1996 Grand Am cylinder 1 misfire

JAMIEFEREDAY

MEMBER
1996 ALL OTHER MAKES ALL OTHER MODELS

Okay, I'm a girl. Intelligent but don't know much about cars. Having said that, I took it into an auto parts store for diagnostics. They hooked it up, said I had a misfire on cylinder 1. The engine just shakes like crazy when stopped, it has a hard time getting up to speed, like the motor is working really hard to get going. Not the usual umph I am used to with this car. So my question is, is that expensive to fix? My boyfriend is pretty car-savy. Is this something he could do or am I better off to take it in?

Monday, August 21st, 2006 AT 12:26 PM

3 Replies

MIKEYBDMAN

MECHANIC
623 POSTS

Okay, I'm a boy. Stupid, but I know a little about cars. Ok, I am going to ask you a few questions. First, do you have a service Engine soon light? How did this parts supply clerk determine it was a missfiring no.1 cylinder? Can you tell us which type of engine you have in your car? (4 cylinder or 6 cylinder)
If indeed your no.1 cylinder is missfiring, then there are a ton of things that can cause this. Bad plug, wire, coil pack, fuel injector. Ect.
Did the parts guy say no.1 cylinder was missfiring, or bank 1 has a missfire?
As for your boyfriend fixing the problem, I would say he should be able to fix it as long as it isnt a major internal problem with the engine. Just have him do some trouble shooting before replacing a bunch of parts and costing a good bit of money.

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Monday, August 21st, 2006 AT 3:35 PM

JAMIEFEREDAY

MEMBER
2 POSTS

It's a 6 cylinder.O'reilly's hooked it up to their diagnostic machine and it kicked out that error. The check engine light is blinking furiously at me. But only when I'm actually moving. If I'm sitting still, it's just on but not blinking.

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Monday, August 21st, 2006 AT 3:58 PM

MIKEYBDMAN