96 Caravan 3.3l "bad cylinder" - help please!

Last week, my van started chugging and the keydance code indicated random misfire. I changed the front spark plugs and wires and it ran a little better but still showed the error. Took it to my trusted mechanic and he changed the back 3 wires and plugs and the coil pack. Code now showed misfire on one of the back cylinders(I forgot which one). 2 Mechanics both confirmed good spark and gas at the cylinder. He is saying that there is a mechanical problem in the cylinder and the fix would be over $1k. The van has over 250k on it so it's not worth the engine work. I asked about a compression test and was told that it's almost imposible to test the rear cylinders without doing a ton of work, and that they are 95% sure that it is a mechanical problem with the cylinder. I've known the mechanic for over 20 years and he is an honest guy, and knows that I won't do the exspensive repair, so he's not trying to rip me off.

I don't have the facilities or knowledge to do the work, so it looks like I'm screwed.

Is there anything else that I should be doing before I write the van off? It does run, but very rough at low speed, and no power at high speed, and mech says that the unburned gas will eventually screw things up.

Thank you!!!!

A compression check would be no harder than replacing the plugs. It needs to be done to show the condition of the engine. I sure would have liked to take a look at that plug from the cylinder that was missing. A random misfire code indicates to me something else might be up with your engine but from here a diagnosis is hard.

The rear plugs are almost imposible to get to on these vans and the mech says that the tester won't fit.

he has to remove the upper intake manifold, makes it faster and simpler, fel-pro makes upper intake set for this reason. and when that's off there is room back there for the tester

If the mechanic removes the wiper tub he should be able to get a compression guage on all the rear cylinders. It is not hard to remove the wiper tub.

Here's some pics of what you may be looking at and if this is the case it won't be as expensive as it could have been. Ask your mechanic: http://forum.chryslerminivan.net/showthread.php/38105-Broken-Intake-Exhaust-Spring-Code-P300

Thank you for all of the advise! I'm not sure that I would have spent more money on a 96 with 225k without your help but for $400 total it's running smooth as silk.

Took the van to a different shop that specializes on working with these vans. The mechanic said that the ECM was bad and pulled one from a junker and things were better, but then they found that the coil pack had a fault that damaged the original ECM. Replaced the coil pack from the same junker and all is good!

Other posts state the the ECM is the same the as the PCM on these vans. If that is true, my mileage is reading correctly and replacing the PCM is supposed to reset the mileage to the donor vehicle. :confused:

Bottom line, I don't really care, as $300 at this shop is cheep compared to replacement. The tranny has about 80k on it so my fingers are crossed and I will do a fluid drain and replacement soon.

ECM is a generic term used to describe the engine computer on just about any vehicle. Dodge calls their ECM the PCM. Just to get everyone confused even more, the BCM is the little wonder that stores and generates the odometer mileage reading. The PCM stores a mileage figure used by a states DMV for verification of compliance for emissions testing - at least that's what I read a while back.