I want to apologize in advance if I'm using the wrong terms BUT...

Just as the title says, the compression rates on cylinder #3 are low, and spark plug #3 was dirty when I changed them last summer. I was talking to my dad about it, and he says it's probably bad piston rings on that cylinder.
I'm pretty sure getting that fixed would cost me one of my arms and legs; I'd imagine the mechanics would have to rip out almost the entire engine to get to the piston rings. & with my TL-P being at 239k miles, I'm pretty sure i'm overdue for a valve job as well but I made sure to get my timing belt/water pump changed at 220k.


What do you guys think I should do? Shell out the dough to get it fixed, get another JA32A1 engine and swap that out, or even do a JA32A2 engine swap? What would be the most practical and most cost effective thing to do? It's my first car and I want to keep it as long as possible.

Thank you in advance for every useful post. Acurazine has never let me down

 

whats the compression reading now-
are you testing it with the throttle held wide open,,engine cold or warm?
how does the plug look now? pics???

and the cylinders next to it are at what compression?

tried seafoam in the oil and vac port or gas tank yet?

its way better to grab a lower miles junkyard engine and drop your tbelt kit on it
dont get crazy with a different engine model unless you want a 6speed manual trans,,looking at 5 grand plus to do that from a cl-s donor car
used TL engine 400-700? call `auto dismantling and recycling` place in your area

 

with that being said i'm avoiding a JA32A2 swap. you've always got some of the most helpful posts on here!!

It's been over a year since the compression has been measured. So I honestly have no clue.. i bought the car like that so I don't have anything else to compare it too. But i HAVE seafoamed through the vac line, however not through the oil (crankcase?) not sure what it's called. lol. This was atleast 9,000 miles ago through. So when would be a good time to seafoam it again?

Also I'll take pictures of the plug tomorrow. hopefully it's not too bad, i just changed them during the summer.