firing on 2 cylinders?

OK... it's a 95 Escort Wagon with a 1.9 ltr automatic.

I accelerated hard to pass another vehicle and I lost power. The car is now running on 2 cylinders. Cylinders #2 & #3 are not firing at all. I pulled the plug wires on both cylinders and there is no change in the way the engine runs. I have plenty of spark to the spark plugs but still nothing.

Any ideas?

Head Gasket?

I'm out of ideas!! HELP

Could be bad injectors, or collapsed lifters even on an overhead cam engine. Pull the valve cover and see if the valves are moving. If not then the problem is with the lifters. If they are the problem probably lies with the injectors.

OK... it's a 95 Escort Wagon with a 1.9 ltr automatic.

I accelerated hard to pass another vehicle and I lost power. The car is now running on 2 cylinders. Cylinders #2 & #3 are not firing at all. I pulled the plug wires on both cylinders and there is no change in the way the engine runs. I have plenty of spark to the spark plugs but still nothing.

Any ideas?

Head Gasket?

I'm out of ideas!! HELP

I guess you need 3 things to make an engine run: Fuel, Spark and compression. I know your getting fuel because cyinders 1 and 3 are going. You've checked spark and it's ok. That leaves compression. I think you are right. It's the head gasket . That would explain why adjacent cylinders are not going. Are you getting coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant? Is there steam coming out of the tailpipe? It seems unlikely that the valves or pistons in 2 cylinders would go out at the same time, but it is possible. Run a compression check if you can. If a squirt of oil in the spark plug hole increases compression the problem lies in the rings. If it doesn't come up after a squirt of oil it is most likely the valves or head gasket. Another thing you could do first would be to take the plugs out and see if they are coated with oil or coolant. This could give you an indication of the head gasket. Try that first. I still agree with you. It has to be the headgasket. GTP dad could be right, too. It could be the lifters or injectors. I didn't think about that. Good luck.

Thanks for the input.

I will check the compression as soon as possible.
I do not see any water in the oil or staem from the exhaust. If the compression is good, I will look into the valves and injectors.

The car only has 62,000 miles. Was not really expecting head gasket problems so early in its life.

I've seen similar things happen with 1 cylinder when a carbonned up engine..OR one that just had some junk put in the gas or oil..loosened up some crap/it got into the combustion chamber/fouled a plug.The old days blow out the carbon..LOL..do it with OLD plugs as you sometimes ended up having to change ALL of them.Pretty easy to pull 1 plug do a plug check,compression check.There is also the off chance that you will find low compression..because a valve isn't closing due to some crap getting on the seat or stem/guide..or a lifter getting stuck.2 low compression cylinders side by side= headgasket.(especially after this).

Hold on, I'm calling foul on this HG idea. Why would a blown HG cause no firing on that cylinder? It should still fire, just get really bad compression - blown HG dosn't even equate into the "holy triangle" (Air, fire, fuel). Plus its not like you'd just POW blow a HG passing in traffic like that.
Do you know that you're getting a spark to plugs 2 and 3? You can check by pulling em, and setting them right next to the block while the car idles, you should get a spark/arc out of it. If not, then then the prob is probbaly in the elctronic ignition module. If so, then it's likely fuel related - check the injectors; #s 2 and 3 prob not getting a signal from the ECU.

Hold on, I'm calling foul on this HG idea. Why would a blown HG cause no firing on that cylinder? It should still fire, just get really bad compression - blown HG dosn't even equate into the "holy triangle" (Air, fire, fuel). Plus its not like you'd just POW blow a HG passing in traffic like that.
Do you know that you're getting a spark to plugs 2 and 3? You can check by pulling em, and setting them right next to the block while the car idles, you should get a spark/arc out of it. If not, then then the prob is probbaly in the elctronic ignition module. If so, then it's likely fuel related - check the injectors; #s 2 and 3 prob not getting a signal from the ECU.
The head gasket could be blown between cylinders 2 and 3 without there being any indication of oil in the coolant or visa versa. I haven't seen the crankshaft but I think that when cylinders 1 and 4 are in the down position, cylinders 2 and 3 are in the up position in order to counterbalance the crankshaft while it is rotating. This leads me to believe that the problem may not be a head gasket, rather something electronic like the ignition module which fires when either the 2 or 3 cylinder are at the proper postion during the timing sequence. I would remove spark the plugs from cylinder 2 then cylinder 3 keeping the spark plug wire connected to see if the plug itself is firing. Look at the plugs to see if they indicate any kind of an engine problem like being wet and oily or carboned up. If the plugs are firing and they look good, check to see if the wires themselves are arcing and may be bad. Although a dirty fuel injector should not be ruled out, its probably unlikely that the injector for cylinders 2 and 3 both got blocked at the same time. But, its still worth checking to be sure. Youcan swap the injectors if push comes to shove I guess. Hope this helps.

