Hey,
Need a little help try to trouble shoot a problem. I am looking to get a 1997 E320; the owner says that the spark plugs have been just changed. Now the mechanic says that the car has a “burn valve” and not getting enough compression ;he says that the numbers should be 90; but Its 60. Does anyone have any advice about the possible problems and/or fixes to this issue?

find another e320 to buy and/or find another mechanic. compression at 90 would be low, more like 150. never heard of a burn valve on any car. good luck, chuck.

He means "burned valve", which is when the valve won't seal anymore, posibly due to overheating. Low compression can be due to a valve or ring issue, and usually a wet compression test is done to detemine which.

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Prost!

if you are correct about the burned valve, 90 is still too low for the engine, which is why i say-find another mechanic AND find another 97 e320 to buy. valve work on that engine ain't cheap. good luck, chuck.

Wet compression tests are a dead end. The best way to find compression leaks is to pump air into the cylinder and see where it leaks out. This also is the best way to find a cylinder to coolant leak.

depends how cheap the car is and what you can find for parts. If you find one at the picknpull, just grab the engine fro $200 or whatever and you're set. Sometimes you can poop a golden horseshoe...

A normal compression on a warm engine should be in the 160psi range. (M104)

Did someone do a Running compression test??

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