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Car is running strange

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:14 pm
by Guest
About a week ago, my ses light came on. The code said that cylinder 5 was misfiring. Well, the light went back off. Now, when I drive my car sometimes, it will feel like Im running out of gas when Im trying to accelerate. It chugs. But it goes away after driving the car for about 8 min. Whats wrong? Does the car just need a tune up or what? Sensors? Please, any help would be appreciated.

96 Z26 3100

Car is running strange

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2005 1:06 am
by gtuturbo
Maybe the cylinder is misfiring. What's the plug look like?

Car is running strange

Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 1:27 pm
by Twitch21
You mean it sort of jumps on accell? When I had that it was an intake leak. Sucked extra air = bad air/fuel mixture = computer compinsates = chug-a-lug.

Car is running strange

Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2005 10:28 pm
by rweatherford
Check the plugs.  If any of them have deposits on them I would suspect a leaking intake manifold gasket.  Get it fixed ASAP or you risk ruining the engine due to coolant contamination of the oil system.

This is a common problem on 3X00 based engines.

Car is running strange

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2005 1:29 pm
by 96BlackRoseZ26
My 96 exhibited the same symptoms you are describing, and this was after replacing the intake manifold gaskets.  When I did that job, I had put in Bosch Platinum plugs and new wires, and had run for between 3-5K miles before it started happening.  The GM Tech-II tool showed a lot of misfires on a couple of cylinders so I pulled the plugs and checked them.  The center electrode on the plugs was eaten away.  As it turns out, other people with GM's electronic ignition had run into similar problems.  They were saying that the spark was too hot, and that it was causing the platinum from the center electrode, to burn away.  Sure enough, I was able to stick a needle down inside the porcelain where the electrode should have been.  Of course, if the electrode is getting chewed away, the spark gap is going to increase, and then it starts running like crap.  I put the AC Delco platinum plugs that were supposed to be in the car in, and haven't had any problems since.  Might be worth checking out, but I would definitely start at plugs and wires.

Car is running strange

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2005 7:01 pm
by Guest
I had the same problem also - was a bad coil pack.