P0301 mis fire HELP!!!!

Hi! I own a pontiac grand am, 1999. It started to make this very loud taping sound and started to use huge quantities of gas. Had vehicle put on machine and it states, code P0301, engine misfire cylinder 1. I asked the mechanic what can be done and was told the engine would have to be torn apart to figure out the mis fire. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!! I have ZERO knowledge when it comes to cars,and would hate to have to spend money to have the engine torn apart if I dont need to at this time.:uhoh: Thank you for your time!!!:p

Before a tear down, unless you failed to provide all the info, was there a loss of coolant, was a compression test done, is the noise internal in the engine, is the oil contaminated, all these issues would be addressed before a suggestion of tear down would be made.

Welcome to AF!
What engine do you hav?
Did the shop that got the Po code clear the code?

If they did, and your car still runs bad and uses alot of gas, its likly to be either the injectors, coils, or plug&wires.

I wouldnt think they would need to tear apart your car to figure this out.

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate your help. There hasn't been an appreciable loss of coolant. It was topped off when we had an oil change and tuneup about four weeks ago. There wasn't anything said to us regarding the oil being contaminated at that time. I haven't had a compression test, what does that type of test consist of? I checked the oil last week, and it appearred to be normal. Thanks in advance for your help.

Welcome to AF!
What engine do you hav?
Did the shop that got the Po code clear the code?

If they did, and your car still runs bad and uses alot of gas, its likly to be either the injectors, coils, or plug&wires.

I wouldnt think they would need to tear apart your car to figure this out.
Thanks for your questions regarding my problem. My Grand Am has a 2.4L engine. They cleared the service engine light, and said that the tapping noise is most likely coming from the internal engine, most likely the cam or chain areas. I had an oil change, and tuneup about 4 weeks ago and the service engine light started about two weeks ago. I do have a bad habit of letting the fuel run low which I understand can be a cause for particles clogging the injectors. If you were troubleshooting what steps would you take? I put gumout concentrated fuel injector cleaner as a first step. I don't notice a measurable difference in performance, primarily just poor gas mileage and intermittent knocking. What recommendations do you have in terms of fuel injector cleaner, next step in troubleshooting

If this started after the tune-up there may be a problem associated with the tune-up itself. There may be a cracked connector to one of the plugs or the plugs may be improperly gapped. This is where I would start. As for the teardown, find another mechanic and get a second opinion on the problem. A slight knock doesn't really mean anything and it could be due to the misfire condition. IMO the first mechanic just wants to take your money since you don't know a lot about cars.

Thanks for your questions regarding my problem. My Grand Am has a 2.4L engine. They cleared the service engine light, and said that the tapping noise is most likely coming from the internal engine, most likely the cam or chain areas. I had an oil change, and tuneup about 4 weeks ago and the service engine light started about two weeks ago. I do have a bad habit of letting the fuel run low which I understand can be a cause for particles clogging the injectors. If you were troubleshooting what steps would you take? I put gumout concentrated fuel injector cleaner as a first step. I don't notice a measurable difference in performance, primarily just poor gas mileage and intermittent knocking. What recommendations do you have in terms of fuel injector cleaner, next step in troubleshooting

Hey I pm'd you some helpfull info !

Hope it helps!

P0301 ....Cylinder #1 misfire!!!!..start there first....check plug, broken wire, coil pack.....compression check.....

I have seen mechanics....crack spark plugs and damage wires....