I think I've finally traced my lack of power down to a mismatched cam and an improperly tuned chip so I'm going to be changing cams, porting my intake, and tuning my chip fairly soon. I want to check out my bottom end first to make sure I don't have something else killing my power like a broken ring.
If I do just a compression test will this tell me the whole story, or do I need to do a leakdown test also??
If a leakdown is necessary what type of gauge do I use for that because if I remember correctly my compression gauge holds pressure after you stop cranking. What exactly would I want to look for in a leakdown test? No pressure drop, or a certain amount that is allowable?

 

you'd need a leak down tester to do a leakage test, 10% leakage is about the max, a broken ring woulnd not be found on the bottom end, but rather the top end, at least with in the circle i go around in. a compression test would tell you about everything you'd need to know.

 

Yeah I guess now that I think about it that would be the top end. I guess I used to think of anything associated with the shortblock as the bottom end, but I guess it's only the bearings, bolts, rods and crank?