I have recently developed a severe hesitation problem. Cyl 1 shows compression of 120. Other 3 have 150. If I squirt oil into 1, it also shows 150. There has been no change in compression or vacuum (18), but the hesitation and missing started suddenly as I was driving last week. Prior to this, I ran smoothly at all speeds up to 85 mph., although the engine had been a little weak, I consume very little oil, except at sustained very high speeds, Now the engine idles nicely, but hesitates under load under any driving conditions. I removed the #1 spark plug wire and grounded it to the block. Car runs much smoother now on 3 cylinders at all speeds than it had been on 4 with one missing.. Questions: Will running the car like this on a short term basis damage the engine? Could raw gas ignite in the exhaust system and damage it? (I can't shut off gas supply because this is a carb engine, not EFI.) Is there any way to tell if problem is rings rather than valves without pulling the cylinder head? Thanks, Tom
