I'm working on a '96 3.0 5spd. It needed a head gasket job when I bought it, but otherwise was running ok. I got the cylinder heads cleaned and decked, put all new gaskets in, put new spark plugs and wires in, and now cylinder #1 isn't firing. The plug is clean when I pulled it out to check it (pic is comparing new plugs from #1 and #2 after about 5 minutes of running). When I pull the wire from the coil pack there is spark from the pack to the wire. I've tried different plugs and wires, and redid the valve cover gasket to make sure it was sealing right. Any tips for what to check next? I've included a link to a video of it. Since it's popping, I'm pretty sure it's getting fuel into the cylinder and backfiring once that fuel hits the exhaust manifold.
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'96 Missing / popping, help with troubleshooting
- Thread starter Smithers
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Uncle Gump
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Do a compression test on the bad cylinder.
Sounds to me like it's popping into the intake.
Sounds to me like it's popping into the intake.
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Also... it happens to everyone. Triple check the firing order.
Seems like I've heard similar and found a pushrod had gotten spit out.
Did that look OK when you pulled the valve cover?
Seems like I've heard similar and found a pushrod had gotten spit out.
Did that look OK when you pulled the valve cover?
The push rods looked right when I opened the cover back up. The wires are in the right order (that’s the easy side). The part that gets me is the clean spark plug. Even if it was bypassing the valve and has weak compression, wouldn’t it still be burning something?
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How much compression did it have?
Haven’t had a chance to check that yet, I’ll have to borrow a tester from someone. It wasn’t doing this before the head gasket job, which is a bummer that it started now.
I ended up figuring out the cause. When I pulled the engine apart, I kept the rockers and everything labeled so I could put them back in the correct spot. I didn't think about marking the heads when I took them to the machine shop, and ended up installing them on the opposite side. After pulling everything apart, swapping heads, and putting new gaskets/bolts from rockauto in, it's running great!
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Am I missing something? That shouldn't have mattered should it? Unless they were machined differently already?
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