cylinder 4 misfire

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10-05-2009, 10:58 PM
mrjaydeeone

cylinder 4 misfire

Driving home from work earlier my 7G just didn't feel right. Shaking when driving and idling around 12-1300 RPM. And then the CEL came on. It began backfiring, and bogging. Definitely lost power. And had difficulty accelerating. I got home and checked the code. It came back with a cylinder 4 misfire. I was unable to make it to an autoparts store. So I used a set of plugs that I installed back in March, when I had a cylinder 1 misfire. The plugs were removed over the summer, when I was told the plugs weren't right for the car. I believe I was told they are "colder". At any rate another set of plugs were installed. When I removed them today the plug closet to the left side of the englin was kinda burnt up. I replaced all 4 plugs with the ones I had installed back in March. I had a problem with the plug boot 2nd from the left. It doesn't seem sit all the way down. It does make a connection though. At any rate I clear the code out and take the car for a ride, and it's performing the same as it did on my ride home. Any advice. I have to be able to make it to work tomorrow night. Although I am going to try and wake early enough tomorrow to try and take care of this. I was thinking of heading to parts store and getting another set of plugs and wires.
should I do that?
I really don't want the car to end up dying on that ride or the ride to work tomorrow night. Unfortunately I don't have access to another car for either trip.
Jason
10-05-2009, 11:06 PM
Galanttuner10

did the light come back on or anything and if so was it still cylinder 4? if it changed cylinders id say get new plugs and wires.. hopefully the distributor isnt going.. mine went.. it sucked
10-05-2009, 11:09 PM
qnz

which of theres spark plugs did yours look like?

http://www.dansmc.com/spark_plugs/sp...s_catalog.html
10-05-2009, 11:13 PM
qnz

With the age of the car, it can be a lot of things. old/clogged fuel injectors, oil leaking into the tube seals, distributor, not enough fuel pressure, etc. i'ld start with the easiest which is check for: oil in cylinder 4, and/or replace spark plugs with the right ones. I dont remember what i looks like on a 7g, but on my DSM, you can switch the wires for 1 + 4 and it would still fire the same. if it was the wires, then the problem would move with the wire.
10-05-2009, 11:17 PM
mrjaydeeone

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galanttuner10

did the light come back on or anything and if so was it still cylinder 4? if it changed cylinders id say get new plugs and wires.. hopefully the distributor isnt going.. mine went.. it sucked

light didn't come back. yet atleast. But with how the car was driving I am sure it will be back soon enough

Quote:

Originally Posted by qnz

which of theres spark plugs did yours look like?

http://www.dansmc.com/spark_plugs/sp...s_catalog.html

honestly. Looked carbon fouled
10-06-2009, 01:37 AM
mko

Carbon fooled? it might mean youre running too rich and drowning the spark - Just check for correct gap. The link says the timing is too advanced, but 96-98 distributors are not adjustable as 94-95, so it cant be that.As Galanttuner said it might be the distributor. They start failing after a decade I guess. Mine failed around that time. If nothing else I have an extra 96 distributor that I got when I was thinking of doing OBD2 swap, and now I dont need it, so its free. I can send it to you if you want it
10-06-2009, 02:05 AM
kolio

jay it could be these things in this order

spark plugs
spark plug wires
Distributor cap/rotor usually change both together

after that injectors and the whole distributor

if you were runnig lean i would say check the fuel filter
10-06-2009, 06:09 AM
skrap

Be carful it its your distributer. You may not belive this becasue many havent even seeing it with their own eyes... When my distributer went it made my timing belt skip a tooth.... and now my motor is in pieces... Be very carful and replace your plugs and wires...
10-06-2009, 11:39 AM
mrjaydeeone

Quote:

Originally Posted by mko

Carbon fooled? it might mean youre running too rich and drowning the spark - Just check for correct gap. The link says the timing is too advanced, but 96-98 distributors are not adjustable as 94-95, so it cant be that.As Galanttuner said it might be the distributor. They start failing after a decade I guess. Mine failed around that time. If nothing else I have an extra 96 distributor that I got when I was thinking of doing OBD2 swap, and now I dont need it, so its free. I can send it to you if you want it

