Only Running On 5 Cyl

[CS_180]

Started up my car the other day and it was running really rough........... took it to my wifes uncle who is a mechanic and had a look. said it appears to be running on only 5 cyl............ checked em out and there is definatley a miss in cyl #1.

as we were only at his house couldnt find out for sure what is causing it.........thought i would throw it up here to get peoples opinions on it..

As far as i can tell i have 4 options as to the cause....

spark plug

coil pack

injectors

or the bad one.......a valve..

the car is running just really rough and bad vibration through the whole car..........any ideas?

[inthisglass]

firstly try to eliminate all the easy problems first eg spark plugs and test the coils to see if that fixes it.

if it is that then your lucky, if not then you'll have to go about replacing the more expensive bits.

so try the easy bits first

[Eug]

troubleshoot it, there's nothing we can do unless you can give us something to work with.

you've already stated some possible causes. it's a matter of crossing them off one by one.

[black33gtst]

start by spraying electrical contact cleaner onto harnesses that attach to each coil pack usually solves the problem

[GTS4WD]

swap spark plugs with another cylinder.. this will cheak sparkies..

pull the coil out and start it without a spark plug.. if it sparks.. its not the coil packs

injectors.. use a multimeter.. get a workshop manual.. and cheak the voltage/amprage

cross all these off.. and then double cheak them.. then find 3 other ways to cheak each part.. then find other things that can cause it.. and as a VERY last thing assume a valve.. because valves dont just shit themselfs for no reason.. broken valves are caused from wrong calculations when shaveing blocks/heads.. or extended periods of very very poor timing settings..

see what can cause damage valves and then diagnose those and see if it realy does lead to broken valves..

An easy way is to go down to repco or supercheap and get a compression tester.. it fits where your spark plug goes.. you disconnect the battery and then crank the engine.. and it will regester the max PSI on a guage.. this can determin if there is a leak within the chamber. Do this to all 6 cyl's

BOM!.. gosh im good!

lol... Im really proud of that!

and sorry to complicate things.. but gaskets can also cause a los of preassure that can manifest or appear as though a cylinder has dropped..

keep us updated so we can help

Edited February 18, 2008 by GTS4WD

[CS_180]

thanks guys .......doing it the easy way...dropped it off at the mechanics this morning will let yall know the verdict....... hopefully its anything but a leak in a cylinder

[GTS4WD]

weak.. best way to learn.. jump in the deep end..

[CS_180]

its more a matter of i need it sorted asap so i get a proffesional to do it

[R338OY]

I feel sorry for GTS4WD. All that effort and a mechanic takes over...

[Eug]

I feel sorry for GTS4WD. All that effort and a mechanic takes over...

agreed. there wasn't any real point in asking the forum in the end, ask the mechanic next time

[UNR33L]

lolol harsh

[GTS4WD]

I feel sorry for GTS4WD. All that effort and a mechanic takes over...

agreed. there wasn't any real point in asking the forum in the end, ask the mechanic next time

So your saying I dont do as good of a job as a mechanic!?!