Got misfire on ALL driver side bank cylinders (1-3-5-7) (2 Viewers)

[3EYORE]

Not quite sure if I understand this test. What should I look at once sprayed?

You want to have the engine running at idle and spay your choice of flammable spray like carb cleaner around the intake manifold. You want to listen for a idle change. The idle change could idle up or down depending on the spray used. But just listen for idle change. If idle changes then you likely have intake gasket problem. If you don’t hear an idle your intake gaskets are probably ok. So you are basically testing for vacuum leaks with this test. With this test make sure you don’t have any vacuum leaks from hoses or vacuum caps around the intake manifold because if you have other vacuum leaks the test will lead you down the wrong path.

Also just food for thought once you severely overhead any engine it effects the whole engine not just one bank. Not trying to be an ahole but your compression test numbers are really low.

 

[AFei]

You want to have the engine running at idle and spay your choice of flammable spray like carb cleaner around the intake manifold. You want to listen for a idle change. The idle change could idle up or down depending on the spray used. But just listen for idle change. If idle changes then you likely have intake gasket problem. If you don’t hear an idle your intake gaskets are probably ok. So you are basically testing for vacuum leaks with this test. With this test make sure you don’t have any vacuum leaks from hoses or vacuum caps around the intake manifold because if you have other vacuum leaks the test will lead you down the wrong path.

Also just food for for thought once you severely overhead any engine it effects the whole engine not just one bank. Not trying to be a ahole but your compression test numbers are really low.

Thanks for the detail explanation. Yeah, noticed a couple hose cracked. Will give it a try.

As far as the compression, it's now a concern to me. Not sure how severe it was overheated, but I can imagine the PO might have just kept driving it until dead after heater Tees broken. Will also try to find a reputable shop to do a diagnosis once I tried all the ways.

 

[medtro]

Yes, it's low. I don't know how accurate the test kit is which is cheap one from Amazon. However, at least it shows no difference between good cylinders and bad cylinders. So I think it's unlikely that the low compression is the cause.

I would loan a compression tool from Autozone/O'Reilly and do this test again since the results from this test is critical.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Agree with other assessments here. Make sure you get good compression from all cylinders. If the compression checks out then check the intake gaskets. My old 98 had poor quality after market intake gaskets that would rob engine of all power randomly and throw a check engine light.

 

[AFei]

I would loan a compression tool from Autozone/O'Reilly and do this test again since the results from this test is critical.

Agree with other assessments here. Make sure you get good compression from all cylinders. If the compression checks out then check the intake gaskets.

This will be the fun test for the weekend! Thanks for all suggestion, and Happy Independence Day!

 

[J1000]

Compression varies with altitude and density altitude, temperature etc but 130 is too low for Phoenix IMO. I just did a comp test on my engine over the weekend and got 145-150 psi on all cylinders and I'm at 6000 ft and it was 95F out.

 

[AFei]

Thanks for everyone's response. Finally I re-did the compression test with the tester loaned from AutoZone. If I didn't read it wrong, the gauge needle spiked over 200+psi for all cylinders during cranking. The engine was "cold" at outside air temperature of 110F.

Is it safe to say I got 190+ PSI compression for all cylinders?

Also, I ordered a cheap set of 8 new aftermarket coils at the price of 1.5 Denso coil, and a set of NGK 92479 Ruthenium HX spark plugs to test over the weekend.

 

[JimFromAZ]

Thanks for everyone's response. Finally I re-did the compression test with the tester loaned from AutoZone. If I didn't read it wrong, the gauge needle spiked over 200+psi for all cylinders during cranking. The engine was "cold" at outside air temperature of 110F.

Is it safe to say I got 190+ PSI compression for all cylinders?

Also, I ordered a cheap set of 8 new aftermarket coils at the price of 1.5 Denso coil, and a set of NGK 92479 Ruthenium HX spark plugs to test over the weekend.

AFei, did you try those new aftermarket coils and new sparkplugs? What's the result?

