Fuel injector - easy to clean?

[Charles_cz]

Hi everyone. I went through many problems with my Malibu 98'. :-(

For few last months the engine has been misfiring ocassionaly. Ususally right after start. Never in middle of driving. Cold or hot engine doesn't make any difference. Rough idlle and vibrations, flashing Service Engine Soon were signs of misfiring I guess. After few minutes of iddle running problem was gone except Service Engine Soon light on (Code stored in computer??) and I could drive like nothing has happened. No sign of any problem.

Today light is still flashing indicating misfiring. It would't go away anymore.

I've got these diagnostic trouble codes:

P0141 - HO2S Heater Circuit Sensor 2 (Bank 1 Sensor 2)
P0300 - Random/Multiple Cylinder misfire detected

I've erased the codes. New code came up.

New code - P0301 - Cylinder 1 misfire detected

P0141 is not there anymore.

The car has new spark plugs, wires, Air and Fuel filter, PCV valve. .


Can anybody help me (if possible) locate the problem. Could that be clogged fuel injector for cylinder 1? Is that something I can solve in my garrage? How bad is to drive car if one cylinder is misfiring. I hope it's only one.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks Charles

[desertmike1]

I have a 98,
Sense day one, and after cold start only, it does a pop pop in the exhaust. I have never had a check engine lite (knock on wood)
Many differant problems will cause your missfire, vacuum leak, improper fuel delivery, leaking EGR valve, ignition system ect.
There is no simple answer, you might start out by just giving your engine a good look over for possible loose hoses, wires, components ect.
Buy a can of carb cleaner, and carefully spray around all of your induction starting at the air box and moving in toward the intake manifold to cylinder. Be carefull, the carb cleaner is flammable, so avoid spraying things like ignition coils, alternators, and exhaust. I would do this on a fairly cool engine.
If you spray across a leak your engine RPM will rise momentarily.

This should be a good start.

-Mike

[bcopeland]

Any additional information? For the past several weeks, my 99 3.1 runs like it is ready to run out of gas. It will stutter at 10 - 20 MPH and after a while get up to speed. It seems to do this at red lights. I thought it was bad gas. Then it will pick up. It stops doing this for about a month then does it again. Yesterday, it gave me a code P0300 and it blinked twice. Any ideas what this may be? I was told to replace plugs and wires, but I have 8K miles on both.

[momotram]

MY 98 Malibu is also having these issues. I have a P0171 code (the fuel system for bank 1 was too lean). It could be the MAF sensor, oxygen sensors, plug wires, fuel injector cleaner, vacuum leak, ignition misfire
What should I do?

1) Pay for a $60 diagnostic test to hopefully accurately diagnose the problem.
2) Replace the 2 oxygen sensors and hope that fixes the problem

Thanks.