Another Cylinder 1 misfire in 24v, still there after new plug and coil! - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

moscar45 · 08-10-2008, 12:58

Hey fellas, I'm on my third one of these cars, but my first duratec. I have a 2000 sable LS that has a cylinder 1 misfire code. I've swapped the coil with another cylinder, and put a fresh plug in cylinder 1. Seemed to clear up the problem for one afternoon. Took the car on a 500 mile trip this weekend and the cyl 1 code is back, and its stumbling at all rpm's until I hit cruise. I am getting a fuel smell from the a/c vents, the air filter is actually stained yellow and smells of fuel. I did notice that the pcv line elbow is broken off. (I'm guessing thats what it is on the rear cyl bank valve cover). The car has 95k on it, and I've only owned it for 600 miles. It also has bosch platinum plugs, not sure if thats good or bad. Thanks. still got 24mpg round trip with the miss. All help will be appreciated.

SHOZ123 · 08-11-2008, 09:40

Fix the PCV hose and get rid of the Bosch plugs.

The broken PCV hose will cause a lean condition (which would make a misfire easier) and is the cause of the fuel smell.

Use either Autolite or Motorcraft plugs.

phantom_smack · 08-11-2008, 09:58

After that if you still have #1 misfire swap injectors you may have one that will not seal.

Get rid of those Bosch plugs for sure !

**jwko** · 08-11-2008, 10:51

Quote:

Get rid of those Bosch plugs for sure !

I 3rd that!

moscar45 · 08-11-2008, 20:26

Thanks a lot guys, I'll keep you posted after I make the suggested changes.

**tbird100636** · 08-11-2008, 20:53

What everyone recommended so far, if after fixing the miss and the PCV hose there is still a fuel smell then you may need to replace the lower intake manifold gaskets. TSB 01-4-3 covers this. The Bosch plugs aren't that good, especially the exotic multi-tipped ones. Get a set of Motorcraft plugs.

moscar45 · 08-13-2008, 14:53

OK, replaced 4 of the 6 plugs I could readily reach, then replaced the elbow that goes to the PCV valve, and the problem went away for 5 mins. The cylinder 1 misfire code seems to be gone, but the car still has the same symptoms, but the code for the evap system says large leak (It read that before as well). I could not get the pcv valve off the rear cylinder bank, I don't know what I'm doing wrong, or if that is the only problem left. The old plugs were a mix of motorcraft and bosch, now they have autolite platinums. I also took the rubber portion of the intake off, and there was oil in the hose, and oil surrounding the butterfly for the intake. It seems to be coming from the vent hose for the front bank of cylinders. All help is appreciated.

**tbird100636** · 08-15-2008, 19:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by moscar45

OK, replaced 4 of the 6 plugs I could readily reach, then replaced the elbow that goes to the PCV valve, and the problem went away for 5 mins. The cylinder 1 misfire code seems to be gone, but the car still has the same symptoms, but the code for the evap system says large leak (It read that before as well). I could not get the pcv valve off the rear cylinder bank, I don't know what I'm doing wrong, or if that is the only problem left. The old plugs were a mix of motorcraft and bosch, now they have autolite platinums. I also took the rubber portion of the intake off, and there was oil in the hose, and oil surrounding the butterfly for the intake. It seems to be coming from the vent hose for the front bank of cylinders. All help is appreciated.

If you're refering to cylinders 2 and 3 in the back, all you have to do is remove the right cowl screen and the plastic panel below it and just reach around the engine on the right side of the car. Fuel smell you said before and a large evap leak. This means you have a large leak in the evaporative emissions system. The PCV is not connected to this. Here's the simplest way I can describe to check the evap system yourself because otherwise, you need an experienced tech to go thru it. A large leak can be fairly simple, just look for obvious things like cracked or split hoses, disconnected hoses, etc. First, check the gas cap. Make sure it's tightened properly. I don't think 200 had the gas cap light yet. If that's good, starting at the very back of the car underneath, look at the evap. canister and it's connections. (Mounted to the trunk pan.) Then following the hoses and lines make your way forward. Some lines will go to the fuel tank, some will run up front and arch up near the subframe. Just look for obvious things. Check these things out before worrying about the oil on the throttle blade.

moscar45 · 08-18-2008, 20:32

still Working on the problem, but a couple new developments have arrived. I filled up and noticed a fuel smell, followed by fuel leaking out at a rate of approx 6 ounces a minute--looks like a gas tank is in order-perhaps this is what my evap leak is. I also have driven the car an additional 700 miles this weekend, and tonight after a short drive home (50miles), the low coolant light is on. I'm praying to God, Allah, Vishnu, Buddha, and the Virgin Mary herself that this is not a head gasket. I'm a small used car dealer and purchased this car for an inexpensive runabout and am so glad I did not retail it because I'm going to have over $4000 in a car thats worth 3k. I'm guessing there has been little done in the way of maintenance, but my confidence levels in these vehicles has seriously began to wane.

**tbird100636** · 08-18-2008, 21:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by moscar45

still Working on the problem, but a couple new developments have arrived. I filled up and noticed a fuel smell, followed by fuel leaking out at a rate of approx 6 ounces a minute--looks like a gas tank is in order-perhaps this is what my evap leak is. I also have driven the car an additional 700 miles this weekend, and tonight after a short drive home (50miles), the low coolant light is on. I'm praying to God, Allah, Vishnu, Buddha, and the Virgin Mary herself that this is not a head gasket. I'm a small used car dealer and purchased this car for an inexpensive runabout and am so glad I did not retail it because I'm going to have over $4000 in a car thats worth 3k. I'm guessing there has been little done in the way of maintenance, but my confidence levels in these vehicles has seriously began to wane.

It could be a filler tube issue, get underneath and look. If the low coolant light is on, check the coolant. If it's not low then the low coolant switch is bad and you have to replace the bottle. You can't do a switch alone any more. Take a good look at the heater tubes on the firewall. These can rot out.