Leakdown
 

I've never done a leakdown, but it doesn't seem to me that you learned much with the compressor yammering in your ear (begging your pardon) ..... perhaps you know somebody with a small air tank -- I have an inexpensive one about 4 or 5 gallon size that holds about 100 lbs of air -- sold to blow up tires away from one's compressor, like on a farm. Many tow trucks carry them, I think. If you could borrow one of those, you might get a better fix on whether there is air leaking out past the valves -- or not. I hate to see you jumping into major work without a clearer diagnosis.......

Good luck.

Ed

my ears are still ringing...:)
 

I'll look into a pressure gauge and the injector hookup that another member mentioned...The most interesting thing to me is the fact that when a compressor creates pressure (think about when you first hook it up to your tire valve) it changes sounds under the load. I got NO change today with my hookup. My connections were pretty precise...so where's that compressed air escaping? the million dollar question...but thanks!

Since you don't have a turbo to mess up the sound transmission... position someone at the end of the tail pipe...
But be sure your positioning of the valves makes them as closed as they are able to get..
But you need also to do a compression test...

Well, if you are losing that much air, it has to be going somewhere, correct?

Make sure the piston is at or near TDC at the end of the compression stroke.
Be careful with this, as Greg mentioned above, because if pressure develops in the cylinder, it will drive the piston down. Ensure that the piston is slightly past TDC so that the engine will rotate properly, if it does move.

So, the air can be headed:

1) Out an exhaust valve: Check for air coming out the exhaust manifold and out the tailpipe. In fact, plug the tailpipe with some rags (or a potato :D ) and see if the compressor loads up.

2) Out an intake valve (unlikely): Check for air coming out of the air cleaner or out of the intake manifold.

3) Through a melted piston (unlikely): Check for air pressurizing the crankcase. The air will flow out of the breather tube on top of the valve cover. If you put your finger over the breather tube, the compressor will load up when the crankcase is pressurized (don't do this for long).

So, if you have a big leak, you can find it yourself.

Good luck. ;)

since the valve cover is off
 

the valves will be closed once both the intake nd exhaust cams are disengaged, right? (for cyl #1)

Yes, when the lobes are pointing up and not pushing the rockers down, the valves are closed, unless you have a broken valve spring.

Thanks
David

Sorry your compressor was so noisy that you could not establish where the air was going. The other suggestions about using a quiet supply needs doing. Still should do the compression check in my opinion as your compressor may be too limited in some fashion for the air test. A quiet air source will probably tell you all you need to basically know at this stage before proceeding further. If you are lucky enough just to have a bad valve and your grandfather is available and it does seem practical to borrow or rent some tools in your area go for it. Since money is a consideration and even if it was not measure the clearance between exhaust valve and cam base with feeler gauge the same as if you were going to adjust them. If the #1 exhaust valve has more clearance than the other exhaust valves on that engine perhaps a piece of loose carbon is holding the valve off of it's seat.. Might not hurt to rotate that valve opening and closing it as you do to see if you might dislodge the carbon. Your feeler gauge recheck will tell you if it dropped out. Pretty long shot and would not bother until you get a quiet air supply on that cylinder to verify if it's the exhaust valve to start with. If the valve clearance on #1 is way below the other exhaust valve clearances you may have burnt the exhaust valve. (valve was not seating properly to remove the heat). As brian suggested just changing and having the one valve done could be a low cost soution.. But first find out where you are loosing the air or you will waste effort. You and your grandfather can master this problem as long as you stay foccused. No remote indication at all so far to consider disgarding car. Post again after the quiet air test. Greg was right about the danger of using an air test at top dead centre but I have changed so many valve seals on engines with compressed air holding up the valves forgot a rollback was possible. Also as well you jumped past one prior important stage I mentioned. The compression test. The next step after is normally the air test for me if compression value is very low. Anyways you appear to be on the trail so keep going. Also a real learning experience for you and that is priceless even if a little frustrating. :)

what about the head gasket?
 

white smoke could be coolant (steam) instead of fuel. mist being expelled from the cylinder could be coolant and not blow-by. if you had bad rings and you were burning oil the smoke would be blueish not white. low or no compression can come from a blown head gasket. when your car is running do you get a lot of moisture from the tail pipe? is your oil frothy? the oil filler cap might look like a milk shake. are there drops of water on the dip stick? what does the radiator cap look like? it could look like a milk shake too. if you start the car when it is cold with the radiator cap off do you see a lot of bubbles? DON'T TAKE THE RADIATOR CAP OFF WHEN THE CAR IS HOT OR YOU WILL GET BURNED! i would do a compression test on all the cylinders.
my 2 cents.
240dude