rjd2

Excuse and information that may not sound right, i'm not that mechanically inclined...

Check Engine Light is on, and got it checked out at Advanced Auto. The scan read a cylinder 1 misfire. I understand that usually this is because of a bad spark plug or coil, sometimes even a bad EGR valve? I'm pretty tight on money, and i would really like to get this right the first time. What would my best options be right now? I was hoping somewhere like NTB or a local auto shop would do a check for the exact problem, but they are all asking around $85 to just look into it.

So what would you guys recommend i go about doing first?

1) Should i buy a new coil for as cheap as possible, and replace that in the cylinder 1? ( also, i have no idea how to go about doing this ..)
2)New spark plug for just the first cylinder ( Any ideas on price?)
3)Should i try to clean the EGR valve(I read that a small part may need replaced if you remove the valve, but i can't find the thread on it).

Thank you for any help you guys can provide. In all, i would really like to spend under $100 on this job to just fix the miss, and then i'll get a full tune up sometime in the spring.

Bullitt2theHead

well simpliest way to find out if its the coil is to clear the code if you havent done so already, swap the coil to another cylinder and when the MIL come on, pull the code and see if it follows the coil. Chances are youll still have a cyl1 mis because the sparkplug will be fouled out.

Coils (at least motocraft) arent cheap, so you wanna find out if thats **** before you spend money if youre tight on it right now.

How many miles does your car have?

98redstang

+1 on switching the coils. Another thought is that injector could be sticking and fouling that plug out so you might wanna try switching that with another one and seeing what happens... It happened on my moms suburban. Ive never heard of the egr thing tough? And i hate to tell you but coils arent cheap at all...

WhiteFoxGT

If its missing under load, and not really at idle, then its most likely the coil.. Cheapest route would be replace the plug and clear the code. If it still runs the same and throws the code then replace the coil.. Im like 98% sure it isnt an injector and the EGR shouldnt cause one cylinder to miss and not the others..

rjd2

My car has 65,000 on it. The car seems to have the same idle, maybe only very slightly changed if anything, and the light stays constantly light in city driving, but when i get on the highway at about 60+ it will occasionally flash. It also seems to shudder a bit more(only slightly more) when i hit the gas while i'm in 5th gear and i accelerate.

Bullitt2theHead

Ive seen plenty of injectors cause misfires. Heck ford has a "super secret" recall on f-150s with 5.4 3valves with hanging injectors. Come in for a misfire, come out with a new engine!

But the only way to tell if an injector is hanging is either a pressure drop test (have to have a injector pulser) or to replace the plug and coil and see if theres still a misfire.

But yeah its still unlikely, but its always a possibility.

rjd2

What do you guys think of this? Good deal?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/99-04...Q5fAccessories

Bullitt2theHead

Buy it now for $40?! A motorcraft coil cost right at that depending on where you get it from. Go OEM.

But dont buy a coil until you know its the coil. Throwing parts at a car isnt the same as fixing a car.

WhiteFoxGT

I have seen the injectors hang up on the 3vs plenty of times... I am a Ford tech so this is not news to me, hell we have a F250 5.4 that just got a new short block because it hydro locked. This is nothing new, but in this guys case, Im pretty damn sure if his injector was hanging it would run like **** ALL the time, and not under heavy load...like a spark misfire..

rjd2

Can you provide me with a link to a legit website that has OEM or a good replacement coil, just incase?? Thank you.