Was having major problem with my 110 engine and decided to do a compression test. My beautiful old Allen tester picked this time to die so I went ahead and set up for a leakdown test. Input pressure was 50lbs. and cylinders were holding 46-48 lbs. So far so good. Problem was persisting so I replaced my comp. tester with a new one. Cylinder #1 was 145 lbs, cylinder 6
100 lbs with a steady decline from 1-6. Engine has now been rebuilt so I know what the problem was. My question is why did the leakdown test, supposedly the gold standard of cylinder testing, fail so miserably?? Any comments appreciated.

Compression test or leakdown test?