rough running lumina HELP

[lumina9292]

i have a 1992 lumina euro 3.1 v6 W130k miles..the other day it was driven and ran fine...2 hours later it was re-started and ran real rough. bad loss of power and miss..The exhauet got red hot ...SOOO I replaced complete exhaust and oxygen sensor,checked plugs and wires,checked for error codes..none...ihave a lot of moisture coming from exhaust ..I have cheked as much of the emmisions system as i possibly could vacume lines also I am lost....Can some one please help. Wif just had 3rd child and i can't afford a costly trip to the shop....THNX

[Racincc85]

When you checked the plugs and wires, did you just visually inspect them or actually verify spark at each plug?

[INF3RN0666]

A really helpful tip would be, cut back on the children. LOL, just kidding. Congratulations!

Umm, like the guy before me said. Unplug one spark plug at a time and start the engine. See if it lowers the vibrations of the engine.

Put a higher octane fuel in the car and see if it makes any difference (It could be detonating :S).

Check your oil ! One time, my mom had NO OIL in her car and it was rough and red hot and OMG, I almost flipped!

Check your engine mounts. That could be what's causing the vibrations.

[Racincc85]

acutally unplugging a spark plug and starting the engine will increase vibration, because the engine will be running on less cylinders. SInce you are having vibrations and a very hot exhaust it souinds like you have a dead cylinder (the high amount of unburnt fuel in the exhaust causes the catalytic converter to get red hot) To check for spark, remove the wire from the plug and stick a phillips screwdriver into the end of it. You'll need someone to help you for the rest of this. Have them start the car, and holding the screwdriver by the plastic part only (if you touch any metal you'll get one hell of a nasty shock) bring the metal of the screwdriver near a piece of metal on the engine ( power steering pump mount, etc.) but don;t touch it, you need a slight gap. You should see a strong blue spark jump to the metal. If it is orangish or there is no spark, the coil is for that plug is weak/dead and needs to be replaced. If you do not feel comfortable doing this, take it to a shop. good luck!!!