I have a 2009 GX470 with Bank 1 misfires, usually noticeable at idle, but I ignored the issue. RPM drops from 700/800 to about 500. The misfires were noticed by the guys at Leksfixit in south Scottsdale on Hayden when I had brought it in for a separate issue (CEL and VSC light on). I didn't leave it with them long enough to finish their misfire diagnostics because I needed the vehicle, but I plan to drop it off again soon. You may want to have them look at it. Take care, Jim

 

[AFei]

AFei, did you try those new aftermarket coils and new sparkplugs? What's the result?

Oh no. I thought I have updated and apparently it didn't get posted.

Yes, I have tried the new aftermarket coils and the new NGK spark plugs. Both works fine but don't fix the misfires. I still have misfire at all RPM ranges at driver side bank. Mainly on 1 but also noticeable on 3/5/7

Inspired by another thread where misfires was caused by the injector circuit, I also tested the ohm of all injectors and the voltage of its plug. All injectors are at 14.8 ohm which is slightly higher than the manual but I believe it's because of the higher temperature.

At this point, I think my DIY troubleshooting ruled out the issue with ignition, fuel injection, compression leakage, and head gasket leakage.

Before I running out of ideals and seek for professional diagnose, I have one more issue to address which I hope is the true cause. Basically I just noticed the "pro" technician at the dealership (Arrowhead) didn't install the bolt for the dipstick tube, but just ziptied it!!! It worked before when I checked the oil. However, now it seems the tube was popped out and when I tried to pull the dipstick, the whole tube comes out . I just got the new O-Ring and bolt, and hope this weekend to have a fine-running 2UZFE.

The misfires were noticed by the guys at Leksfixit in south Scottsdale on Hayden when I had brought it in for a separate issue (CEL and VSC light on). I didn't leave it with them long enough to finish their misfire diagnostics because I needed the vehicle, but I plan to drop it off again soon. You may want to have them look at it. Take care, Jim

Please update back your experience with Leksfixit. It's really hard to find a great knowledgeable honest shop now days.

 

[JimFromAZ]

Oh no. I thought I have updated and apparently it didn't get posted.

Yes, I have tried the new aftermarket coils and the new NGK spark plugs. Both works fine but don't fix the misfires. I still have misfire at all RPM ranges at driver side bank. Mainly on 1 but also noticeable on 3/5/7

Inspired by another thread where misfires was caused by the injector circuit, I also tested the ohm of all injectors and the voltage of its plug. All injectors are at 14.8 ohm which is slightly higher than the manual but I believe it's because of the higher temperature.

At this point, I think my DIY troubleshooting ruled out the issue with ignition, fuel injection, compression leakage, and head gasket leakage.

Before I running out of ideals and seek for professional diagnose, I have one more issue to address which I hope is the true cause. Basically I just noticed the "pro" technician at the dealership (Arrowhead) didn't install the bolt for the dipstick tube, but just ziptied it!!! It worked before when I checked the oil. However, now it seems the tube was popped out and when I tried to pull the dipstick, the whole tube comes out . I just got the new O-Ring and bolt, and hope this weekend to have a fine-running 2UZFE.


Please update back your experience with Leksfixit. It's really hard to find a great knowledgeable honest shop now days.

I was in Plano, TX this last week and spoke to the owner of Leksfixit for about 40 minutes last Friday regarding my misfires (he owns two shops, the one in Tempe and the one in Plano, TX). My misfires were categorized as "soft" misfires because no codes are generated, but the misfires can be detected by the system they use for troubleshooting. The owner said most components like fuel injectors, damaged wire harnesses and such should throw a code. This includes a bad ground which can happen when someone works on the engine and doesn't properly secure the various ground wires around the engine and/or engine bay. Anyway, gas quality can be an issue. They only recommend Top Tier gas (Premium is required), especially Chevron (of course, it's one of the most expensive almost anytime you check). In the past, they also said Costco gas was fine because it's described as Top Tier. But recently, to be competitive, they've come to the conclusion that Costco may not always purchase Top Tier gas. They are now recommending to stay away from Costco gas and use Chevron. I've promised them I would try Chevron for several fuel tanks to see if my soft misfires change or go away. So, I'll give it a try for a few months to see what happens.

