless you open up the variable runners and blow it all out.
I guess I don't see these motors as being any different than anything else and since I work at a dealer it is easy to just give my parts guy a list and tell him get me all this that I need so your experience is probably quite different than mine. It also helps that we do this quite regularly and have every special tool and seal installer you need. BTW, if you are replacing your valve seals (highly advisable) the 2.0 seals get stuck to the head pretty good and even the Kia tool for removing them does not pop them off very easy. The trick is to just use a chisel on the bottom of it with a little baby hammer so you don't slip and hit the seal on the bottom to try to get it to spin, if it spins you can pull it off with pliers after that. Also not sure what you have for a valve spring tool but I don't even use a spring compressor, just use the Lisle tool (it's like $50) and you can pop them all out and back on in 10 minutes, it has a magnet in it so the retainers don't go flying.
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For me, to take it to a pro.
I don't know those tricks or how to do that stuff.
I can turn a wrench, but if you want precision, hahahah.
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