89old blue

Whats up guys? new here and have a problem. My truck sputters once in a while hasnt done it lately tried everything new plugs,wires,rotor,cap,tps and cleaned throttle body. the truck has little power could not figure it out So i started pulling plug wires guess what i found? #1 has spark but the plug looks brand new and gas fouled?? tried a new plug nothing. I really need some help on this compression check has that cylinder at 165 psi. which from what i understand is good? exhaust smells like raw fuel. ANY help would cool couse i am stumped on this. Thanks guys.

LTrunner

ok so your porblem is with the air fuel mixture...check/replace your o2 senor and then check your afm, then while your in there check for vacume leaks...hope that helps ya

89old blue

okay thanks LT ill try that. Ive already re-ran the vacuum line couse half of them were clogged. the thing that gets me is if u pull the plug wire to the #1 there is no change at all in the engine. If u pull any of the other 5 wires there is a definite change in the rpm.

bill buttermore

Try this: Remove the boot end of the spark plug wire and the spark plug from #1. Take a new plug, insert it into the #1 boot and touch the outside of the plug against the head or block while someone cranks the engine and you check for spark. If you have a good spark there, you should have spark with the plug in place. The cranking should help to blow out any residual gasoline. If you observe no spark, swap wires with another cylinder to see if you have a bad wire. If you still have no spark, remove the distributor cap and see if there is a problem with the contact for the #1 plug wire socket. If you have spark on all the other cylinders it would seem that the problem must be between the distributor rotor and the spark plug. Sometimes pulling on plug wires can break them internally causing a miss. You may want to check the resistance on the wires to see if they are within spec.

If you have good spark, but the plug won't fire when it is installed in #1, maybe you have a really bad injector that is fouling out the plug.

bill buttermore

Another, more ominous possibility is that coolant is fouling out the plug and the smell of gas is coming from a normal amount of fuel provided by the injector. A cooling system pressure test should reveal whether you have any internal coolant leaks. If so, I would guess the most likely possibility to be a failed cylinder head gasket.

89old blue

yup thats the problem bill i put a new plug in the wire started the truck held against the block sparking like crazy. put that new plug in the truck nothing. i was leaning towards the injector stuck open??? couse the plug always comes out wet of gas. can injectors stick open??

bill buttermore

You bet they can. They can also stick closed, operate intermittently, drip gas into the cylinder, past the rings, and into the crankcase removing the oil film that protects the cylinder wall.

Don't rule out a possible coolant leak just yet. If coolant is leaking into the cylinder, and the injector is still working, you are gonna get a mixture of gasoline and coolant. It will smell like gas, but it won't ignite very easily. You could test this by dipping a plug in gasoline and (carefully) lighting with a match to see how easily it burns. If the same thing happens with a plug pulled from #1, then a bad injector is a much more likely probability, and head gasket less likely.

I hope the injector is your problem. Not that hard to remove the plenum and change one out. You just need to keep track of where all the hoses go so you can put them back in the right place.

Noltz

Yep, they sure can! Run into it all the time on Rav4's. A fouled plug can not fire - new or not. You can test it by removing the spark plug and putting a rolled up piece of newspaper down the plug hole. Turn the key on, wait a few seconds, then off. Pull the paper out and see if it's soaked in fuel. The injector should not open until the engine it turning over.

Another option, if you have a gauge, is to check your fuel pressure when you shut down. It should maintain ~30psi. A stuck open injector will bleed off that pressure.

89old blue

sorry it took so long to get back but heres the deal. Did the paper in the cylinder thing no gas the plug is still wet but i cant tell if its oil or coolant? the exhaust smells like a diesel but there is no smoke. well once in a while ill see a puff of white smoke. coolant is white and oil has a blue tint to right? thanks guys

89old blue

Just bumping the thread. Thanks