Blown head gaskets OFTEN produce a compression of 0..especially in adjacent cylinders.IF they are indeed blown AND IF there is some compression..the compression must be above about 80psi for it to even fire on starting."Running" compression can and indeed is often measured.Running or starting compression of 80 or so..is just not enough for a cylinder to fire.An engine with even 100psi will do SOME work and can be felt.
This is very easy to figure out in this case.The engine is NOT firing on 2 cylinders.Spark has been verified.There has been sort of a load balance/running test done as stated.The engine runs the same with those leads off.Bad plugs..2 at the same time? Not likely..BUT possible.2 injectors failing at the same tme..not likely.BUT possible.Valves sticking..closed? due to a buned off cam lobe? I doubt it..not likely but possible.Head gasket..adjacent cylinders..happened when engine run hard.Possiblle.Probable.When a compression test is done..that is a pretty simple basic test.Yank the plugs,do a comp. test.If it is ok..there is still the chance that 1 of the valves isn't moving enough..pull the valve cover..put in 2 known good plugs and look elsewhere.

Thanks for all the help guys!
I will be looking into all of these possibilities this weekend when I am off of work.

I just changed my Head gasket recentlly and because it has a Hairline fracture.

the signs were:
1)losing coolant quickly
2)car shakes after warm up(because the gasket crack expands after it warm up and loses compression) as told by my mechanic.

3)when i pull my misfire cyl sparkplug out, its abit wet around the threads and there was a white coating around the tip(rust maybe) due to coolant getting into it.

I suggest you pull all ur misfiring spark plug out and see if its wet compare to the other ones....if its wet, you probably got a head gasket problem.


I HAVE A QUESTION HERE ABOUT HEAD GASKETS
i dont want to make another thread because this is related.
My question is if the crack in the head gasket is a tiny hair line fraction, will a bottle of "stop radiator lead" seal the fracture? it cost only $3-$6 dollars and i spended $800 to fix it at the shop.

Cooling system sealers have been around forever.There are as many different brands,types.Some dirt cheap.Others EXPENSIVE!.There are testimonials from reliable people..friends,trusted experts that this or that worked/didn't work.I have used/tried a LOT of them over the years and would again..depending.I dunno..some work or may work under different circumstances.I have seen/heard some work personally BEAUTIFULLY!! saving a REALLY HORRIBLE!!! heater core replacement in a few cases..for a few bucks of junk in a bottle.One time permanent fix. I have ALSO seen/heard them personally PLUG! up radiators pretty much INSTANTLLY..several minutes.. to the point where it was NOT!! a rad leak..BUT NOW!! the rad is ruined. I have also seen them PLUG up heater cores pretty much instantlly..and CAUSE! a REALLY HORRIBLE heater core replacement...WHEN that was not the problem.

I am not going to condemn or praise 1 product or another.From my experience and several others known and read.The powderred aluminum flake type seems to be FAR!! the best for sealing leaks.AND PLUGGING stuff up to the point of ruining it.
The ALL liquid types seem to be the least harmful and OFTEN do NOTHING.

I have no stake in "Bar's Leaks".They have been around forever.I have not seen or heard of any problems with their product.I would try this..a few cans..in ANYTHING (keep a couple cans in the car)..AGAIN in a heartbeat.However to be fair..I have also seen it NOT work and had to resort to something stronger.RISKIER.

Ask a LOT of experts and you will get a lot of different answers,opinions.Many saying NEVER put junk in the cooling system.

Please also keep in mind the sheer complexities of modern cars,cooling systems and different components in them.Circulation,restrictions etc., WOAH! the sheer number of heater core related plugged up too little circulation problems WITHOUT any junk EVER put in.And you will think twice.See a couple of different heater cores and how fine and CLOSE the cooling fins,tubes are and you wonder how even coolant can circulate..let alone trying to put junk in there to plug a leak.

Remember too that what you see might be a minor leak..somewhere..no big deal.You put some junk in that seals that BUT you now again allow full cooling system pressure and INSTEAD of leakin where it was..that exposes a weakness in the heater core when fully pressurized and it bursts.AND the junk can't fix that leak.Not pretty or fun.

Sorry if this is long...BUT! big,BIG BIG!! dollars,AND problems go into repairs AFTER people have put stuff in the rad.There are a HUGE number of automotive experts who say IF you have a leak then FIX the leak.DO NOT! put junk in the rad.Fair statement.Been there done that many times.A simple easy to fix leaking engine core plug turns into a plugged AND expensive big job heater core no heat no defrost fix outside in the WINTER AFTER putting junk in the rad.

Be warned.

Hold on, I'm calling foul on this HG idea. Why would a blown HG cause no firing on that cylinder? It should still fire, just get really bad compression - blown HG dosn't even equate into the "holy triangle" (Air, fire, fuel). Plus its not like you'd just POW blow a HG passing in traffic like that.
Do you know that you're getting a spark to plugs 2 and 3? You can check by pulling em, and setting them right next to the block while the car idles, you should get a spark/arc out of it. If not, then then the prob is probbaly in the elctronic ignition module. If so, then it's likely fuel related - check the injectors; #s 2 and 3 prob not getting a signal from the ECU.

The man stated he was getting spark to cylinders 2 and 3. I stand by what I said. This is a forum and everybody has a right to their opinion, but opinions are like assholes, everybodys got one.