Questions and Answers
Missing Cutlass
Q. Hello, My car is 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, 3.1 liter V-6 engine, automatic transmission, 73,000 miles, fuel injection, ABS, power window, power lock, air conditioning, cruise control, rack and pinion steering.
Not long ago the "service engine soon" light was on. It went out several times, but most of the time it was on. It did not flash. I let an Oldsmobile dealer check it. He told me that the 3/6 ignition coil was bad, the ignition wires was bad, and I need a full fuel injection cleaning.
So I poured a bottle of Chevron fuel injection cleaner into the gas tank and asked a local mechanic to change the 3/6 ignition coil and all the spark plugs and wires. But after that the light was still on. The mechanic told me that the sixth cylinder was misfiring. He could not explain it. He tested the compression ratio and said it was okay. He told me to use the best gas for one week to see whether the light could be out or not.
I have to ask for your suggestions. Both the dealer and the mechanic think once the ignition coil, plugs and wires are replaced the misfire should be gone. However the light is still on. I am thinking whether it can be a bad fuel injector, a bad EGR valve (I just learnt this word from Internet), or something else? Is it easy to replace or clean the fuel injector and the EGR valve by myself on this car? I have not got my tax return money so I have to pretty much rely on myself now.
Thanks a million.
MingA. My problem with this is that you used two different shops to try to repair your problem. Why didn't you stay with the Olds dealer? I'm sure that their labor rates are close to what the "local" guy charges. My experience with dealers is that they normally stand behind their work. If they had put in the parts that they "claimed" it needed, At least you would know you had GM parts in it and they should have fixed it right the first time before releasing the car to you.
As far as to what's going on with your car, Do you feel it missing? Someone needs to drive it with a scanner to see if they can pick up the missing cylinder and then go from there. You could have a bad module, bad injector, or worse yet, sticking valves. We need to find out what's going on in #6 cylinder. before anything else.
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