Quote:

Originally Posted by kolio

jay it could be these things in this order

spark plugs
spark plug wires
Distributor cap/rotor usually change both together

after that injectors and the whole distributor

if you were runnig lean i would say check the fuel filter

Quote:

Originally Posted by skrap

Be carful it its your distributer. You may not belive this becasue many havent even seeing it with their own eyes... When my distributer went it made my timing belt skip a tooth.... and now my motor is in pieces... Be very carful and replace your plugs and wires...

thanks for all the help guys. I actually found out there is a NAPA 4.5 miles from me. So I am going to head there now and get some plugs and wires. How would I determine if its the distributor cap that went?
10-06-2009, 12:20 PM
kolio

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrjaydeeone

thanks for all the help guys. I actually found out there is a NAPA 4.5 miles from me. So I am going to head there now and get some plugs and wires. How would I determine if its the distributor cap that went?

you can take the cap off and see how worn it is from the inside. it's only 2 bolts holding the cap
10-06-2009, 12:57 PM
skrap

If it looks realy worn with a lot of build up then replace it... It should probibly be replaced anyway...
10-06-2009, 01:14 PM
mrjaydeeone

problem fixed. I went out to NAPA before and bought some plugs and wires. When swapping them out. I came to find the 2nd to left wire was not connected at the distributor. The covering was down, but the connector itself was inside the tubing (musta been from when I was trying to get the connector onto the spark plug right) and then when I got the the wire closest to the distributor cap I pulled it off and the connector stayed on the spark plug. I replaced all the plugs and wires and the idle went back down to normal and the car is driving right for now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kolio

you can take the cap off and see how worn it is from the inside. it's only 2 bolts holding the cap

Quote:

Originally Posted by skrap

If it looks realy worn with a lot of build up then replace it... It should probibly be replaced anyway...

ah I see. I will take a look at it tomorrow. Worn as in? What am I looking for?
10-06-2009, 05:30 PM
mrjaydeeone

so I spoke too soon. On way to work the car still isn't running right. It doesn't seem to act normal until 40mph and above. It seems boggy in 2nd and 3rd and points. And it also managed to backfire at 30mph :( any ideas?
10-06-2009, 07:33 PM
mko

Id say its the distributor.
10-06-2009, 07:49 PM
mrjaydeeone

Quote:

Originally Posted by mko

Id say its the distributor.

the cap itself or the whole thing?
10-06-2009, 08:00 PM
kolio

check the cap first its cheaper.

you look at the contact points and see if they are worn down, coroded, dirty or gone.
10-06-2009, 08:02 PM
mrjaydeeone

Quote:

Originally Posted by kolio

check the cap first its cheaper.

you look at the contact points and see if they are worn down, coroded, dirty or gone.

never done this before. do you have a diagram LOL
10-06-2009, 08:13 PM
skrap

no diagrams... But what you do is label your wires going to your distributer from the top starting with 1 and working your way down. Then take the wires off of your distributer.. Once they are off there are 2 screws on the passenger side of the distributer.. You have to losen them all the way but they wont come all the way out.. then you take the front cover off.. that is your cap... there are 4 contact points on the cap and then a middle one. The 4 contact points on the side should look like shiny metal. If they are gray and look like they have buildup then you should probibly replace it. Now once you are don inspecting the cap. If you looks back at the distributer there will be the rotor.. Its in the middle and it has teeth on the one side.. Check those teeth.. If they have buld up or look worn down then replace that too. In my honest opinion you should probibly just replace both anyway... From what i am getting from all of this is that it probibly has never been replaced. I think for both of them it will be like 30 or 40 bucks total. I would try that first. Also when is the last time that you replaced your fuel filter?? That should be apart of your anual tune up. With the shitty gas we have now adays unless your running 93 it can get clogged very very easily.
10-06-2009, 08:55 PM
kolio

Quote:

