help!

[midnightlilac]

OK, my car was running rough, with white smoke and strong gas smell coming from exhaust. It died out on me a few times as if it was not getting enough acceleration. Well, I coded it and said misfire cylinder 3 and 4. I also tried to shut down 3 and 4, but did not shut down. I switched 3 and 4 with 1 and 2, still did not shut down cylinders 3 and 4. Engine coils are good, engine module was tested and passed twice. Ok, fuel injectors 3 and 4 were leaky and I changed them out. New spark plugs and boots. New oil and filter..(There was gas in my oil and oil in my air filter.) With the new parts....my car sounds soooo much better!!! still a little rough, does not bog down, but it still has the strong gas smell and white smoke from exhaust..(gas smell soo bad I had to open all doors to the garage!!!! lol) What else could be wrong?!?! I'm getting frustrated!! It also has NOT ever over heated, does not run high.

[midnightlilac]

I'm now getting super fustrated! I just ran another code test and it says cylinder misfire 1 and 2..the injectors are receiving signals, and my plugs are getting spark..I'm not leaking fluids, still running super rich with lots of smoke. .white ish color..what else can it be or can I test before I hv to take my baby in??

[Tech II]

Well, would help to know the year, and engine size(assuming 4 cylinder, but which engine?)....

White smoke? Are you losing coolant? If so, sounds like a head gasket....

[midnightlilac]

Oh sorry..new to thread..I filled that all out..must not show up...1999 and 4 cylinder. ..not leaking any fluids..coolant level is good..changed out all 4 spark plugs and boots..new oil change and filter and new injectors in 3 & 4....pretty sure it's not a head gasket tho..not over heating, no leaks, etc... engine coils receive spark,ignition module passed 2x.. injectors receive signal, my cat is good so far, idk how to do a pressure test, so a friend is gonna do that..I'm at a loss...idk what the heck to test next???? Oh, its a 2.4 cam

[Tech II]

Well, ambient air has to be 40F or above to do this or in a heated garage....

We need to find out if it is fuel delivery or spark......disconnect the fuel injectors.....remove the snorkel......have someone crank the engine, and spray carb cleaner into the throttle plate......if the car runs with no misfire, then it's fuel delivery....if it still misfires, then it's secondary ignition(if compression is ok).....

More often than not, a misfire in the 2.4L engine is caused by the ignition tower that houses the coils.....they can carbon track and misfire....

[midnightlilac]

Thank you!! We never did do a pressure test last night..I needed a break from all this..lol when I first started working on it a week ago, I even went thru all my fuses to make sure it wasn't something small that would be over looked. Yes, it is in a garage, it's too cold outside to be working on it. Haha Thank you for the ideas!!! I did over look the coil housing. I'll keep you updated!! I should get my tax returns at the end of this week, so I may just tow it in a shop and have them do a scope check. But thank you for the ideas!!

[xeroinfinity]

with this cold weather i'd suspect the misfires are your injectors freezing/icing up.
which if its froze open then its going to run a little rich, and smell of gas in the exhaust.
But the white smoke would be from moisture in the oil or your burning it off. caused prob by a head gasket leaking, or other internal issue.

And they should have named the grand am 'misfire' instead.

[midnightlilac]

Thank you both for your suggestions and ideas!! It turned out to be my PCM. Which we thought of after we fixed everything else, but we weren't sure. I have my baby back and one happy lady now!!!!