I've been told the 6th cylinder of my engine is.

Tiny
BURCHWHITEB
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 PONTIAC MONTANA
  • 94,000 MILES
I've been told the 6th cylinder of my engine is not getting compression anymore and therefore the entire 6th cylinder needs to be replaced. My question is, does the engine need to be removed from the car in order to replace this cylinder? Is it located in the front or the back of the engine? Thanks in advance for your help.
Wednesday, October 31st, 2012 AT 7:32 PM

9 Replies

Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
Most likely its a valve issue causing that has a cylinder leak down test been done yet?
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Wednesday, October 31st, 2012 AT 7:41 PM
Tiny
BURCHWHITEB
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
The service department at the dealership told me the entire 6th cylinder unit needed replacement. The engine light came on and was blinking. I had it towed, and they originally said it could be fixed with a heli coil (not sure of spelling). Two weeks after the heli coil was put in, the same thing happened again. That's when they told me there was no compression in 6th cylinder and it needed replacement. That's why I'm trying to find out if this repair requires the engine to be removed, or if the cyclinder is in the front or back of the engine. I don't know what you mean by a valve issue, but I'm assuming they did some test to diagnose this problem. What do you think?
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Wednesday, October 31st, 2012 AT 7:53 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
Its a rather unusual thing to replace unless there talking about a cylinder liner?Also do you have any paper work from when you took it in?
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Friday, November 2nd, 2012 AT 2:13 PM
Tiny
BURCHWHITEB
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Well, he definitely told me the entire unit needed replacement, so I no he didn't say anything about the cylinder liner. I don't have any paperwork on the repair at the moment, but I plan to go and get a written estimate on Monday. I'll get back to you then. Thank you so much.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Friday, November 2nd, 2012 AT 9:14 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
Your welcome maybe he is talking about replacing the engine block?Keep me posted.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, November 3rd, 2012 AT 12:50 AM
Tiny
BURCHWHITEB
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Hi, I have more information now and am following up our previous conversation. I double checked and found out that what they want to do is replace the cylinder head on the 6th cylinder. Apparently they tried to fix the cylinder by using a helicoil and this did not work, so now they say the entire cylinder head needs to be replaced. Is this a common problem? It's a very expensive repair.

Also, I spoke to another mechanic at a different repair place, and he suggested a different type of repair that might work that would be faster and cheaper. He suggested drilling a larger hole where the spark plug is and replacing it with a larger spark plug. He said this would work even though it would be a different type of spark plug than the others that are used in the car. Does this sound like something that might work to you? Would it be safe to have different types of spark plugs in the car?

I really need my car fixed, but really don't have $2,000 to fix it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Tuesday, November 20th, 2012 AT 4:49 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
Alright your talking about the cylinder head that would be for cylinders 2 4 and 6 cylinders. Its not really common for the plug holes to b stripped out.I would have tried a a timesert to repair the plug hole not hellicoil the timeserts are much stronger and are actually a whole new thread sleeve. You could go with a bigger diameter plug as long as it has the same reach meaning the length that screws into the head. Its worth a shot if the head is no good anyways what do you have to loose. But I would ask about them putting in a timesert though that may work where thehellicoil failed.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Tuesday, November 20th, 2012 AT 9:01 PM
Tiny
BURCHWHITEB
  • MEMBER
  • 5 POSTS
Thank you so much for this suggestion about the timesert. I will talk to them tomorrow morning and see what they have to say about this idea. If they don't seem to be receptive, I'll have to try someplace else. I really appreciate your help with this. I'll let you know what happens. Happy Thanksgiving!
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Wednesday, November 21st, 2012 AT 4:00 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
You're welcome thats what were here for hope you have a happy thanksgiving giving as well.
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Wednesday, November 21st, 2012 AT 5:03 AM

Please login or register to post a reply.

Sponsored links