Rough running explorer

[davidh9732]

I've tried looking through other threads and no dice on this issue. Got in my truck (1996 ford explorer limited awd v8) and idles fine in park, but idles rough and shakes in drive. Went to oreiilys and don got code 308 cylinder misfire 8. Dude said it could be wire, plug, or pack. I even read on odb website could even be catalytic converter if it smells like rotten eggs. I do get that faint smell sometimes when I stop at a light. Sputters when I accelerate and check engine flashes every few minutes or so. So my question is there any way to narrow this down? Don't have a lot of money to play the guessing game. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[davidh9732]

Anybody?

 

[MAS Tequila]

The least expensive things to try are the plug and wire.

Move the wire to a different cylinder and see if the problem moves.

MT

 

[J_C]

Pull the spark plug and look at it. Does it look good? If not, replace. If it does, replace that wire and/or consider replacing all wires. If you're REALLY cheap you can instead swap that plug with one from another cylinder, reset the ECM and see if a different cylinder code is generated as a result.

Check the condition of the fuel injector connector, looking for corrosion among other things. Try putting a jug of fuel system cleaner in the gas to clean injectors. Give that some time to take effect before considering replacing the ignition coil pack.

Catalytic converter is unlikely to cause a single cylinder misfire.

 

[davidh9732]

I tried replacing the one plug n wire and reset the computer. But after a few miles on the road it began with the same code for cylinder 8 misfire. Tomorrow I will try fuel injector cleaner, new fuel filter, and I think I'm just gonna go for the coil pack. And the plug and wire are brand new.....

 

[davidh9732]

Turned out it was the coil packs

 

[Flash]

The rotten egg smell was being caused by improperly burnt fuel because of the bad coil pack.

I was surprised to learn that some people think it's the cat that makes the sulphur smell, it's not, it's the fuel.

Good job on finding the fault, I was going to suggest a leak down test to see if the valves were ok.

 

[J_C]

Is the V8 not a wasted spark system? I had assumed it was and then if there was a coil pack module bad it would've caused two, not one cylinder misfiring, or was I misunderstanding that it only indicated cylinder #8 was misfiring?