 

[Mauser]

Oh no. I thought I have updated and apparently it didn't get posted.

Yes, I have tried the new aftermarket coils and the new NGK spark plugs. Both works fine but don't fix the misfires. I still have misfire at all RPM ranges at driver side bank. Mainly on 1 but also noticeable on 3/5/7

Inspired by another thread where misfires was caused by the injector circuit, I also tested the ohm of all injectors and the voltage of its plug. All injectors are at 14.8 ohm which is slightly higher than the manual but I believe it's because of the higher temperature.

At this point, I think my DIY troubleshooting ruled out the issue with ignition, fuel injection, compression leakage, and head gasket leakage.

Before I running out of ideals and seek for professional diagnose, I have one more issue to address which I hope is the true cause. Basically I just noticed the "pro" technician at the dealership (Arrowhead) didn't install the bolt for the dipstick tube, but just ziptied it!!! It worked before when I checked the oil. However, now it seems the tube was popped out and when I tried to pull the dipstick, the whole tube comes out . I just got the new O-Ring and bolt, and hope this weekend to have a fine-running 2UZFE.


Please update back your experience with Leksfixit. It's really hard to find a great knowledgeable honest shop now days.

Have you checked the wires to your crank position sensor? My sister's LX was having the same misfires and it ended up being the crank position sensor wires had not been routed properly by whoever did the timing belt. They were bouncing off the harmonic balancer and the insulation had been rubbed off. As they bounced around they would ground out and pop misfire codes.

 

[AFei]

Have you checked the wires to your crank position sensor? My sister's LX was having the same misfires and it ended up being the crank position sensor wires had not been routed properly by whoever did the timing belt. They were bouncing off the harmonic balancer and the insulation had been rubbed off. As they bounced around they would ground out and pop misfire codes.

Hmmm, not yet. Will try.

However, I constantly only got misfires on the driver side cylinders. Should any issue with such common components impact any cylinder randomly? The timing belt job was done 5 years ago, and not sure if they touched that part when worked on head gaskets.

 

[AFei]

I was in Plano, TX this last week and spoke to the owner of Leksfixit for about 40 minutes last Friday regarding my misfires (he owns two shops, the one in Tempe and the one in Plano, TX). My misfires were categorized as "soft" misfires because no codes are generated, but the misfires can be detected by the system they use for troubleshooting. The owner said most components like fuel injectors, damaged wire harnesses and such should throw a code. This includes a bad ground which can happen when someone works on the engine and doesn't properly secure the various ground wires around the engine and/or engine bay. Anyway, gas quality can be an issue. They only recommend Top Tier gas (Premium is required), especially Chevron (of course, it's one of the most expensive almost anytime you check). In the past, they also said Costco gas was fine because it's described as Top Tier. But recently, to be competitive, they've come to the conclusion that Costco may not always purchase Top Tier gas. They are now recommending to stay away from Costco gas and use Chevron. I've promised them I would try Chevron for several fuel tanks to see if my soft misfires change or go away. So, I'll give it a try for a few months to see what happens.

Thanks for the good information. I may give Leksfixit a try but only wish they are closer. Car can't be driven right now...

 

[awesomeissquid]

Have you looked in the valley of the engine? The knock sensors are up there. Maybe they have been chewed on? Not sure if a damaged knock sensor would cause a misfire, but each does control one whole side of the engine.

 

[FrankieJoe14]

Chewed knock sensors won't cause misfire. Mine were chewed once and it threw a code but ran fine.

 

[AFei]

Just an update that the root cause of misfire with all driver side cylinders should have been identified, with the help from Mac's Complete Auto Repair at Chandler/I-10. Apparently, it's the driver side CAT got clogged causing the issue. Just replaced the CAT and the engine immediately restored the full power and no more misfire.

Thanks for everyone trying to help!

 

[JimFromAZ]

Just an update that the root cause of misfire with all driver side cylinders should have been identified, with the help from Mac's Complete Auto Repair at Chandler/I-10. Apparently, it's the driver side CAT got clogged causing the issue. Just replaced the CAT and the engine immediately restored the full power and no more misfire.

Thanks for everyone trying to help!

