Recently the car has been having an ocational missfire and smells a bit rich. In the mornings i'll start the car run for about a min or two then die start it once or twice more and it stays on. Once hot if i put a load on the engine either lights or the heater fan kicks in at idle at a stop she starts seeming to be struggling to stay idling well. Any sugestions or routes of checking? I planed on doing plugs and wires on it soon. But wondering if it needs more then that.
Some of your symptoms sound like and EGR valve issue to me.
Is the 'Service Engine Soon' light on ? If so, I'd check for codes as well, they're good indicators of what's going on.
You can check the EGR valve's passages for build-up and clean them with a wire-wheel. Only thing is, you'll most likely need a new gasket to screw it back on.
Your symptoms like 'dies when cold', 'rough idle' suggest a probable 'always open' EGR.
[EDIT]: As Gall stated always a good idea to check grounds and add at least 1 good one. This solves a lot of weird issues and is pretty cheap to do.
[This message has been edited by benoitmalenfant (edited 09-04-2013).]
Most misfire issues are related to old plug wires, improperly gapped plugs, or a cracked, worn, or corroded distributor cap.
If you have a multimeter, your plug wires shouldn't measure more than 10K ohms per foot of wire... so no more than 20K - 30K ohms end to end. If you don't have a meter, then simply spray some water (mist) over the wires while the engine is running at night and watch to see if there are blue sparks jumping from the wires to the block or other metal. If so, that's a sign the plugs gaps are too large or the wires are too old.
If you don't get sparks, then remove your distributor cap and have a look at the posts inside... they may be covered in white or green powder. Clean them off and that should solve most of your problem.
(Edit spelling... turns out there's no such thing as a mullet-meter)
[This message has been edited by Bloozberry (edited 09-04-2013).]
@bloozberry thanks as always. But to note i pulled codes got 12 13 21 and 44 not sure if some of that is from checking with no running engine but might be time for a few parts
Well, with code 13, your O2 sensor isn't working so you're running in open loop all the time and it's no wonder you're getting poor fuel economy. Code 21 means your TPS isn't working, which is a major sensory input device for the ECM to calculate the amount of fuel to spray, and Code 44 is probably just a reaction to the TPS not working. (Code 12 just means your ECM is working fine). Certainly start with the known problems before trying anything else.
@bloozberry alright tomorrow get paid so starting with plugs wires and the O2 sensor possible the tps sensor. If i've got enough going to check the timing of the distributor as well. Other then that noting i actually had a stall even hot. But as i checked today codes are consistent 12 13 21 44
