ok, owner of a 1996 ford mustang with a 3.8 V6 engine at 75,500 miles so far, heres a quick rundown.
i did a tune-up a almost a week ago cause that 3,000 mile mark was approaching and she was burning a little more gas than she should, so i changed the oil, air filter, PCV valve, fuel filter and transmission fluid (its a auto) and it was doing fine until about 2 days later, the condition started to deteriorate.
i noticed that at 100mph on my way home from work, the engine was running at 4,000rpm, and i know this car well enough to know it never switched into 4th gear, remained in 3rd. so i came off the highway (my my exit anyway), and pulled to the side. nothing was leaking out nor did anything looked abnormal but i began feeling and hearing a rough idle coming out the car. couldnt figure out exactly what it was (being 1am), but the car started losing power.
6 months ago, i had the engine oil, PCV valve, fuel filter, air filter, spark plugs, spark plug wires, IAT sensor, one fuel injector for cylinder 6 (thing was expensive as hell at the time for each) and coil pack swapped out and the MAF cleaned out because of a similiar instance of this loss of power.
now the OBD-II scanner showed me codes P0305, P0303 and P0174. to play it safe, i decided to swap out all the spark plugs for new ones and noticed 1 plug out of cylinder 4 was coated in black, but couldnt tell if it was carbon deposits or leaking oil. I ran 2 tests to pinpoint the exact cause for the misfire and discovered that while the injectors were still doing their job via the sound test, i took unplugged each spark plug wire and noticed no further dips in the RPM when the wires to cylinder 1 and 4 were removed. the sparks are getting their voltage but a second time i removed the plug, i caught them wet with oil.
now i did a quick swap with the valve stem seals on cyl 1 and 4 and it barely smoothen out. from what i read on other topics here, im trying to rule out the O2 sensors but i may got no choice. P0174 is like screaming out at me, i know it lol
if anyone can help me out, where else do i look? what else should i tinker with?
i did a tune-up a almost a week ago cause that 3,000 mile mark was approaching and she was burning a little more gas than she should, so i changed the oil, air filter, PCV valve, fuel filter and transmission fluid (its a auto) and it was doing fine until about 2 days later, the condition started to deteriorate.
i noticed that at 100mph on my way home from work, the engine was running at 4,000rpm, and i know this car well enough to know it never switched into 4th gear, remained in 3rd. so i came off the highway (my my exit anyway), and pulled to the side. nothing was leaking out nor did anything looked abnormal but i began feeling and hearing a rough idle coming out the car. couldnt figure out exactly what it was (being 1am), but the car started losing power.
6 months ago, i had the engine oil, PCV valve, fuel filter, air filter, spark plugs, spark plug wires, IAT sensor, one fuel injector for cylinder 6 (thing was expensive as hell at the time for each) and coil pack swapped out and the MAF cleaned out because of a similiar instance of this loss of power.
now the OBD-II scanner showed me codes P0305, P0303 and P0174. to play it safe, i decided to swap out all the spark plugs for new ones and noticed 1 plug out of cylinder 4 was coated in black, but couldnt tell if it was carbon deposits or leaking oil. I ran 2 tests to pinpoint the exact cause for the misfire and discovered that while the injectors were still doing their job via the sound test, i took unplugged each spark plug wire and noticed no further dips in the RPM when the wires to cylinder 1 and 4 were removed. the sparks are getting their voltage but a second time i removed the plug, i caught them wet with oil.
now i did a quick swap with the valve stem seals on cyl 1 and 4 and it barely smoothen out. from what i read on other topics here, im trying to rule out the O2 sensors but i may got no choice. P0174 is like screaming out at me, i know it lol
if anyone can help me out, where else do i look? what else should i tinker with?