I haven't figured out what went wrong yet, but I wanted send a quick note
of thanks to all that sent suggestions and ideas... THANK YOU!
I'd check the codes if I could but I have a '98 so I'm SOL and have to
guess at what's wrong unless I want to take it to the dealer, ugh! I did
get a wire tester today to see if any of the plug cables are damaged and
some dielectric grease. If the wires check out I'll go to the cap, rotor
and coil as has been suggested. If all else fails (and I have to admit
defeat :( I'll put the stock plugs back in.
A couple of notes:
Some other guys are running the +4's with no problems so I'm not down on
the plugs... I think I did something or have got something wrong.
I pulled one of the plug wires off and started the motor... I'll be damned
but the engine still idles smooth with only 7 cylinders running. I didn't
rev the motor 'cause I didn't want to do any damage... It sure makes
diagnosis hard, though.
Lastly, it's been raining here and I'm holding off trying to figure this
out 'till it dries up (one less variable to worry about :-).
Thanks again,
Tom
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: DML: Bad Knock Problem was:Misfires -- STILL NEED HELP!
Author: <dakota-truck@buffnet.net> at smtpout
Date: 1/23/99 5:54 PM
O.K. I misdiagnosed this... What I thought was a misfire is actually heavy
spark knock. It was very intermittent on a mild highway incline so I found
a steeper incline and I'm still nervous after what happened. I had the
cruise pegged at around 65 or 70 and about half way up the hill it started
to knock really badly... Before I could pull over the check engine light
(MIL) started to flash rapidly (limp-in mode?!) and the engine was running
incredibly rough --almost like it was going to stall at around 50 MPH! I
got over into the right lane, switched the O/D off and was able get up the
hill and off the highway... The check engine light stopped flashing as
soon as I got off and has not come back on since. Man, I thought I had
really screwed up my Kota!
I got back home and yanked every plug and checked the gaps as best I could
with these Bosch +4's... They have four ground electrodes so it's kind of
hard to check but they all looked consistent... The only thing I found was
a slightly higher carbon buildup on the plug in #3 cylinder and the #5
cylinder plug looked like it had never been fired (no carbon whatever).
All the others looked fine.
I checked all vacuum lines and wires and everything seems OK... I'm also
running the Magnecore 8.5mm wires which seem fine. This is the first V8
I've ever owned... With the V6's, straight 6's and 4 bangers I've worked
on it's been obvious as soon as you start the engine if one of the plug
wires is shot (or you connected them wrong)... Does a V8 still run smooth
with only 7 cylinders firing??
Is there an easy way to check if a plug wire is good or not? Any ideas on
what the heck is going on??? At a minimum I'm gonna' run out tomorrow and
get some dielectric grease 'cause I did not use it. Any other suggestions?
Thanks!
Tom
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