Originally Posted by skrap

no diagrams... But what you do is label your wires going to your distributer from the top starting with 1 and working your way down. Then take the wires off of your distributer.. Once they are off there are 2 screws on the passenger side of the distributer.. You have to losen them all the way but they wont come all the way out.. then you take the front cover off.. that is your cap... there are 4 contact points on the cap and then a middle one. The 4 contact points on the side should look like shiny metal. If they are gray and look like they have buildup then you should probibly replace it. Now once you are don inspecting the cap. If you looks back at the distributer there will be the rotor.. Its in the middle and it has teeth on the one side.. Check those teeth.. If they have buld up or look worn down then replace that too. In my honest opinion you should probibly just replace both anyway... From what i am getting from all of this is that it probibly has never been replaced. I think for both of them it will be like 30 or 40 bucks total. I would try that first. Also when is the last time that you replaced your fuel filter?? That should be apart of your anual tune up. With the shitty gas we have now adays unless your running 93 it can get clogged very very easily.

what he said

but actually. my cap has the firing siquence on it. says which wire goes where. and the wires have the number written on them too
10-06-2009, 09:05 PM
mrjaydeeone

Skrap I am not sure if the fuel filter has been replaced. Definitely not since I have gotten it and I bought the car back in 07 and have put over 30K miles on it. Where is the fuel filter on the 7G located? The cap and the rotor are that cheap? Are those something that I can get local like at NAPA?
Kolio which wires have numbers on them? I didn't see any of that. I am also curious as to which cylinder is which anyways. looking at the engine from the front is 1 on the right or on the left.
I dont remember off-hand but I believe this is how my wires are. the one all the way the right goes to the top on the cap, the 2nd to right goes to bottom, 3rd from right above that, and left goes just below the one from the right. that right?
10-06-2009, 11:31 PM
kolio

i can take pics for you. yes the cap and rotor can be bought at any autoparts store and are fairly cheap.

my dist cap and spark plug wires say wich cylinder is wich.

if i remember correcty the one closest to the timing belt is number 1
10-06-2009, 11:48 PM
mrjaydeeone

thanks bro. I would really appreciate that. It's supposed to rain here overnight and into tomorrow. I'm hoping it is dry when I wake up so I can look into this.
10-07-2009, 08:08 AM
skrap

The fuel filter is located on the fire wall on your passenger side.. Just follow your fuel line from your fuel rain and you will run into it.. I believe the firing order starting from the timing belt is 1324 but im not sure.. It doesnt matter with that just when you take the wires off the distributer label them from top to bottom...
10-07-2009, 10:25 AM
Galanttuner10

cylinder 1 is the 1 closest to the timing belt

for the wires and this is from the book

1 is closest to front of the car on distributor
2 is the back
3 is right behind 1
4 is in between 2 and 3

hope that helps
10-07-2009, 02:07 PM
mrjaydeeone

thanks Chris. Well that parts atleast right LOL. Guess if it wasn't I'd have a lot more problems and woulda had them for a while now.
this is how it looks
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...007-1454-1.jpg
So it looks like I am going to head to NAPA and get a rotor and distributor cap. I guess would could it hurt. If they haven't even been replaced yet
10-07-2009, 03:03 PM
skrap

Well you should replace them. No it couldnt hurt.. Are you overheating?? I noticed that your upper coolant hose is swollern.. That means that your thermostat is going.. You might want to replace that as well..
10-07-2009, 04:39 PM
mrjaydeeone

with some help from Denver I got the distributor cap off and the rotor and replaced those. Also reset the battery too. The terminals on the old cap didn't look too bad, the rotor on the other hand looked kinda worn. The car is idling normal and I took it up and down my street a few times and seems to be issue free right not. Waiting for the rush hour to end so I can take it for a ride and make sure. Thanks everyone for your help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by skrap

Well you should replace them. No it couldnt hurt.. Are you overheating?? I noticed that your upper coolant hose is swollern.. That means that your thermostat is going.. You might want to replace that as well..

