[scuba14c]

After everyone helping me on this problem,

Piston ring change

I finally got the 2 sets of rings changed and put 2 new headgaskets on. I did not have time to get the valves adjusted, but when a friend and I tried to start it, all we got were puffs of smoke and backfires. Also, the rings and gaskets did not fix the low compression problems in the 2 cylinders. Now as far as I can tell, it has to be the valves-whether that's from not having them adjusted or from needing to be reground, I'm not sure. This shouldn't be the cause of the leaking coolant-that problem should be fixed now. Does anyone have any input on this?

['98 VFR]

I'm new to the forum or I would have thrown my $.02 earlier. My understanding is that you always hone the cylinder when installing new rings. The abrasive surface created by honeing is what causes the new rings to mate to the cylinder walls and create a good seal.

Do you have fresh gas? Old gas can cause serious problems.

The second thing I would check would be to make sure that all the index marks on the crankshaft and both camshafts line up like they are supposed to. Having one of these marks a tooth off is the most likely cause of your symptoms.

You should check the valve clearances of course. I don't think that's the problem but it makes sense to do the easy stuff first.

As far as the valves go, I'm surprised that no one suggested doing the valves. It's a shame to go to all the trouble of yanking the heads, installing new rings and not spend a couple of hours laping the valves. Then you have a nice tight combustion chamber just like a new engine. But right now the bigger problem is not starting. Hopefully it's bad gas or timing. And when that gets fixed your rings will seat and the compression will come up.

Good luck.