Just to confirm, are you saying that Macs missed this clogged CAT? And that you discovered it on your own or elsewhere?

What was the cost?

Thanks…

 

[AFei]

Just to confirm, are you saying that Macs missed this clogged CAT? And that you discovered it on your own or elsewhere?

What was the cost?

Thanks…

Actually, it's Macs identified the root cause, for just about $180. They also did the compression test.
Tried with the dealer before went to Macs, with the hope that the dealer may have better equipment to find the root cause. It's a big waste of $250 as they just simply did the very basic troubleshooting of reading the code and swapping the coils . They even didn't bother hooking up their "professional" instrument to analyze the electronic data. After that, the dealer quoted over $500 to do things like compression test and/or leak down test.
For this, I highly recommend Macs for their knowledge and honesty.

For the fix, I purchased a Walker Exhaust Ultra EPA 53436 Direct Fit Catalytic Converter at Walmart, for easier 90 days return policy (just in case) and cash back rebate.

Installation was straightforward. Haven't replaced the gaskets yet but waiting for the shipment from Partsourq. Be sure to install the O2 sensor before putting the CAT on. I found the "Proudly Made in USA" CAT didn't meet the quality expectation. The welding beam seems a trainee to me (remind me doing the welding practice while in colleage). The stud bot to mount the O2 sensor wasn't in right position, and had to hammer it. When hammering, be sure to use a wood block to protect the thread.

 

[JimFromAZ]

Actually, it's Macs identified the root cause, for just about $180. They also did the compression test.
Tried with the dealer before went to Macs, with the hope that the dealer may have better equipment to find the root cause. It's a big waste of $250 as they just simply did the very basic troubleshooting of reading the code and swapping the coils . They even didn't bother hooking up their "professional" instrument to analyze the electronic data. After that, the dealer quoted over $500 to do things like compression test and/or leak down test.
For this, I highly recommend Macs for their knowledge and honesty.

For the fix, I purchased a Walker Exhaust Ultra EPA 53436 Direct Fit Catalytic Converter at Walmart, for easier 90 days return policy (just in case) and cash back rebate.

Installation was straightforward. Haven't replaced the gaskets yet but waiting for the shipment from Partsourq. Be sure to install the O2 sensor before putting the CAT on. I found the "Proudly Made in USA" CAT didn't meet the quality expectation. The welding beam seems a trainee to me (remind me doing the welding practice while in colleage). The stud bot to mount the O2 sensor wasn't in right position, and had to hammer it. When hammering, be sure to use a wood block to protect the thread.

Glad to hear there is another quality repair company in the Valley. I have a 2009 GX and have taken mine to LeksFixIt in South Scottsdale on Hayden, but they could not find the problem. They did say I have random misfires on the driver's side bank, but they couldn't diagnose what the cause is. My misfires may be happening all the time, but I notice them after I come to a complete stop at a red light or stop sign. Vehicle is in idle, under load (because I have the brake on). RPM goes from 750 down to about 500 for a few seconds then back to 750. This up and down continues until I release the brake and take off again. We switched gas (from Costco to Chevron), replaced gas cap, checked vacuum lines, etc. I might have Macs check it out. Who knows....maybe it's the CAT converter. Take care, Jim.

 

[AFei]

Glad to hear there is another quality repair company in the Valley. I have a 2009 GX and have taken mine to LeksFixIt in South Scottsdale on Hayden, but they could not find the problem. They did say I have random misfires on the driver's side bank, but they couldn't diagnose what the cause is. My misfires may be happening all the time, but I notice them after I come to a complete stop at a red light or stop sign. Vehicle is in idle, under load (because I have the brake on). RPM goes from 750 down to about 500 for a few seconds then back to 750. This up and down continues until I release the brake and take off again. We switched gas (from Costco to Chevron), replaced gas cap, checked vacuum lines, etc. I might have Macs check it out. Who knows....maybe it's the CAT converter. Take care, Jim.

I guess it doesn't harm to give Macs a try. After all, their charge of misfire diagnose sounds reasonable to me. Another reputable shop referred by my neighbor quoted over $500 for that...