1996 Ford Explorer Logo
Posted on Jan 20, 2010
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My 2000 explorer was missing and i changed all the plugs and wires. It's still misfiring. I took it to a shop and had a diagnostics ran and it said #2 cylinder misfire. the plug's brand new. Could it be bad? What should i do next?

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Make sure the oil level is not too high, since this can make oil come up the breather pipe and down the inlet, fouling sparklpugs with oil and causing a misfire - some engines foul one plug, some foul a few - this can cause just one plug to misfire and might be the cause of the problem - check the level on the dipstick.
Check the inlet manifold for leaks - any garage will do this - not difficult. and change the gasket if it is leaking...
Check the ignition module if it has separate parts for each plug, If it has separate coils for each plug then maybe one is failing. and producing a weak or absent spark on no2 (unlike and old style coil that run all the plugs). Take off the lead for plug no2 and put an old sparkplug on it (put the sparkplug against a grounded engine part to get a spark, start the engine and check if it firing strongly and regularly - a poor spark indicates ignition trouble.
Possible bad wiring /loose connection to injector no2. Check the connector going to the number 2 injector, it has a little pin like a big staple stuck in it, it's shiny and goes across the top, take out the pin by prizing it out with a screwdriver, hold it when it is a little way out with your fingers then prize it or pull it the rest of the way off, if you prize it all the way off without holding it it will spring away and you will never ever find it...

Possible clogged or dirty injector for number 2, --- have the injector tested, same place you got the code from --- if it is faulty then it needs replacing, but if the electronic side of the injector is fine then the mechanical side can also be worn out or dirty.
If the electronic side is broken then it needs replacing.
If the mechanical side is "worn out" then it needs replacing
If it is dirty, then it can be cleaned....
- see, a dirty injector tends to dribble, drip and make droplets of fuel that don't burn good and produce a misfire. - unlike a clean injector that makes a uniform spray mist - which burns great.
you "can" take the fuel rail off and pull out the injector and wash it in petrol VERY GENLTY. They are very delicate and are precisely made instruments - handle with care and get NO DIRT anywhere near them - The only thing they "like" is petrol - it will never do them any harm, you can bathe them in petrol.
The thing is - if it definitely IS a dirty injector you cant make it much worse by trying to clean it yourself if you have the ability - a good rinse in petrol and a gentle encounter with a soft cloth soaked in petrol to get it looking clean as possible might just bring it back to life.
they cost around £150 EACH or around $200
NOTE: When you take off the fuel rail (if you are experienced enough to know where and what this is) Petrol will LEAK out of it all over the engine bay if you are not prepared - so do it with a COLD engine, disconnect and !!!REMOVE!!! the battery and NO SMOKING - have some cloth tucked all round the fuel rail and have a few cloths handy to soak and mop up this petrol (about 200ml WILL come out, maybe double this) - if there is no battery and no heat and no source of ignition there can be no fire..
The fuel rail is secured by a few bolts along its length, undo each one a little at a time then once they are loose undo them fully and place on a clean cloth (get a cloth laid out first)
Then you put the cloths (mentioned earlier) round the injectors and some cloths underneath the injectors.
Then you slowly pull the rail away from the injectors, wiggle it a little, once it is so far off it will start to leak petrol - catch what you can with the cloths, pull it away a little at a time while dealing with the spilling fuel, trust me it will stop leaking once the rail is empty. once it is fully off you can then see the clean side of the injectors, Pull out injector no2 - only hold it by the body not the nozzle that was in the fuel rail, if you get any dirt or grit in the nozzle the injector can be ruined!
Put the injector onto a laid out, clean, lint-free cloth. get another clean lint free cloth and dip it in petrol, use this petrol soaked cloth to clean the "dirty" side of the injector - get it as clean as possible -(trying not to touch the clean end) there is a little pin sticking out of the "dirty end" of the injector, do not put any force on this pin, if it bends the injector will be no good, but saying that it is a machined steel pin and is reasonably tough, you can gently clean around it, but make sure the cloth is very wet with petrol and is COMPLETELY CLEAN and use as little force as possible to grit and dirt off the end of the pin and from around the hole the pin comes out of - then dip the dirty end of the injector into the petrol and swish it round to get it fully rinsed of any bits of stray grit or lint - NOTE: Once the fuel rail has stopped draining of its fuel and you have mopped up as much of the petrol as you can dont worry about little bits of fuel you cant reach - this job will take a good hour or two and it will all have evaporated by then.
This is a tricky job really and requires some delicate work and cleanliness when working with the components of the fuel system,.
Like I said dont do it if you're not sure,
AND - cleaning injectors like this is frowned upon in the business, many will tell you not to do it and only go to specialists (ultrasonic cleaning - expensive - may as well buy a new one) - but it's saved me money in the past and never damaged an injector.
If after all that it still misfires you can get the replacement injectors from the dealer or phone around your local motor shops and see if you can find a bargain - seen £150 at dealers and £79 at part shop... so its worth looking around. ------------------------------------- In order of whats probably wrong -
BAD HT COIL
BAD INJECTOR
LEAKING INLET MANIFOLD
VALVE OR PISTON WEAR OR DAMAGE
The ignition coil/module is easy to get hold of and no more than £100 $140? if you look around...
----------------------------------------------------
I tried my best... tell me how you get on..

  • Anonymous Jan 20, 2010

    MISSED THIS BIT OUT!!!


    After you take the connector off the injector (the staple shaped clip and all...) you need to check the condition of the electrical contacts in the connector, if they appear dirty or corroded then you need to clean them up, hard to do since they are so small but if you persevere with some sandpaper you can make an ok job of it and hopefully restore a good connection to the injector

  • Anonymous Jan 20, 2010

    oh, refitting the injector is the reverse of taking it out -


    make sure you get no dirt in any of the injector nozzles, push the rail down dead straight with equal force on either side, wiggle it gently till it is seated home and the bolt holes line up...
    tighten the bolts of the fuel rail a little at a time from left to right till they are all quite tight, dont know the LB/FT...
    reconnect the battery and start it up, if theresd no difference you need an injector.



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Next best thing to do is to conduct a compression check.a low compression will result in a misfire

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