Ticking and Misfire Cylinder 1

[bleizit]

I have an intermittent problem and need some advice. About 30 minutes into a 6 hour trip, I noticed a ticking sound that immediately made me think of a lifter problem; however, I had new heads put on about 6 months ago (7,000 miles). I stopped at an auto parts store, added some valve-medic and it stopped ticking… for about 20 minutes. I continued driving and the ticking became intermittent…on for a while…off for a while…yada yada. Then I noticed power loss and as I told my wife we just lost a cylinder presto the check engine light fired up. I stopped at another auto part store and had the code read and I had two codes for a cylinder 1 misfire. Strangely, the power loss and ticking continued to be off and on again the rest of the trip. Yesterday driving around town there was not one ticking sound, power was normal and the check engine light turned off. This morning it was ticking for a bit, but the power is fine and the check engine light is still off.

I read other posts and found a reference ‘Tick could be valves, Cats, Miss fire, bearings in something... lots of things could make a tick’.

What diagnostic steps should I follow…any ideas…?

 

[99d2]

If it were me, I would put a new plug in cylinder 1 and check the plug-cable to make sure it hasn't burned up. If that doesn't fix it:

I had a ticking sound/loss of power on my 1999 D2 that really worried me. Figuring it was a serious, I was just getting ready to pull the heads but decided to try one last easy-fix. I drained a quart of oil and replaced it with transmission fluid then drove it hard for 40-50 miles. The sounds were louder than ever and the oil was a black as night when I drained it. I refilled it with Mobil1 synthetic and......no more sounds and the power was way up!

Unscrew the oil filler tube and try to take a look down inside the valve cover. If you happen to see darkish brown spots that are obviously hardened sludge, then you might have the problem I had. My guess is that the oil galleries that feed the lifters get crud buildup and don't allow the lifters to pump up to full height...thus there is some play that leads to the ticking sound. In my case, I believe the transfluid cleaned out the galleries.
I change the oil every 3-4k miles and have always used Mobil synth, so I don't understand how there is any crud developing---but it is clearly there and visible.

 

[joey]

As 99d2 states... I would change the plug and wire to #1... I would also check to make sure the oil pick up tube was not clogged (must drop the oil pan to get to it) or you could do the engine flush.. but not sure I would use transmission fluid... maybe diesel fuel....

 

[bleizit]

The plugs and wires are relatively new (2000 miles). I'm using NGK Iridiums and when I pulled the #1 plug it looked normal and compared identically to two others I pulled. I just pulled the stored codes and they are P0301 (Cyl 1 Misfire) & P1316 (Manuf Control Ign System or Misfire). Would running Seafom before an oil change be as good as running diesel fuel? When I last changed my oil (3000 miles ago), I flushed it with motor flush and dropped the pan to replace the sump gasket. Would you do it again? Could it be a heat issue and the coil pack? If I can't get this to misfire again around town, I'm going to run it a couple of hours on the highway and try to duplicate the initial conditions. Sound good?

 

[joey]

Seeing as it is a D1... Iridiums are not recommended... basic cheap champions are the plug of choice.

 

[bleizit]

I've read postings and heard complaints about not using plugs other than cheapo NGK and Champions;however, I've experienced almost a 5% increase in fuel mileage from the NGK Iridiums. I've been keeping records for over 3,000 miles and as NGK's guarantee... my fuel milage is improved.

Can anyone explain why this preference seems to exist with LR enthusiasts? I can see the reason as a cost savings, but I can't see how less voltage required to spark, burning fuel more efficiently, sparking at leaner air/fuel mixtures, and delivering higher horsepower and better gas mileage is a bad thing. I'm not arguing... I'm just genuinely curious!!

 

[joey]

Basically you dealing with a 1960's Buick 215ci engine... it doesn't like technology very well.

I know from personal experience that when better plugs are used and issues come up... then change them to cheap champions issues tend to go away... I have faith that this engine hates expensive plugs... kind of like a cheap date... it may be the only thing on the vehicle that you can get away with for so cheap.

 

[bleizit]

I'll swap out with cheap champions this weekend, clear my codes and give it a try. I'm beginning to wonder if this is possibly just an issue with highway driving. I appreciate all the words of advice and will update Monday with what happens!

 

[bleizit]

Update - Changed the plugs back to Champion after running a pint of seafoam through the crankcase and changing the oil. Lifter tick noise is completely gone. I could not get the misfire to come back via driving around town; however, once on the highway running between 60 and 70ish for 30 minutes.... it began to misfire again... codes are the same... a general misfire code and a specific cylinder 1 misfire code.

Could this be an indication that the coil pack going bad? Any other ideas?
I'm leaving the Champions in until this tank of fuel is gone to compare mpg.

 

[joey]

Could very well be the coil pack... if it is still showing cylinder 1... if the coil pack is going bad and it gets hot.. from running highway time it may very well be the issue.