Originally Posted by cjlipps

Dan, I don't know of a way to quantify your problem but you could get closer by doing a compression test after squirting some engine oil into the cylinder. If the oily test is significantly higher than the dry test, the rings are suspect. If there is minimal or no change, it's the valve(s) only. A leakdown test would also point you in this direction but with a major intake valve leakdown it can be difficult to tell if there is also leakage past the rings into the crankcase. Listen at the oil fill hole for this. As far as a headgasket leaking into the next cylinder, the large disparity in the compression readings between #2 and #3 make this unlikely. Or at least even if it is a problem, it's not the only one. If it was the only problem, 2 and 3 would be essentially the same reading. One last thought. I had a small block Chevy that idled a little rough after a rebuild. The compression readings on one bank of cylinders was 145 across the board. The other bank was 120, 110, 80 and 45. The mechanic who refurbished the heads put the wrong valve springs on all the exhaust valves on that one side. (Chevy had two different spring heights possible for this engine) It was a simple matter to pull the valve cover and change those springs for the correct ones. Fixed the problem. In other words, you might get lucky and have a broken or collapsed valve spring or two. They can check that without head removal. Good luck and I'll stay tuned.
Chuck.