94 Passport 3.2l misfire

[tomsmyth]

I have a 94 passport 3.2 4x4 5sp. with 180k miles and had what i thought was an injector problem, so i replaced 2 that i knew went bad(used a stethoscope to listen to them) and replaced all the seals and clips. also replaced the IACV. got everything back together and it ran like crap for a while until i realized i had forgetten to reattach the brake booster vacuum hose, got that taken care of and it ran like a dream for maybe 4 hours. was on my way home and topped off the tank and when i went to leave to gas station the truck started running like crap again and it took a minute to start.

sypmtoms at the moment are is it has a miss or two, i just changed the plugs and wires, tested for spark and no problems there that i know of although i'm not sure if the spark should arc back on the coil if you take the plug wire off the tower.

a loud whirring/grinding sound under the hood(think its the a/c comp, but not sure)

what sounds like a vacuum leak but i checked all the lines and they're in good shape and the upper gasket was put in with silicon sealant on both sides so it isn't that. nuts/bolts properly torqued.

the exhaust looks normal but real thick with a very strong gas smell, and the exhaust burns my eyes just getting anywhere near the fumes, no coolant smell or excess water vapor coming out of the tail pipe or muffler drain hole. not losing any oil or coolant and no coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant.

engine light not coming on but it did throw a VSS code but the check engine light didn't come on while i was driving and the book said to check the harness at the ECM for proper connection and otherwise ignore it. checked and nothing was loose.

am going to get a fuel pressure test gauge and have the coil packs/ICM checked this weekend.

from what i've read and a gut feeling i think it might either be the fuel pump or the timing belt.

i know the timing isn't adjustable but does anyone know what the timing should be set at?

is there a way to determine if it is out of time with a light?

any other thoughts on what it could be?

any help would br greatly appreciated.

[FL 3.2L]

Could it be the water pump beginning to seize? It'll take the timing belt with it. Ask Ramblin' Fever. How many miles on the current timing belt and water pump? You could remove the upper timing covers and take a peak...

You might try pulling those new plugs to see if any are fouled already. If you find a bad plug, swap the coil packs and see if the miss follows it. Unburned hydrocarbons are making it out the tailpipe - not good for the cats. I've seen 2 trucks with a single bad coilpack, both '97s, and both really chugged. It wasn't like an isolated miss every few seconds. It seemed like the cylinder wasn't firing at all, but it would improve a bad at higher rpms.

Curious to know what you find!

[Cat Fuzz]

Pop the hood in the dark and look for arcing. Don't start wondering about ignition timing. If it is off, the ECM is getting bad info from something. For some reason, your getting too much fuel.

[tomsmyth]

Originally Posted by FL 3.2L

Could it be the water pump beginning to seize? It'll take the timing belt with it. Ask Ramblin' Fever. How many miles on the current timing belt and water pump? You could remove the upper timing covers and take a peak...

You might try pulling those new plugs to see if any are fouled already. If you find a bad plug, swap the coil packs and see if the miss follows it. Unburned hydrocarbons are making it out the tailpipe - not good for the cats. I've seen 2 trucks with a single bad coilpack, both '97s, and both really chugged. It wasn't like an isolated miss every few seconds. It seemed like the cylinder wasn't firing at all, but it would improve a bad at higher rpms.

Curious to know what you find!

i'm as curious as you are. makes me wanna go back to a carb car.

it's the same with what mine's doing, runs like crap at idle but at higher rpm's it runs a bit better but still missing. as soon as the rain stops i'll be checking the plugs for fouling(which i should have done before this), and will take the icm and coil packs to be checked.

[tomsmyth]

pulled the plugs today and all are carbon fouled. also when i started it it ran fine for 10-15 seconds and went back to running like crap. i'm thinking it's an ignition problem, maybe even a bad set of wires. when i pulled the wires it seemed like they came off way too easy and noticed that the stem part that goes on the plug on a couple of the wires were loose and were sliding up into the grommet section that seals the wire to the valve cover, so they probably arent getting a proper connection. they're under warranty so i'll go switch em out asap and see what happens. as stated previously, i'll be taking the ICM and coil packs in to be checked this weekend.

if anyone else has any suggestions, please let me know, thanks.

[FL 3.2L]

I'm just remembering now that your ignition setup is a little different than mine. You have 3 coils, while I have 6 coil packs in a coil-over-plug setup. Changing wires sounds like a good start. Which brand of plug did you recently switch to?

[tomsmyth]

Originally Posted by FL 3.2L

I'm just remembering now that your ignition setup is a little different than mine. You have 3 coils, while I have 6 coil packs in a coil-over-plug setup. Changing wires sounds like a good start. Which brand of plug did you recently switch to?

i replaced the denzo's with ngk's. also switching out those plug wires today, i'll post back in a few hours with what happens.

[FL 3.2L]

It'd be odd for all three coil packs to fail at the same time...

[tomsmyth]

just got back from the parts store, ICM tested ok and have the new wires on, and now it seems like it's running even worse. i just wish it was possible to see if it's out of time without having to take the timing belt covers off. looks like it's off to the shop for the old girl.

yeah, it would be very odd for all of them to go out at once. but stranger things have happened, especially to me, lol.

[tomsmyth]

forgot to mention that when i took the coil packs off, one of them had green corrosion in the terminal that the ICM plugs into. not sure what it means, but it was just the one coil pack.

[FL 3.2L]

Do you still have that whirring sound? How many miles on the old belt?

[tomsmyth]

Originally Posted by FL 3.2L

Do you still have that whirring sound? How many miles on the old belt?

yeah, the sound is still there. and i have no idea how old the timing belt is. hasn't been changed since i've had it and the guy i got it from didn't have it changed so i'd have to say it's at least 5 years old.

think i'm about to break down and take it to the shop.

[Ramblin Fever]

Before you run it to the shop, read your pm message I sent you and check for ANY type of clear/watery fluid under the timing belt covers, in front of the oil pan.

[tomsmyth]

ok, crawled under the truck but didn't spot anything leaking or wet, although i did notice one of the bolts on the transfer case isn't tightened down all the way and it's got a small leak. also checked out all the brake/fuel/vacuum lines while i was under there and they all looked pretty good. couldn't see any damaged or disconnected wires/harnesses. gonna change out the fuel filter just for kicks. i'm pretty positive it jumped time though, fuel and ignition systems checked alright and just by the way it runs. also pretty sure there's a vaccum leak somewhere, i just cant find it. wish it would at least throw a code or something to give me some kind of idea.

thanks for the info guys

[Ramblin Fever]

If you'r timing's off, it probably will not throw a code...mine didn't anyways.

Did you take off the timing belt cover?