'01 6th Cyl Misfiring?

[twistedkeys]

Hey guys, was just told by my mech that my 6th cyl is misfiring. "Could be the wires, or plugs, just takes a little diagnosing"

Simple enough eh? My question is where the heck is the 6th cyl plug? And how do I get to it to test?

[nos4blood70]

Spark plug 6 is located closest to the driver.

Think of it this way.

2.4.6.
Engine.
1.3.5.
Radiator.

[twistedkeys]

Crap. How do I get back there?

[spoiledred94]

It sounds like you might get in over your head. Its nearly impossible to tell a fuel system problem miss from an ignition problem miss. I suggest calling a good shop and asking for help or perhaps a craigslist Mechanic. My 01 cyl 6 was missing more and more. I replaced "EVERYTHING" thinking it was ignition but it turned out to be a bad splice on the wire supplying current to cyl 6 injector. You might also want to have it scanned for error codes. Autozone/Oreilly's etc. allows you to use their scanner no charge.

[twistedkeys]

It sounds like you might get in over your head. Its nearly impossible to tell a fuel system problem miss from an ignition problem miss. I suggest calling a good shop and asking for help or perhaps a craigslist Mechanic. My 01 cyl 6 was missing more and more. I replaced "EVERYTHING" thinking it was ignition but it turned out to be a bad splice on the wire supplying current to cyl 6 injector. You might also want to have it scanned for error codes. Autozone/Oreilly's etc. allows you to use their scanner no charge.

Oh really? That kinda stinks. My friend looked at it and said that the plug wires in some places were crossing over each other which might cause a misfire? But he's not a certified mech. I winder how much it would cost for me to have a shop diag it...

Could be a million things I guess, but I did have autozone check it and got that misfire error.

[nos4blood70]

Check ignition before fueling. It's easier. With the motor cold, feel around behind it to find where the plug wire is going. Then after you take it off the plug, find the spark plug with your hand and put the socket on it. You have to "see" with your hands to do plugs on the back of a 3800.

[twistedkeys]

Check ignition before fueling. It's easier. With the motor cold, feel around behind it to find where the plug wire is going. Then after you take it off the plug, find the spark plug with your hand and put the socket on it. You have to "see" with your hands to do plugs on the back of a 3800.

Nice thanks guys, looks easy enough!

[twistedkeys]

Replaced the plug and wire, it's running better but still rough... Gonna replace the fuel filter and air filter then see what's up. Any suggestions?

[spoiledred94]

You could try disconnecting the plug wire from the plug to see if there is a change in the performance. If not then you are not getting spark at that cylinder. If there is a change in performance then I'd say the cyl 6 ignition is good.

[nos4blood70]

Swap the coils around. The coils are what feeds the electricity to the plug wires. You may have a bad coil. That's a simple thing to add to the check list.