Last Tuesday I installed a bottle of Chevron fuel injection cleaner. The 3.3 was running fine before I did, but I thought I was doing some preventative maintenance. About 10 minutes of running, the engine started missing. This continued, even after I drove over 100 miles yesterday. Today I pulled the front 3 spark plugs, and they are Autolite Iridiums. Two were gapped at .050, but one was a little loose, gap wise, so I re gapped it. I put a little anti seize on the threads after wire brushing them, and swabbed some dielectric grease on the insides of the plug boots and reinstalled them. It ran no better. This van has about 200K+ on it and has ran well, I get around 25+ mpg on the highway. Any ideas what could be causing this?
slapshot
What model year is the van?
How much gasoline was in the tank when you poured the cleaner in?
It could just be a coincidence or it could be a bottle of crap...
Though if you dumped the bottle of cleaner in the tank and just let it idle away without driving and mixing the tank contents, LEVY is probably correct (with the assumption of dirt clogging injectors now)
How much gasoline was in the tank when you poured the cleaner in?
It could just be a coincidence or it could be a bottle of crap...
Though if you dumped the bottle of cleaner in the tank and just let it idle away without driving and mixing the tank contents, LEVY is probably correct (with the assumption of dirt clogging injectors now)
Let's pull the engine apart and check every o-ring and gasket... :nut:
First, don't touch the injector harness - it was redesigned and re-routed on 04 and later models. This is a common problem on early 4th gen (01-03)
Second, your van being '05 does not have a fuel filter other than the pump pickup 'sock'.
Third, it's important to know how concentrated the cleaner was when you ran it through the system. If the van had a 1/4 tank and you dumped a full bottle in there is entirely different than if it had 3/4 (5 gallons VS 15 gallons is a big difference).
If it's running rough, does it have any pending OBD codes?
Don't tear anything apart until you replace the fuel that's in the tank. If it doesn't improve with new, clean fuel than you know you have a problem.
Things happen, who knows what was in that bottle of cleaner...
First, don't touch the injector harness - it was redesigned and re-routed on 04 and later models. This is a common problem on early 4th gen (01-03)
Second, your van being '05 does not have a fuel filter other than the pump pickup 'sock'.
Third, it's important to know how concentrated the cleaner was when you ran it through the system. If the van had a 1/4 tank and you dumped a full bottle in there is entirely different than if it had 3/4 (5 gallons VS 15 gallons is a big difference).
If it's running rough, does it have any pending OBD codes?
Don't tear anything apart until you replace the fuel that's in the tank. If it doesn't improve with new, clean fuel than you know you have a problem.
Things happen, who knows what was in that bottle of cleaner...
With that bit of info, that should be your first priority... (at least take one of em out and see what it looks like)
If those front plugs looked brand new you'll probably get away with just 3 plugs for the back. Otherwise get a set of Champion double platinum plugs for it and check gap on new plugs before they go in.
Since this is a 'waste spark' system, make sure all of the plugs match and have correct gap.
If you take the wiper tray (cowl) off, you'll have plenty of room. It is doable by touch/feel without any dis-assembly though.
The poor running engine might just be a coincidence or the cleaner might have dislodged deposits from intake parts (passages or valves) and 'fouled' the already marginal plugs...
You need to go over the thread again:
He followed the directions on the bottle, so (coincidental) bad gas is the leading contender at the moment...
Are you offering him (slapshot) to pick up the tab?
Be that as it may, unlike you, I never endorsed it
Yea, if you found the coil zip tied to the top of the engine the rear plugs were probably original...
FWIW that 'defective' coil might not be defective, it might have been just a 'quick' fix to get it to run so PO could sell... (that's the only reason I can think of why it would still run ok with those rear plugs in the condition you describe)
FWIW that 'defective' coil might not be defective, it might have been just a 'quick' fix to get it to run so PO could sell... (that's the only reason I can think of why it would still run ok with those rear plugs in the condition you describe)
You can either upload it to a 3rd party site (such as postimg.org) and then link to it in your post (insert inline or simple url link)
Or go to 'advanced view' on your post and open attachments, upload the file (has to be fairly small size) to attachment 'library' and insert attachment in your post...
Any chance a smudge of anti-seize could have contaminated insulator on one of the (rear - hard to see) plugs?
Not sure what 'miss' it shows, do the key dance and post the code: Key -> insert (Lock) -> Off->ON(run)->Off->On->Off->On, look at odometer readout and write down P codes until 'donE' is displayed.
If you want to throw a few more bucks at it, get a set of champion copper plugs and put them in - don't use any anti-seize.
The 'proper' testing would be:
Compression, fuel pressure, spark plugs - in that order.
Edit: particularly compression in the cylinder which had the plug with half the anode missing...
P0138 Oxygen Sensor Circuit High Voltage (Bank 1, Sensor 2)
Downstream sensor, has nothing directly to do with a miss...
Key dance should work regardless of trim level, it just takes some getting used to the timing (you have to cycle the on/off pretty quickly).
Fuel pressure testing on these vans requires an 'in line adaptor' that goes in the quick connect fitting under the van where pump connects to the fuel line.
FWIW, if it does not starve for fuel when you open up the throttle it's not likely to be critically clogged. Also, IIRC, the spec is 50psi +/-2psi...
BTW, pressure is relieved by pulling the fuel pump relay and running the engine out of fuel... (lest you don't mind a squirt in the face from the pressurized rail)
Short of doing a compression test, the pull one plug at a time test might be the best bet. (since it's not setting any codes)
The caveat here is waste spark system, by pulling one plug you're changing conditions on two cylinders... I'm hesitant to suggest pulling injector plugs (not that easy and delicate) but you may have to resort to it.
Maybe take one of the better old plugs, ground it to the block and plug the wire from the test cylinder on that old plug (to even out the variables)
If you find one cylinder that does not change the way it runs, that's your suspect...
If all of them make it run worse, then I'd try a set of OE plugs (double platinum are expensive, but copper is cheap but will only last ~30Kmi)
The caveat here is waste spark system, by pulling one plug you're changing conditions on two cylinders... I'm hesitant to suggest pulling injector plugs (not that easy and delicate) but you may have to resort to it.
Maybe take one of the better old plugs, ground it to the block and plug the wire from the test cylinder on that old plug (to even out the variables)
If you find one cylinder that does not change the way it runs, that's your suspect...
If all of them make it run worse, then I'd try a set of OE plugs (double platinum are expensive, but copper is cheap but will only last ~30Kmi)
This coil pack contains just 3 coils.
the pairing (IIRC) is 2&5, 1&4, 3&6
The spark is generated in once cylinder on the power (compression) stroke and in the other on exhaust (waste).
Basically the coil sits between two plug electrodes and block makes up the rest of the circuit.
Coil pack can fail any number of ways, including an internal short or open. Luckily you have that other 'bad' coil you can connect to see if it changes anything (even if it's also defective).
BTW, coil terminals are 5-1-3 and 2-4-6. Electrical connector is under terminal 1.
the pairing (IIRC) is 2&5, 1&4, 3&6
The spark is generated in once cylinder on the power (compression) stroke and in the other on exhaust (waste).
Basically the coil sits between two plug electrodes and block makes up the rest of the circuit.
Coil pack can fail any number of ways, including an internal short or open. Luckily you have that other 'bad' coil you can connect to see if it changes anything (even if it's also defective).
BTW, coil terminals are 5-1-3 and 2-4-6. Electrical connector is under terminal 1.
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