Originally Posted by Mike Hauser

I used the Wendy's source since around April or so. We don't have a centrifuge but used some settling to try to get rid of the thicker stuff. That works up to a point...
Ideal would be a centrifuge step at relatively cold temperature before filtration but they are prohibitively expensive.

I'm thinking to first have a compression test done, which should have either devastating results or bring peace of mind for that part of the engine. If the compression is good I guess the IP would be the next thing to look at, first timing and then tear it down and see what's up.

What gets me thinking that it's bad compression is that the car should start on starter fluid even if the IP is bad.

Does this make sense? Any other ideas?