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Ok, heres the deal. I was pulling onto Rt 1 today(for those who dont know, its a 45-60 mph road) and had to push teh pedal a little harder than i normally like due to the peterbuilt logo in my rearview. I noticed the tranny was hesitating like traction control was kicking in, but this was different. As soon as it happened the traction off light came on and the check engine light started flashung for about 10 seconds. the check engine light was already on for something like a leaking gas cap or something stupid like that. But anyways, now the car doesnt go past 2500 RPM when im driving. when it reached 2500 it hesitates and kind of shakes a little. The car is a 96 with 163000. any insight would be great

thanks

Flashing CEL means you are misfiring. You shouldn't even be driving the car at this point. You need to get the codes read with a scanner to see what the problem is. Sounds like an ignition problem.

Is your coolant level normal? What does your engine oil look like after driving? Pull the front three plugs. Do they smell like coolant?

I went to AZ and had them do the obd check. the problem was cylinder 6 misfire, so i figure i dropped a cylinder thats why it ran like poo. Also, the obd said something about a small leak in the emissions control or something, any guesses. autozone said i would have to do a smoke test to find it. anyway. i replaced the plugs with platinum 2 and the wires. I think i had the factory wires on the car, because the wires were numbered, also, i thing the plugs were from the factory.

You didn't use Bosch Platinums did you?

ya, i just read something pertaining to them, could someone go into further detail

Many here have found Bosch platinum plugs to work less than satisfactorily in our 3800 motors, for some reason. However, IMO if that's what you bought and they are working OK, then just be aware that you may have future problems with them before you would normally expect to from new plugs (just not always in my experience).

BTW, you really need to address the other concerns while you are at it.

1) Have you checked whether you are having any coolant loss?

willwren wrote:Is your coolant level normal? What does your engine oil look like after driving? Pull the front three plugs. Do they smell like coolant?

2) Have you investigated the emissions control leak? While you earlier dismissed the CEL you already had as a gas cap thing, it is just as likely not the problem. When your parts store tells you that, they get to sell a lot of aftermarket gas caps and only sometimes is that the real reason for that code. More likely is an evap leak or vacuum leak somewhere. This can often cause further bad running issues and needs to be addressed.

Check these things out and let us know what you find. We can help.

Yes, I have pulled the first 3 plugs and they smelled fine, not like coolant. I did a Radiator flush and the coolant level is staying put. I investigated the emissions control thing and i found the little pressure relieve bleeder valve had the cover off, i replaced it thinking that maybe the seal was a little old and the cover would stop the leak. I had AZ shut teh code off and its been 250 miles and it still hasnt come back on.

Bosch plugs do not do well in waste-spark ignition systems like this. Bosch is aware of that as well.

Your coils fire each cylinder TWICE per full revolution. Once on the compression stroke (for combustion/ignition) and once on the exhaust stroke.

Bosch Platinums begin eroding in a system like this from the day you put them in. Get them out now if you want any kind of reliability or performance. Don't do any troubleshooting on the symptoms you have until the Bosch plugs are gone. They're a variable you don't need the headaches from.

MISFIRE CYLINDER 6

Guys, this is DANGEROUSLY close to the failure point on the UIM. Actually, it's the closest point.

Ok, ill switch out the Bosch plugs, but why is cylinder 6 misfire close. The CEL isn't showing any problems. Like i said i had autozone clear the computers codes like 350 miles ago, still think its a sign?

A good sign to look for is the unexplainable loss of coolant. Cylinder 6 is the closest to the failure point on the UIM, so it will receive a good soaking in coolant when it goes. Coolant will quickly foul out spark plugs, and will set that cylinder misfire code. It very well could be JUST the spark plugs, but I wouldn't rule out the manifold either.