Help! My van is suddenly causing me tons of headaches!
About a week ago, I drove the van almost down to empty before I stopped and put gas in it. As I was pulling out the gas station, I noticed that the van was acting like it had no power and idling very rough. I talked to my husband about it, and he assumed that I had either gotten bad gas, or that I had some trash in the bottom of my tank that got into my fuel system when I let the tank get so low.
The next day, I was still experiencing the same rough idling problems. I stopped at a stop sign, and as I pulled off, the Check Engine Light started flashing. That evening, my husband took the van and had the codes checked. I had a misfire on cylinder 5 and a knock sensor code. He purchased and installed a new spark plug and installed it on cylinder 5. He also put a canister of fuel injector cleaner (HEET) in the gas tank. The van is still idling rough, although not as rough as before. The van also still misfires, but only when you have to hit the gas pedal very hard (going up a hill, pulling out in traffic....).
We have had so many people suggest different things. We've been told that the spark plug wires should be replaced, all 6 spark plugs should be replaced, new fuel filter, distributor cap or clean the photocell on the distributor...and the list goes on. Problem is, I can't afford to take stabs in the dark and randomly replace parts hoping it solves the problem. Nor can we afford a mechanic. My theory is that if it is a spark plug wire or distributor problem, the van would misfire all the time, not just when the engine is under load.
Has anyone ever experienced these kind of problems? Any and all advise is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.