Dalton'stang

I am 970 miles away from home and my wife is having trouble with our 2000 v6 5spd mustang. She says it is sputtering and she has to goose the gas just to keep it alive, she barely nursed it home from work yesterday. Obd is pulling the code for a misfire in cylinder 3 AND a vacuum leak. BUT,,, the issue started about 5 minutes after she filled up with gas at an exxon station, I hope its just bad gas and is throwing the sensors for a loop hence the codes.... she's going to put the gas treatment in today and see what happens....until then, any ideas? I'm not sure what would cause this if its not the gas, any advice is appreciated!!!

Bert

Has she called the gas station to see if anyone else had the problem? You could also unplug the MAF to see if it runs better. Those codes could mean the coil or wire are bad, Also there could be a vacuum leak, many times at the PCV. Is the check engine light on? The codes may not be the cause of the running.

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Bert

jwko

Sounds like water in the gas. Gas treatment won't help that. Put a bottle of two of fuel drier in it.

Dalton'stang

the only reason that i know the codes is that i carry a obd2 reader in the back of the mustang, she (my awesome wife) put 'one bottle' of the gas drier, water removing treatment. one of my friends just checked the compression on the code popping cylinder (3) and got a zero, but on other valves he got pressure readings. am i completely phucked? I am semi-mechanically inclined but am not a trained mechanic. Thanx guys for all the advice!!!

jwko

I would guess a hole in or busted piston, bad valve or possible collapsed/broke valve spring. The only way to know for sure is remove the head.

Dalton'stang

Phuck... I can't do that from 970 miles away and the car isn't worth havin a shop do the work (173k on clock) unfortunately.

Bert

One dead cylinder wouldn't cause it to run that bad. It must have had something else happen.

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Bert

Dalton'stang

Ok my friend said he found and cleaned the pcv valve and the vacuum hoses seem to be well connected. I'm I don't think he unplugged the maf but I wouldn't even know where to tell him to look. I'm completely lost right now, I won't be able to get back home until Sunday from the job I'm on now. Any othe ideas? Thanx guys, Dalton

Dalton'stang

Okay guys I'm back home and ready to start turning my wrench, here's the scenario now that I can actually feel/hear the engine....
1. Car started but took a second

2. Idling very rough

3. 1/2 tank of gas and one can of water remover was added (water remover the same as drygas???idk) should I nurse it to station for good fillup?

4. Code P0303 cylinder 3 misfire/ service engine light flashing intermittant

5. Funky fuel rich exhaust smell

6. This started approximately 7 miles/15 minutes after fuel added

I realize there are multiple things that could cause this but I want to try the most likely/simplest culprits first

Bert

That cylinder missing will cause the smell and rough running. possible coil problem. That will cause the light to flash and when it does, that's to warn that it can damage the cats. They aren't cheap. If it has the coil on plug system. switch coils with another cylinder to see if the miss moves. If it's the other coil that runs all of the plugs, it's very possible it needs replacement. They tend to crack and cause a missfire. I hate to have you just changing part without knowing for sure what's up. Not knowing the fuel, I can't say what to do there.

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Bert