check engine light and other probs

[teaminvasion]

well my check engine light has just come on and has been on for a few days now. i have a 91 teg ls and the car has been running fine except for when it first starts up and also i think that i am burning coolant because my engine keeps getting hot and i have to continually refill the coolant and there is no leaking that i can see. it starts up really rough and i have to give it gas in neutral for it to get back to normal before i drive it. could bad spark plug wires cause this? some times when i'm driving, the number 4 cylinder spark plug wire pops off the distributor. the runs rough when it pops off so i pull over and put it back on. the thing is is that when i rev it up when that spark plug wire pops off, it sounds the same as when i start up my car. has anyone had this problem or does anyone have some insight to these problems???

[BullShifter]

Dont ya think if the wire is poppin' off you should replace the wires? I think so. Personally I would be more worried about where the coolant is going than plug wires. Is there any smoke coming from your tailpipe? Seems like it could be a cylinder head problem : head gasket, cracked, or warped head.

1. Radiator pressure test w/ inspection
2. Compression test

[teaminvasion]

Originally Posted by jackasssi

Personally I would be more worried about where the coolant is going than plug wires. Is there any smoke coming from your tailpipe? Seems like it could be a cylinder head problem : head gasket, cracked, or warped head.

1. Radiator pressure test w/ inspection
2. Compression test

smoke only comes out of the tailpipe when i start it up after it has been sitting for a while. once it warms up it stops smoking. where can i have those tests done at and how much do you think they cost?

[BullShifter]

If it were a customer at my shop we would START will 1.0hr of labor to start.

[teaminvasion]

Originally Posted by jackasssi

If it were a customer at my shop we would START will 1.0hr of labor to start.

what do you think it could cost at the most to have them done???

[BullShifter]

We charge $65.00 per hour at my shop & the Honda dealer I worked for charges $92.00 per hour. Once the problem is found then an estimate can be made. If you dont do it yourself let the shop do its own diagnosis & testing.