Cylinder 6 misfire, checked obvious culprits..

[TN22Corps]

So I've got some decent engine shuttering and CEL with a cylinder 6 misfire. I changed that spark plug and switched the middle coil pack with the rear most coil pack and I've still got a cylinder 6 misfire after clearing the code.

Oil is not milky, no pink milkshake. Both fluids are translucent. I noticed the coolant was low initially, so I topped it off. No coolant loss since first symptoms, 15-20 miles driven.

What next?

Fingers crossed... no whammies, no whammies, no whammies!

 

[agloukhoff]

Injectors.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4-Q...TFk/edit?hl=en

Page 233.

Chances are you'll need a new injector.

You'll need either a 23250-62040 or 23250-62030 if it's the injector.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

How old are your spark plug wires? I would try a set of wires before doing injectors. I'd also suggest doing a compression test. It's free and a good indicator of the overall health of your engine.

 

[TN22Corps]

Wires are about 2 yrs old. It gets below average miles put on it, so that's why they're 2 yrs old. I did notice the plug that I replaced was single electrode, which surprised me. Guess I didn't know any better last time I did a tune up.

So, I'll start at the wires.

Do you have much faith in running a tank of premium and injector cleaner?

If it comes down to it, I'm sure I could do the injectors. Learned a whole lot when I did the valve cover gasket.

 

[agloukhoff]

How old are your spark plug wires? I would try a set of wires before doing injectors. I'd also suggest doing a compression test. It's free and a good indicator of the overall health of your engine.

Yeah - you're right about checking the spark plug first.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Wires are about 2 yrs old. It gets below average miles put on it, so that's why they're 2 yrs old. I did notice the plug that I replaced was single electrode, which surprised me. Guess I didn't know any better last time I did a tune up.

So, I'll start at the wires.

Do you have much faith in running a tank of premium and injector cleaner?

If it comes down to it, I'm sure I could do the injectors. Learned a whole lot when I did the valve cover gasket.

I'd suggest doing all the plugs and a set of wires if the one you pulled out was a single ground plug. While they're out, do the compression test. (just be sure to pull the EFI fuse and make sure the Throttle Body is open.) If you get a low compression number on # 6 then you know it's not a spark or fuel issue. Means you either have bad rings, a stuck/bent/burnt/bad valve, bad head gasket or a cracked head.

You can try a tank of premium and a bottle of cleaner, it won't hurt anything and it's not expensive to do. But I wouldn't expect any miracles if I were you. You should also try Seafoaming it though the PCV hose too for good measure.

If it turns out it is an injector, they're not hard to do. But rather than replace one, send all six of them out to WitchHunter Performance - Injector Cleaning & Flow Testing Services Have them service your OEM injectors rather than d*ck around with sh*tty aftermarket ones. I honestly think people should do this about every 150K or so as maintenance. I'm sure a lot of guys will disagree with me and say it's not necessary. But really, changing your timing belt isn't necessary either until it breaks. But you do it anyway for good measure. Same idea with the injector service.

 

[sportscarfan]

It's probably worth checking the fuel pressure as well before you start changing parts.
Looks like that requires some special parts.

 

[TN22Corps]

Well, I checked out the cold coolant level again today. It had actually dropped about an inch from where I refilled it. When I checked it before, it was after just driving and the level had risen.

So, I've got the wires. I'm not going to even bother, they won't fix a coolant leak. I think I've got to outsource this, I just don't have the time.

 

[TN22Corps]

Called a local mechanic and he said he'd think injector since it's not overheating and no white smoke out of the exhaust. That the coolant fluctuation could be coincidental due to dissipation. Seems like a good amount of dissipation for such little driving though.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Coolant level changing makes sense. You filled it up. After you drove it and it got warm, thermostat opened up. When it does, the coolant runs through the motor. So now, there's more coolant in the motor and less in the reservoir.

I wouldn't waste my time sending it out until you do the steps we outlined above for you.

 

[Mano1124]

Had the same misfire. I started with replacing the spark plugs with dual ground NGK. Same misfire. Then switched the coils around and still misfire. I was about to pull the trigger and replace the injector but decided to replace the cables with NGK. Fixed the problem.

 

[TN22Corps]

All this fuss and it ended up being a bad wire. After I got off the phone with the mechanic I figured I would try the wires before I took it anywhere, especially since I already had them.

Lo and behold, the shutter went away. I went ahead and changed all spark plugs in addition to the wires.

I tend to jump to the worst conclusion when something's going on.