Anybody know how to tell what is wrong with my car?

[morea]

Short of taking it back in to the mechanic, who is closed for the night?

1998 Chevrolet Cavalier... 114K miles, mostly highway.

Sounds to me like the damned thing is misfiring on one cylinder, it's running rough and makes me mighty nervous about driving it 120 miles a day...

Not sure what could be wrong, or more importantly, what that is going to mean to my checkbook. Anybody have any ideas?

We are one, our cause us one, and we must help each other if we are to succeed. ~ Frederick Douglass

[Bear]

could just be your plugs need cleaning, or resetting the gap, it might have worn just enough not to arc.

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[Silence04]

explain a little bit more... you said its a sound, right?

what kind of sound? grinding, high pitch squeel, banging, poping, 'nails in a tin can' sound?
does the sound happen randomly or is it constant?
if it is constant, does it get faster as you speed up?
if it is a loud banging/thumping/popping sound, can you feel the vibration?
how much vibration, hard like a sledge hammer hitting metal or mild vibration ('vibrator-like' lol)?

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[PrintDriver]

Morea you shouldn't be driving 120 to work.
Oh, 120 miles, not 120mph.
What Bear said. Check the cables to the plugs too. Sometimes they don't get seated back on correctly if the mech is in a hurry.

PD is a grande format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing

[morea]

it sounds like it is running really rough, and makes sort of a medium-pitched humming noise while I am accelerating. If I push on the gas with it in park or neutral it revs and falls, I wonder how to explain it better? It sorta goes rrrRRRRRRrrrrRRRRRrrrrRRR
even though I am applying constant pressure to the pedal... popped the hood and did it again, and could hear a sort of popping sound, which, to my limited knowledge, sounds like a misfire.

We are one, our cause us one, and we must help each other if we are to succeed. ~ Frederick Douglass

[woodwardo]

Sounds to me like a spark problem, where it would be plugs, wires or maybe a distributor cap?? I don't know much about cars tho...

-- eff.

[Silence04]

yeah, that what i was gonna say.... whats probably happening is that a spark plug is loose, creating an opening for the pressure from your ignited fuel to escape (instead of pushing your cylinder back down)... which makes the sound of small rumbling explosions, the sound probably increases at you use more fuel.

make sure your spark plugs are in all the way, you will to pull off those X# of hoses (X being how many cylinders your car has) and then try tightening the Spark plugs with a socket wrench (spark plugs are located where you pulled the hoses from).

actually, instead of tightening them, take them out and look at the ends of them... you may just need to buy new ones at the auto part store if yours are in bad shape.

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[Ryan8720]

If you haven't had an oil change in a while, you might want to do that and add some Slick 50 or some other anti-clatter liquid.

And it is definitely coming from the engine right? It's not your muffler?

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[BOSCOW]

O2 sensor

'No Lois I am not drunk, I am exhausted because I have been up all night drinking.'

[BOSCOW]

if you have never replaced that It is probably it, it is cheap to, my dad is a mechanics teacher so if that doesnt work (besides the spark plugs he said to then go to your fuel injectors)

'No Lois I am not drunk, I am exhausted because I have been up all night drinking.'

[morea]

thanks for the feedback guys... hopefully the blasted thing won't break the bank... THIS time!

We are one, our cause us one, and we must help each other if we are to succeed. ~ Frederick Douglass

[Ryan8720]

I know what ya mean Morea. I car is much older than yours and I just go through a bunch of repairs that nearly broke the bank. It's all good now except something is slowly draining my battery and I don't know what it is.

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[shellebelle]

If you're going to be checking out the spark plugs yourself it'd be best to enlist the help of someone who knows their way around cars. Improperly removing/reinstalling spark plugs can really create a mess.

I want a refund. My life didn't come with an owner's manual.

[Ryan8720]

And messing with the distributor cap can be a shocking experience.

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[Bear]

make sure you remember the order of the plugs, number them one - four before taking them off. they should be numbered anyway, but it's best for you to do this also

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[C.E.]

Or just get a 12pack and drive to the country, find wherever the lifted trucks are parked, and offer the nearest dude the 12pack if he can fix your car. ;)

[C.E.]

Of course........ that's how

<---- HE got here

....

ROTFLMAO

[Bear]

cowgirl, there's something very endearing about that story, almost brought a tear to my eye this early in the morning

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[morea]

LOL @ CE!!! That's a riot!!!

We are one, our cause us one, and we must help each other if we are to succeed. ~ Frederick Douglass

[C.E.]

hehe. but ya know? my vehicle got fixed!!!!