Who in Fort Worth does them? I called North Texas Marine but they said the are 3 weeks out. Who is the cheapest place that does them?

Save your money and do it your self..EASY..
you can get a gauge at any auto parts store for less than twenty bucks..

First pull the kill switch.....
the next step is to disconnect the spark plug wires from the spark plugs. Then screw in the tester one spark plug at a time and turn the motor over each time, until the gauge reaches its maximum pressure...Should only take a couple of seconds..
read the gauge,as you have someone turn the motor over.
The pressure within each cylinder should read within 3 to 5 pounds of each other. Do this on each individual spark plug.



EDIT: Don't take all the spark plugs out at once. Just the spark plug wires! Only take out one spark plug, to be replaced by the compression tester.

kingdad nailed it.

I rented one from o'rileys. Very simple. I'll probably just buy it next time I need it.

You could do it yourself right now. Compression gauge, around $40. It's about the easiest diagnostic procedure there is.

Start engine and let it idle up to operating temp.
Remove spark plugs.
Disable spark by pulling the emergency lanyard (or ground spark plug leads to the block with jumper wires).
Screw the tester into the spark plug holes (one at a time).
Crank the engine for a couple seconds. Repeat.
Write down the reading on the gauge.
Reset the gauge and move on to the next hole.

that's it.

If one cylinder is seriously below the others, test it again just to make sure you got it right.

Some will say that the throttles should be wide open; myself, I think it doesn't matter with a 2-stroke.

actually if you have a compressor a leak down gauge is better mac tool sells them as im sure some other tool places might as well

i do have a 25 gallon 4hp compressor. Is that sufficient?

kingdad and Jtexas, this was some of the most useful and easy instructions. I did what you guys said, and everything worked fine. Thanks a Mil.

how'd kingdad's post get in there...surely I didn't take 10 minutes just typing that..........

plugs in, plugs out, throttle open or closed, cold engine or warm -- is why they always say, actual PSI reading don't matter so much as difference between cylinders. Just do it the same each time.

How much PSI does it take for a leak-down test, and how long does it have to hold? Why is it better -- I mean what does it tell you, different from the compression test?