Check engine light came on recently and then started flashing. Got the vehicle in to get looked at by a tech friend of mine as I work at a Nissan Dealership.

And the CEL code is? If your "tech" friend didn't tell you the code or the description of said code, find a new "tech" friend...like the guys at any auto parts store who will.

He looked at the engine and did some compression tests. I know spec is supposed to be around 190psi.

Test results were as follows:
Cylinder 1------------Cylinder 2------------Cylinder 3------------Cylinder 4------------
137psi---------------- 157psi------------ ----90psi ----------------154psi

The tech was fairly straight forward with me although basically said your engine is dead, buy a new one or buy a new car. Based on the compression tests it looks to me like I am running on barely 3 cylinders.

Yes, there is definitely a problem with those results, could be a number of things like rings or seals that are worn out. That test alone won't give you any conclusive results though. Was it a wet or dry compression test? Why didn't he do both? See above.

I bought the car with a cold air intake installed on it and I have been told that this is the cause of the busted up engine. Car only has about 142,000km on it so this seems very surprising as I have had multiple hondas that have run over 400,000k without issue.

Complete BS. A CAI will not ruin your compression...unless it's used to suck in water, but that usually causes much worse problems, and suddenly.


My advice is to 1) get the CEL code(s) read at an auto parts store, and 2) get a second "technical" opinion of what's wrong.

 

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Codes that were being thrown were Cylinder Misfire on Cylinder 1,2,3,4 and then there was a 5th code saying random cylinder misfire. He showed me the screen as he was pulling the code. When codes are cleared they come back right away.

As far as I know, the compression test was dry only. There was nothing poored inside the cylinder so I assume this means dry.

His though was that it would be the rings or valves. Not really sure what to believe at this point. All I know is that it is running rough.
Idle hovers around 1000rpm and then drops down to almost a stall and goes back up to 1000.

When the vehicle is started it is usually around 1500rpm. Seems to be lacking a little power though. I am not a mechanic and this is partly why I am on here. Talk to some people that know engines.

Some people at the dealership are recommending a dynamic flush of the engine using some chemicals to potentially free up the rings but I think this is just BS. Any thoughts on this? It's a couple hundred bucks but I don't know if it's worthwhile if the engine needs to be replaced.

 

cold ideal is around 1500, after warmed up should hover around 750.

try to get all your misfire problem fix first, check the basics... is your spark plugs still good? gapped properly? engine properly grounded? are all your ground spots clean? rotor cap in good shape? are spark plug wires still the original ones?

wouldn't recommend flushing a 140k old engine, the carbon deposit in there would actually help keeping stuff sealed... if anything, cleaning the stock injectors might help...

go from the cheap fixes first, replace the stuff that are worn out and need to replace. but still, cylinder 3 is hellalow in compression...

i would recommend a rebuild, if you wanna be cheap, maybe just re-horn cylinders and just redo the piston rings, while you are at it, you can clean out all the deposit too... this would be cheaper than buying a new car or b18c.

 

Fair enough. I was going to replace the distributor cap, rotor wires and plugs although the guy that did the diagnosis said that it would be a waste of money.

I replaced plugs anyway but I have not done anything else with the other items.
I have found 2 B18Bs for Sale, one for $1100 and one for $1200. + Install of course
Otherwise the B20 is $650 + install although I am hesitant about this engine. doesn't seem right for this car.

 

I don't know what's the price for a basic rebuild, if it cost you 650$ to rehorn and have new piston rings install, i'd just do that instead... Getting a B20 is still, another used engine with tons of miles on it, its condition maybe a SLIGHTLY better than your currently B18B... but if you rebuild it, at least you know it will be fresh... i mean after a rehorn and new ring, it should pretty much run sorta like "new".