Cylinder #7 down on compression

Really happy to hear. Now you know the rings aren't washing that piston head.


It's a comparison between cylinders, if all but one hold fluid for a reasonable amount of time while one drains in 10 mins, as I have seen many times, that's significant.
It's a tool, Rusty, - and of course, like many tools, if you don't know about it, it's of no use to you.
It's your untested opinion, vs my tested one, which was passed on to me, and I have passed on to you and others.
Nothin worse than doing a valve grind on a vehicle, have it come back a few months later running shitty, puffing smoke cuz you didn't know a way to test rings, when a leak down test had leaks everywhere.
A splash of solvent in cyls, a few seconds, while scraping gaskets.
The things you learn from mentors and on the job, - - experience .


Your theory would be correct except you can’t assess ring seal without pressure.

The rings do not seal based on radial tension.

All piston rings are gas operated. They require combustion pressure to get down past the top of the piston to the top of the ring. Then that pressure goes across the top of the ring to the space behind the ring and that pressure forces the the ring to the cylinder wall and causes the seal.

Plus we need to remember that engine oil is the gasket that seals the rings.

Testing without pressure doesn’t mean much if anything.