Only running on 3 cylinders - Engine Troubleshooting


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Only running on 3 cylinders

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Lizzie
New User
Lizzie profile image

Jan 14, 2007, 5:14 AM

Post #1 of 3 (1791 views)

Only running on 3 cylinders	Sign In

A few months ago I bought my first car, an '89 Ford Laser (with a carbie). A while ago I noticed it kind of jerked when I took my foot of the accelerator, but it only happened on and off, and not too badly, so at first I didn't worry too badly. But then it started doing it much worse, and I had a lot of trouble getting her started. When the engine is cold she'll stall if I'm not revving her and in the lower gears, she jerks quite violently. I got my dad to look at her as soon as it became bad, and he reckons she's only running on 3 cylinders. We're going to replace the spark plugs and distributor cap, but my dad doesn't think that's the real cause and only part of the problem, but he doesn't know what else it could be. Any ideas?

steve01832
Veteran
steve01832 profile image

Jan 14, 2007, 6:07 AM

Post #2 of 3 (1783 views)

Re: Only running on 3 cylinders	Sign In

You should start with a compression check on all cylinders. The compression guage should jump up to 50-75 lbs. on the first puff. The third puff should be around 120 lbs. If compression is low on all 4 cylinders, check timing belt/chain. If compression is ok on all 4 cylinders, proceed with ignition and fuel testing.

Steve

Lizzie
New User
Lizzie profile image

Jan 22, 2007, 3:03 AM

Post #3 of 3 (1765 views)

Re: Only running on 3 cylinders	Sign In

Thanks for that, so far no luck with anything we've tried, we have yet to try the compression test. It's looking like it might be a valve though, so I'll probably get a professional to have a look since it's beyond our capabilities.

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