96.EK.DX

I have a 96 ek dx. It has after market headers and a cold air intake, besides that it's stock D16Y7. So I was driving at about 75mph when my cel started flashing. I immediately noticed a loss in power, took it to autozone and cylinder 3 and 4 were misfiring. Noticed my muffler was blowing the stuffing out and was blocking the exhaust flow. Airflow was a code that came up at autozone P0104 I believe. Not sure. I replaced my muffler, all spark plugs plus cables, I also cleaned my throttle body out pretty good. I also sprayed my sensors and connections with spray for them. Put it all together and my misfiring problem still exists. With my car idling I was checking to see if all plug cables were good, when I pulled the plug on cylinder 3 it had no effect on the motors idle. There is spark. I tried swapping spots on my injectors. But still got nothing from 3rd with a different injector. There is a not too loud but annoying sound, kind of like a hiss.hiss.hiss.hiss when the car is on thatll stop if i pull the plug on 3. Is this a broken valve? Money is an issue, and I'm very new at working on cars. Please any help or pointers I can do would help VERY much.

ezone

Do a compression test.

96.EK.DX

Ok did the test
Cylinder- PSI
#4- 170
#3- 15
#2- 130
#1- 160
That's bad isn't it?

ezone

Well, 3 is almost dead and 2 is a little low compared to 1 and 4. Low compression is why it has the dead cylinder miss, not injector or plug or wires.

What did that plug from #3 look like? Darker than the rest? Wet with what?

Next step for me is to prove where the leakage is going, this would be a cylinder leakdown test. This is so I know where to look once it comes apart, IF it has to come apart.

I would remove the valve cover and spark plug and rotate engine until that piston (#3) is at TDC compression stroke with all the valves closed---make certain all 4 valves have "some clearance" by feel before applying the air pressure.
If the valves have never been adjusted, they may have tightened up and can't close, that might explain miss and low compression. Loosen if necessary so they close completely.
Tight valves burn, so if this was the case it may be too late.



Now I can connect air pressure into the cylinder and see where the air pressure exits, intake manifold or tailpipe. Or crankcase, or cooling system.

Whatever I find here determines the next step.

96.EK.DX

It was a little darker than the rest. I've pulled the plugs many times before and only once it had VERY little oil on 3. But haven't seen any since, and I've still pulled them a few times after and all were dry. I know very little on these test, so I've been you tubing it learning lots as I go. So running these tests take me a bit. So if its too late, am I gonna have to look into a new motor? A swap has been on my mind, just money is tight. Also would trying to do a valve adjustment be too late?


And THANK YOU VERY MUCH for the help, I had seriously lost all hope. Till I found this site

ezone

Everything is fixable, all it takes is various amounts of time and/or money.

Once you can prove where the lost compression is going, then you decide what will fix it and can weigh your possible options.
DIY is a plus.

I'd expect the cylinder head to need removed to fix whatever the problem is, at the very least. Plus some cash for a machine shop to work on the head/valves if needed.

Valve adjustment.........hard to say if it will help anything now or not.
It can't help if it already burned a valve. (I'd expect it burned a valve, from what you have described. Can't tell from here though, that's why the checks and tests.)
If you do CHECK it and find some with far too little clearance (too tight), then by all means do the adjustment and then do another compression test to see if it helped. But I wouldn't hold my breath.


I would probably do a sort of wiggle test to check that there is some amount of clearance and compare a good set like #1 or #4 to the bad cylinders valves.....during the checks prior to the leakdown test. It's easy to tell if there is zero or almost zero clearance, compared to how much rocker arm movement 0.010" (or so) clearance feels on a good one.

But I'm a troubleshooter first. I need to know the causes and come up with positive solutions, I can't just accidentally have a problem go away without knowing exactly what happened and try to sell it to a customer as a fix. My fixes have to hold up to a written warranty.

ezone

How many miles are on this car and engine?

If it is real high miles and it has been using oil, it may be a better idea to just put in a used engine with low miles.

96.EK.DX

Ill do the test as soon as I can. But the car reads at 130k. However it is a salvaged title, I only paid 2k for it- so I'm not too surprised with the problems. It used to throw huge clouds of smoke every now and then, maybe once every 2 weeks. But it went away completely. But definitely will do the tests, and check my valves. I love my car, and plan on keeping it. Will reply as soon as I can. I can't thank you enough!!

ezone

Any idea why it was salvage?
130k isn't high if it has been cared for, as in oil changes and clean air filters.
OTOH that could be on its last leg if severely neglected.

Does it consume oil?
If you pull the oil fill cap and look inside the engine, do you see metal parts or a layer of thick black tar?

96.EK.DX

Carfax was too vague on why it was salvage title. It stopped burning oil when the smoking stopped. Then again, I have pulled the valve cover off- and yes there was gunk all over the lid.no viable metal parts. I was unsure on how to clean it properly, so I didn't. This is my DD, so weekends is all the time I've had. When I turned the heat on for the first time, leaves where trapped in the vents. Made me instantly think- parked for a long time. It did run well problem free for almost a whole year.

ezone

The inside of the valve cover coated with black is not super meaningful.....But if the rocker arms and other stuff are covered in a thick layer of tar, then it's probably been neglected on oil changes or had a life of low quality oil... Let's hope not..

The moving parts and the area of the head that is visible should look like metal, or at least oil colored with no thick buildup of tar stuck on them.

The worst thing you can do is to disturb the tar and cause it go to the bottom of the engine and clog the oil pump pickup screen. Let the sleeping dog lie--- unless the head has to come off.

96.EK.DX

Ok I'll try that. Ill also try a valve adjustment. Ill update as soon as I can. And besides the gunk on the lid, it looked good. Thanks