[Siquemacuhz]

I am literally on my way back from the shop, just got a new I take manifold gasket. At the shop I start it and it is choppy as *, I’ve never heard my truck like this but I don’t think anything of it really. It starts shaking like * every time I stop at a stop sign or red light, And the SES light is flashing constantly. It also has a muffler delete and sounds WAY louder than it ever has

 

[MyWorkInProgress]

Flashing SES is a constant misfire, it being “louder” and “choppy” makes me think vacuum leak. Since you just picked it up from a shop make a u turn and take it back.

 

[Rhotpursuit]

Turn around and take it back to the shop. Sounds like they don't know how to install a distributor correctly, or crossed the ignition wires. Here's a diagram...

 

[Siquemacuhz]

I appreciate you guys taking it back tmrw morning. Also my temp gauge isn’t working. It goes about 2 little lines up and stops. Could this be the temp sense gauge? Could the truck thinking it’s still completely cold have soemthing to do with the misfiring and how bad it runs at idle?

 

[Siquemacuhz]

Update... I took it back to the shop guy told me they put the plug with wrong gap in cylinder 4 and that’s why it was misfiring. He changed the plug and the problem persists. They proceed to tell me that cylinder has low compression and the motor is on its way out. This makes no sense to me because before I had them change the intake manifold gasket there was no problem with it at all, it threw no codes, and ran on all 6 cylinders perfectly. Could they have messed my motor up somehow and are trying to hide it ? Could they have just put something back wrong and not realized it ??pls help guys I feel like I’ve hit a dead end I’m not sure what to do

 

[Rhotpursuit]

Check the position of every ignition wire....follow it with your finger to be sure they are in the correct location on the cap.

 

[Siquemacuhz]

Okay so just checked, none of the wires are crossed. Any other ideas? Will driving it to work and back on with a cylinder constantly misfiring destroy my motor?

 

[TomA]

It will destroy your catalytic converter, if you still have one, and certainly won't do the rest of your engine any favors. You really shouldn't have even left the shop with it running like that.

 

[Siquemacuhz]

Update ... it’s throwing one code 2 times, P0303 aka cyclinder three misfire and cylinder 3 misfired too many times in a small amount of time. They say they changed cylinder 3 plug and it was still doing the same thing that’s what led him to tell me that cylinder has low compression. Like I said they say they changed cylinder 3 plug BUT I watched them do it in 30 minutes without struggling at all and I’ve been trying for the last 3 days to get that sucker out and it’s damn near impossible. Now, the distributor cap order goes 315 BUT the cylinder order is 135, therefore I think he changed cylinder 1 plug not realizing the 1st wire on the cap goes to the 2nd plug on that side. Like I said I’ve been trying to get *** cylinder 3 plug out for 3 days none of the tricks or tips I found worked but I’m just hoping hoping hoping that that plug is dead and that’s the reason for the misfire. It starts up right away probably doesn’t even crank twice But it idles very high. My thought is that the shop either put it back together without the thermostat or my thermostat is stuck open becuase I can let it run in my driveway for an hour and the temp sense doesn’t move more than 3 little lines. I know it running cold will cause the ecm to dump more fuel into it trying to warm it up could this have fouled my plug and be the reason for the misfire ?

 

[Rhotpursuit]

Ok....settle down. Put the front end on jack stands, remove the driver side tire. Remove the plastic collar at the bottom of the steering shaft, if it's still there. Remove the bolt holding the shaft to the steering box.Use a screwdriver to force the shaft back towards the firewall. Once it clears the the box, take a bunge and hold it up out of the way. You'll have a straight shot at the #3 plug. When reinstalling, use a length of fuel line over the end of the plug to start the threads. It will keep you from cross threading the plug. Use some anti-seize.Screw it in until it stops. Then use a socket to snug it up. reverse everything else and it's done.

BTW..do not spin the steering wheel when the shaft is disconnected...you won't like it.

 

[Siquemacuhz]

Update #2 Truck wasn’t reaching op temp cuz tstat was stuck open. installed new one now truck warms up and temp gauge works fine but I opened the rad cap to add coolant and it looks like a chocolate milkshake In there. engine and trans dipstick both look fine oils a little dark other than that not milky or low. Still not sure what’s causing the misfire but have a feeling the oil in the water is from oil cooler that runs through radiator. Any insight on this? Really hoping it’s not a cracked block or head gasket. The truck ran hot for about 2 months until the rad cracked and soon after having rad replaced and coolant flushed it was leaking again so i open my rad cap and see dex cool sludge in my brand new radiator Thats when I took it back and got the intake manifold gasket replaced and system re flushed. Really feel stuck I’ve put 700 into it in the last 2 weeks and around 2 grand over the last couple months. Gonna flush the rad and change the oil today to see how quick oil get into the rad and if the level gets low on the dipstick. Not really sure where else to start, will keep updating.

 

[Siquemacuhz]

Finally got spark plug 3 out and it was very fouled as you can see. Replaced fouled plug with new AC Delco iridium plug and cylinder 3 is still missing significantly. Distributer cap and wire both get spark. Not super sure where to go from here probably will check my fuel pressure and narrow down from there. Any insights are very helpful. I appreciate you all a lot

 

[oldeerslayer]

Best way to find where the leak is, is to borrow a coolant pressure tester from an auto parts store. With the engine cool and off pump it up to 18# and listen and look.
If you drove it 2 months overheating the engine could have a number of issues.
You can buy a Prestone flushing kit for a few bucks. Put the tee in the highest spot on your heater hose and flush it a few times with it running to get rid of that sludge.
Find another shop since the one you're currently using doesn't seem to be able to diagnose your problem.
If I had hired someone to replace a rad and LIM gasket and found this I'd be at the shops door wanting to know why they were spending my money freely w/o finding the cause of the problem.
Is this a shop with ASE certified techs or Cousin Reeky's Paint, Upholstery, and Auto Repair?

 

[Siquemacuhz]

Had my shade tree mechanic friend come up and take a look at it yesterday with rad pressure tester. System seems fine and is holding 15- 16 lbs just as it should. Oil dipstick is not milky, trans dipstick is not milky, no moisture on oil cap and lastly neither oil is low (cold OR hot) which leads him to believe there’s no active leak into the radiator and all that stuff in my rad is residual disgusting ness that the shop didn’t bother to flush out. Looks like both when they put new rad in and recently they changed the lower intake gasket they just drained the rad and filled it back up when done. Basically they cut as many corners as possible. For example instead of replacing one small screw my distributer cap was zip tied on. Anyways that’s what happens when ur dumb lol right and before you say it, yes I have learned my lesson and from now on I will be the only one performing ANY work on it. As for the Heater Core the Previous owner (my mothers junkie boyfriend) completely bypassed the Heater Core by disconnecting both hoses from firewall and clamping them together, Oil smells like gas.. I think... can’t tell if it has a faint smell of gas or if it’s just burnt oil plus placebo effect of reading that oil smelling like gas is sign of bad injector. Either way I just bought new distributer cap and rotor kit (Duralast gold cap and rotor kit part#DR2030G), new plug wires (Duralast part#4669), and New spark plugs (ACDelco part#41-993). Changing Oil and oil filter as well today and tomorrow I am going to Super flush the coolant system as best as I possibly can. ACDelco mpfi spider injector is next on my list if ignition tune up doesn’t fix the misfire and If any new oil pops up in rad after full flush tomorrow and my dipstick still smells a little like gas, then I know I have a problem somewhere, and will be back on here asking you all for your insight. Installing cap, rotor, plugs, and wires right now will provide update when done.