Hi, i was doing a compression test on a 4agze i am going to buy and some erosion and dirt fell through the spark plug hole and landed onto the top of the piston.

 

I completed the compression test and the errosion/dirt had moved and i could not see it

 

would this have damaged the engine?

 

i plan to clear it, but would there already be damage?

 

 

thank you for any info :)

Maybe scratch the bore if it ended up sitting on the top ring, but most likely it just went out through the exhaust valve. Look at the race cars that don't run air filters at all.

 

I figure the wind speed is pretty hectic in the chamber, especially when driving... Blow anything away.

How did you get dirt in the engine bay?:S

 

If in doubt.......rev it out.

i think it was sitting outside with the hood up for while lol

 

is there anyway to tell if it was blown out the exhaust? would the compression test create enough wind speed to push it out?

If its been sitting with the bonnet up with no plugs in it I'd wanna pull the head off and check the cylinders. Especially if dirt got in there.

I would just run it then compression test it again. If compression is fine, no problem. If compression is down, then you have some work to do.

it had plugs while sitting, stuff just fell in from around them when i took them out

 

i think ill take the head off anyway to clean everything, will i need a new head gasket? anything to watch out for?