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Engine Troubleshoot - Please Help!
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Righty123
New User
Nov 30, 2016, 5:04 PM
Post #1 of 5
(1873 views)
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Engine Troubleshoot - Please Help!
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Hoping to get some advice from the crowd here about my situation:
Make/Model: Buick Century
Year: 2003
Mileage: 143K
Issue: Bought car used (third owner - no crashes or major engine work) with oil / filter changed in July 2016. Engine was intermittently heating (twice redlined for 1 minute but would quickly cool back to normal this past mid week.) Drove car 68miles on HWY and on way back later in the week and heard a knock and began feeling recoil in engine with CEL turned on - was able to drive home approximately 50 miles.
CEL checked with P0302 code (cylinder 2 misfire.) Had spark plug checked and coils and seemed to be fine. Wet compression test on that cylinder showed 66psi that rose to 105ish. No leak down test performed. Other cylinders with 125+ PSI. Car was diagnosed to have worn rings and I put in engine RESTORE with improvement in recoil during idle. Car overall drives smooth with expected loss of acceleration time.
I don't have the $$ as a I work for free to help veterans at my local hospital and barely saved to have this car to get to & from work (approximately 15 miles each way.)
Any recommendations from the crowd on what I can do to keep the car running for another 7 months or so (mainly for commuting.) The CEL continues to blink and was wondering what kind of damage I could expect to the catalytic converter? Do you guys think I could keep doing oil changes with Lucas Oil Stabilizer & Engine RESTORE every 30000 miles to prevent the engine from going down? Should I disconnect my fuel injector to prevent further blow-by? Do you guys think I can ride the car out for the 7 or so months I am looking to get out of it?
Thank you in advance! 
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Nov 30, 2016, 5:51 PM
Post #2 of 5
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Re: Engine Troubleshoot - Please Help!
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That's like cutting a man's leg off and asking him if he can cross a 500 mile desert.
There really is no way to tell you if something like that is going to last 7 months or more. Eventually the unburnt fuel from the misfire is going to bake the cat and you'll end up with loss of power or even a no start. All that unburnt fuel is also getting into your crankcase and diluting your oil. Why don't you have a leak down test done to see what is causing your loss of compression? 3.1L don't really have ring issues unless they are majorly overheated or ran without oil.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Nov 30, 2016, 5:59 PM)
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Righty123
New User
Nov 30, 2016, 6:51 PM
Post #3 of 5
(1846 views)
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Re: Engine Troubleshoot - Please Help!
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Thank you for your help! I will look into getting a leak down test performed. Does it make any sense to cut to fuel injector to that cylinder to prevent mixture of fuel into the crankcase / cat break down? Also, if it is the rings a engine rebuild would most likely be needed, correct?
Thank you, again.
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Dec 1, 2016, 5:17 AM
Post #4 of 5
(1823 views)
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Re: Engine Troubleshoot - Please Help!
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If you are going to continue driving it, unplugging the injector would keep the raw fuel out of the exhaust. The O2 sensor is going to report a lean due to the air charge of the dead cylinder which will cause the other cylinders to get trimmed rich. The other cylinders are going to be working harder.
If it does end up being a ring issue or something that would be costly to fix you, you'd be better off getting a good used engine from the salvage yard that has some sort of warranty than trying an overhaul. Some salvage yards will actually install the engine for you.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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kev2
Veteran
Dec 1, 2016, 6:52 AM
Post #5 of 5
(1814 views)
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Re: Engine Troubleshoot - Please Help!
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compression 66 that rose to 105psi... - TRY working as sticking rings... an inexpensive hail mary
Pour A few Oz's of top end cleaner into cykinder for a few hours and blow out thru plug hole... And a new AC delco plug...
Just a thought
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