So I finally figured out why my car was running so bad

Problem: Car would miss and hiccup 85% of the time while cruising or accelerating.

Sometimes it would drive fine, but most of the time it was pretty bad...seemed like it was on 7 cylinders.

I initially thought it was the optispark as I got coolant on it after I changed the waterpump.

I took it in to get scanned today, and after about an hour of tinkering the mechanic told me that the #8 fuel injector was dead and that nothing else was throwing codes.

They want to charge me $350 (including a full injector service/cleaning for $70).

I'm thinking I'd rather just do this myself

and then throw some seafoam in the gas tank

What do you think? Can I do it?

 

I'm pretty sure an injector swap basically plug and play. I'm replacing all mine myself after I get my heads/cam in. There might be a little more to it than that but it's very do-able.

 

that's gravy work bro!

 

Find you a set of cheap injectors and swap them.... although it could be wiring related also.

I don't know if the sea foam will work if the injector is not firing in the first place.

 

swaping out injectors isnt really that bad of a job, very important to make sure everything is seated correctly when your done as you will also need to replace the O-Ring Seals on each end of them, just take your time dont get in a hurry.

 

Yea, changing injectors is quite simple, you just need to be clean about it. I wouldn't want to do just one, because if one is dirty or worn out, another is probably close. For <$350 you can get all new injectors, but if they are a different style/brand you might need the tune adjusted. I got 8 Delphi/Lucas ones for like $34 each.

 

yeah an injector swap isn't too bad. Plus this gives you an opportunity to upgrade to some aftermarket injectors

 

Bigger injectors WILL require adjusting the tune in the PCM.

Stock injectors could probably be had pretty cheap in the classified section of this very website.

 

Yup, I could change it in 30 minutes, a novice in 1 hour with good directions.

 

I wouldn't worry about the swap, it's pretty easy. I would worry whether or not that is really the problem. Hopefully it is the problem and you get it fixed easily.

 

Is there a signal to the injector? What do you mean by "not firing"? All that is needed is a test light connected to the injector harness. I am not sure chagning injectors will fix the problem, from what you are saying.

Rich

 

Well heres the full story

Changed the waterpump, and about a week after that I think, the car started missing ever so slightly.

The problem got worse and worse over the next month and would miss and skip under any driving condition.

The problem is not always there...I'd say it happens 90% of the time, sometimes not occuring until about 5 minutes after startup.

Its gotten to the point though, that I don't like driving the car.

I thought for sure it was the opti from coolant getting on it.

One of my wires was also significantly burned through, so I changed all them and the problem presisted.

I finally took it into the shop, who scanned it for $50.

They took it for a drive and did stuff in the shop and said the distributor wasn't throwing any codes, and they weren't sure at first what the problem was.

They then scanned (or did whatever to check the injectors) and then informed me that the #8 injector is "dead".

On the quote they want to change the actual injector, so I assume thats the problem vs a wiring issue.

If it does happen to be a wiring problem, are we talking about cut wire, or a more serious issue?

It also should be known that I am selling the car and replacing all of the injectors or upgrading isn't really worth it. I just need it running.

With that said, lemme know what you think I should do

Also where would the best place to buy them

I see some on ebay for fairly cheap, but I don't want to buy another dead one..

 

you need to make sure that its the injectors that went bad...might be something in the wiring

 

what year is your car? in the really hot climates, if your car is not garaged, the insulation on the wiring does crack. I have yet to see the crakced insulation give the injector a problem firing, buti do know if its not plugged in all the way it will have problems. get an injector off ebay, heck, get two; it will probably be fine. the classifieds here are a great place to get them also

 

If the actual injector itself is not firing fuel, couldnt you just pull the plug wire of that cylinder and see if the car runs the same?

or above that you could also pull the fuel rail with help from a freind and crank the car for a second to verify if fuel is coming from it.