My Quest To Get My 1st Project Started. All help Appreciated

i.ve been quoted about 500 quid to have rings and head gasket done. Thought that was steep?

As Overboost suggested, it'll be an ignition fault.

99.9% likely on the HT side.

The clues: No.4 bore's getting washed out with fuel, so no oil in the cylinder = low compression. Fuel in the oil = fuel not getting burnt.  No.4 plug clean and shiny - ie fuel reaching the plug but the plug not working.  All other cylinders behaving themselves.  Low mileage engine.

Good news tho - should be cheap and easy to fix  See if you can borrow another known good HT lead for no.4.  Look inside the distributor cap - clean the gack off the contact points with a screwdriver.  Also clean the rotor arm.   If this is the problem, these steps will cure it.  

Finally, check your ignition timing as if it's out it can make a perfectly good engine run very sick.  Oh, and remember to change your oil and filter!

^^^ Does this account for the low compression on #4? Surely the HT issue wouldn't cause the very low compression would it?

Perhaps it does, would be interesting to find out.  So are you saying its the oil in the cyl that makes the compression? And the fuel is washing it out?  I thought it was fundamentally the rings and compression ring that did this? If its right you learn something new everyday…

Hi, no - having no spark wouldn't cause low compression, but from the sound of it I'd guess the resultant unburnt fuel is washing away the very fine layer of oil that would normally be present.  And 30psi less compression is the result.

Check those HT leads!

i'll try your suggestions when i pick starter motor back up but plugs leads and dizzy cap are all new

Interesting,  how does the fuel get into the pan Nom?  It can only get passed the valves into the head and wash down, or past the rings in the block…

Either way isn't that an issue, or is it all relating to electrics and not mechanical related problems? Or does the low viscosity of fuel wash past the rings only when the film of oil is removed from the bores?

Just curious for my own understanding of your diagnosis

It'll wash past the pistons, down the bores and into the sump.  

I know this as the head gasket recently blew on mine, filling no.1 cyl with coolant.  The sump was soon full of coolant!

Going back to the original post - need to check if that plug is sparking or not then let us know

Another poster suggested a leaking injector, this would be a good avenue to explore too - would add to the fuel in sump theory - but check the sparks first - electrical problems are the most common faults.

Right, fitted starter motor after the people i took it to said there was nothing wrong with it and got a good spark on cyl 4….

Now starter motor just "clicks" so cant turn it over again

If the starter just clicks then the main power from the battery ( it goes down that thick power cable you may have left off )  wont cause the starter to spin.

Recheck your wiring connections and make sure youve reconnected everything.

All wiring is correct and well fixed in place, it does very occasionally turn but very very occasionally. It smells like its burning out and getting very hot

Have i got right dizzy cap and leads?

Car spares dude wasnt sure what to give me and asked if my cap had pins where the leads go in.

Should it have as the one he gave me doesnt?