nope not overheating and haven't since I've owned her. I will look into replacing the thermostat as well in the near future.
10-07-2009, 04:45 PM
QnzMostWanted

hope everything works out for you Jay
10-07-2009, 05:04 PM
Galanttuner10

well im glad that part was right.. hope its all good to go now Jay
10-08-2009, 01:12 PM
mrjaydeeone

okay so the problem isn't fixed. And I can't seem to make it happen when I want it to. Seems like in 2nd somewhere around 30mph occassionally the car feels like it is doing to cut out. But then manages to keep on going, it backfired once today while I had it out. Not sure whatelse I need to look at.
10-08-2009, 02:09 PM
skrap

did you replace the fuel filter????
10-08-2009, 02:14 PM
kolio

what condition is the oxygen sensor in? you can just unscrew it and see if it looks jacked up but that aint no cheap fix. its like 80 bux.

so you said it's not throwing any codes. this is weird then
10-09-2009, 06:39 AM
skrap

I think it might be somthing with the fuel... Pull your fuel filter off.. Then blow into the bottom of your filter... It should be very easy to blow air through it.. If there is resistance then replace the fuel filter...
10-09-2009, 07:25 PM
mrjaydeeone

Quote:

Originally Posted by skrap

did you replace the fuel filter????

Quote:

Originally Posted by kolio

what condition is the oxygen sensor in? you can just unscrew it and see if it looks jacked up but that aint no cheap fix. its like 80 bux.

so you said it's not throwing any codes. this is weird then

Quote:

Originally Posted by skrap

I think it might be somthing with the fuel... Pull your fuel filter off.. Then blow into the bottom of your filter... It should be very easy to blow air through it.. If there is resistance then replace the fuel filter...

haven't checked with the fuel filter. Not sure if I want to mess with that on my own. I do have another one in the trunk though so if it needs to be replaced I have the part on hand. Nope it isn't throwing any codes, but I have only gone lets say a little over 100 miles since I cleared the code out. It normally takes what a few hundred miles to come back, if any since resetting battery. Not sure about the condition of the 02 sensor. I don't know if this helps at all, it seems to only start getting boggy like when I full accelerate, and that seems to be when the car will back fire as well. Not really sure what is the issue. But I am taking it to Roman's mechanic on Monday AM to see what he has to say about it.
10-09-2009, 09:47 PM
Galanttuner10

when my O2 sensor went it didnt throw a code and felt boggy as well.. might be a pump or clogged filter too

when the O2 sensor dies it just sends the ECU a lean signal so it dumps full at open throttle as a saftey to not blow it up
10-13-2009, 10:57 AM
Racer_S

hey guys, i just started having the same problem with my 95 galant s about 3 days ago, the cylinder next to the distributor isnt firing after a cold start, although gas is getting in there and when it does start firing (usually after 10 minutes after a cold start) there is lots of blue smoke from unburnt gas im guessing (smells like gas). i replaced the fuel filter less thant 2 months ago and i replaced the cap and rotor over the summer.

i got a new set of plugs and wires yesterday but it didnt help... there isnt much oil in the spark plug tube and I'm not sure what else to check... shes got about 130K now and ive changed the oil regularly

I have a compression tester which I'm about to use but I'm really afraid of a broken valve or ring cause then this car is RIP for me.

will let you know the results later

UPDATE:

I've found the problem, one of the wires (a green one) going to my distributer was grounding out..a little bit of electrical tape fixed the problem. heres the pictures...

http://i35.tinypic.com/2ymda2a.jpg

http://i38.tinypic.com/27x2qsp.jpg
10-14-2009, 06:45 PM
mrjaydeeone

Racer_S glad you got your problem resolved.
but that wasn't the issue with mine. you were right MKO. Distributor needed to be replaced. Mechanic pulled it out and there was oil in it. Replaced the distributor and backfire is gone and car is behaving
10-14-2009, 08:17 PM
kolio

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrjaydeeone

Racer_S glad you got your problem resolved.
but that wasn't the issue with mine. you were right MKO. Distributor needed to be replaced. Mechanic pulled it out and there was oil in it. Replaced the distributor and backfire is gone and car is behaving

glad you got it fixed! so it's back to being faster than the 8G :lol:
10-14-2009, 08:52 PM
mrjaydeeone

Quote:

Originally Posted by kolio

glad you got it fixed! So it's back to being faster than the 8g :lol:

lol. :)
10-14-2009, 09:55 PM
mko

good to hear you fix it.

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