SSEi had been sitting for about 4 months without being used, I took it out for a spin and hit the redline during the drive a couple times. I came back to the house and discovered I was missing a cylinder. No check-engine light, no smoke, no nothing, just shaking a little more than usual and the sound is obviously off. No loud noises, no clanking, oil pressure indications or abnormal engine temps.

Before I dive into the hardcore engine, could there be anything else that could be wrong? Electrical, fuel, etc? I'm really fishing on this one because I don't want to break the whole car down. What's the best way to diagnose this without taking it to a repair shop?




1997 SSEi, engine has about 30k on it, stage 1 cam, zzp i/c, fuel rails, roller rockers, 3.4 on the s/c, OTG headers, cai, intense pcm, etc.

First thing to do is pull all the plugs. That should tell you a lot.

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2000 SSEi - SilverBullet - 78,000 kms, 4" "straight shot" custom headlight ram air inlet, TOGs, 1.9's, Lsd, 2.9-3.4"MPS 10-15 psi, Ported GenV, EGR eliminated, OR pushrods, oil volume kit, trani cooler & shift kit, Titanium retainers, 90 lb springs, 160 Stat, 42# injectors, Fuel pump voltage increase, Wideband O2, 3" to dual 2 1/2" Magnaflows, Snow Meth/water injection, after SC temp gauge, 255/50WR17, timing commander set 15-18*@WOT, 2 speed Fan over-ride, disabled DRL, Solid motor mount, Meziere Electric water pump, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, Drilled & slotted rotors/ceramics, GXP sway bars and STB, Upgraded and rebuilt transmission with ZZP 2500 rpm stall TC, Pioneer Bluetooth stereo with sub and 800 W amps, PB 13.5 quarter, (April 2014 car of the month)

Doing that now. What am I looking for?

Consisent light brown color and 0.060" gap on all 6 plugs. You should be able to tell which cylinder is missing.

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2000 SSEi - SilverBullet - 78,000 kms, 4" "straight shot" custom headlight ram air inlet, TOGs, 1.9's, Lsd, 2.9-3.4"MPS 10-15 psi, Ported GenV, EGR eliminated, OR pushrods, oil volume kit, trani cooler & shift kit, Titanium retainers, 90 lb springs, 160 Stat, 42# injectors, Fuel pump voltage increase, Wideband O2, 3" to dual 2 1/2" Magnaflows, Snow Meth/water injection, after SC temp gauge, 255/50WR17, timing commander set 15-18*@WOT, 2 speed Fan over-ride, disabled DRL, Solid motor mount, Meziere Electric water pump, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, Drilled & slotted rotors/ceramics, GXP sway bars and STB, Upgraded and rebuilt transmission with ZZP 2500 rpm stall TC, Pioneer Bluetooth stereo with sub and 800 W amps, PB 13.5 quarter, (April 2014 car of the month)

Could be a bad spark plug wire, or a wire too close to metal/O2 sensor.

Another test would be to loosen the wires at the coil, and pull one at a time. Start the engine, hold one wire close to the coil(look/listen for spark) Do it each cylinder until you find the offender.....

Just be careful you can be ZAPPED!!! Hold the wire with an insulated pair of pliers!!!!

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1995 White Bonneville SE

188340 Miles as of 06/07/10, still running.........

LIM/UIM Work done 4/23/07 at 145000 miles...