-i not to long finishd the ls vtec...so i finally decided to start it...everyrthing seemd fine...until i noticed that my headers (that i painted over with hi heat paint) started changing colors...i dont care that its changing from silver to bronze....but only 3 of the runners are changing and one is staying silver....to me thats an indication that cylinders 4, 3, 2 are running and #1 is not...i checked for spark and im getting spark...i know i have to check for fuel but i dont have a multimeter...what can i do to check if im missing on cylinder 1?

 

anyone

 

If your sure your getting spark then it my be a bad or dirty injector? Or the fuel rail could be clogged at #1? Turn the ignition on and off ( without starting so you prime the fuel pump ) several times then pull plug #1 out and see if its wet with fuel. I dont know if this will help but im still brainstorming for you....

 

do a power balance test....basically while the car is running pull the spark plug wire out of the cylinder you suspect is missing and if there is a noticeable difference then it is firing but if the car sounds the same then it isnt firing. Even if you have spark it may not ignite if youre not getting fuel. Also, you can pull your spark plugs and inspect them to see if one is saturated in fuel or looks like it hasnt been igniting properly. Hope this helps.

 

It should be pretty obvious if the car is missing. Pull the plug wires one by one until you don't notice a change in the way its running. That will be your bad cylinder. Get or use a auto stethascope from a parts store and listen to all 4 injectors. Thats how I figured out which injector was bad on my supra.

 

-thanks for the replies.....im prettysure im missind cyl#1 i did the pull out the S/P wire trick....and no differnce in engine....and i know it cause i can hear it from the muffler...i yanked out other plugs one by one...and motor gave a differnt tune...but not with all in and #1 out......i will try the injector thing out....

 

if youre getting both spark, and fuel, then that means youre losing compression some where. whether it be bad rings, valves, etc.

 

ok, so you have it narrowed down to the #1 cylinder. pull the wire off and hold it next to the body with some vice grips (rubber on handles) and crank it over, if it sparks, you have spark obviously. replace the plug just in case. then its obviously a fuel issue. Since the other 3 get fuel, im guessing its the injector. For added insurance, listen to it with a stethascope.

 

-as i expected....i am getting spark ( attach a spark plug to the wire and crank the motor while i ground the plug)....and i got a constant powerful blast....i also pulled out the injector wire and attached it to another injector and it started spitting out what ever was in there and i listend for the pulsing and it beats....so im getting spark and fuel...i didnt do a compression test yet....but what else can i have done in the mean time while im waitin for the tester?

 

..wait you sure all your injectors are good, like you swapped them all around? Is the plug in cylinder #1 wet with fuel, if it isnt clean your fuel rail it might be clogged. If that isnt the problem it might be a valve problem, do a compression test and post the results. While your waiting you could just clean your fuel rail for *****'N'giggles.

 

-yup...im gonna do that and post back