1998 ACURA GSR
84,000 miles

The car has ran perfect with the exception of these last few days. A couple days ago, i mis-shifted from 3rd to 2nd. I caught it fairly quick and the car seemed to run fine for a couple days after that. A couple days later, my engine through cel's 22 (vtec malfunction) and 73 (random misfire on cylinder 3). I have already replaced my spark plugs and wires and have seen no improvements. I pulled each plug wire individually to see if i noticed any difference in the operation of the motor. The only cylinder that is not working right now is the one that is second in from the left when facing your engine. Any ideas as to why my car is still throwing the cells and running improperly would be great. thank you.

 

do a compression test

you may have bent a valve, or toasted your head gasket

 

I feel like a bent valve is probably the case because i have noticed my valve tick got much louder than it used to be. As for the head gasket...it would seem to me that it would be evident if it were blown...? The car still seems to run fine, and i dont have any black smoke coming out the exhaust. Are there any tips for telling whether or not your head gasket is blown?

 

go buy a compression gauge for 25 bucks

head gaskets can be tricky, and a compression test, while not full proof, is the best way to check short of pulling the head off

it will tell you if you have a bent valve aswell