2.2 litter 4 cylinder problem.

[Truck_Man]

I have a GMC Sonoma with a 2.2 litter engine. I was driving it and after it warmed up it started missing really bad and the engine light came on. Today after it cooled off I opened the hood, started it and it ran good for a little while, after it started warmming up i started to hear a loud pop, or snap, when it got fully warm it started missing again like one cylinder was not fireing at all. Does this sound like bad plug wires to you guys?

If it is these and i change them, is there a way that i can reset the computer so the engine light goes out?

[gmtech]

Sounds like it could be and i have had problems with the 4cyl plug wires. You can verify it by spraying them down with like a water bottle at night in the dark and watching the light show. To clear the code after replacement disconnect both battery cables and tough them together for 30 seconds that depletes the capacitors and will clear the code. Hope this helps

[chevyguy]

Yip, sounds like spark to me. What year is it?

[Truck_Man]

Hi chevyguy, it's a 1999. My brother in law said he had a problem with one of the wires when it had 20,000 miles on it. I dont know what symptoms he was having though, I did'nt try to wet them down at all yet. The pop and snaping noises sound like they are coming from around the plug wires where they hook to the spark plugs although I couldnt see any sparks. The thing of it is though is these wires are very hidden incertain areas.

I notice from the plugs they go over the top of the valve cover between the valve cover and the intake ductwork, down the front passenger side of the engine back to the coil pack that is located on the rear lower passenger side of the engine in the area where a starter would normaly be located.

I dont like the location of this at all, you can see spater marks all over the coil pack where muddy water from the road has gotten all over it. I dont like any electronics or other electrical componets in areas that are prone to conditions like this. I dont know why they did'nt stick to the HEI distributor. But thats the way they set it up.

[chevyguy]

If you can hear ythe spark jumping from the wires then replace them. Might as well throw new plugs in while you are there

[Truck_Man]

Originally Posted by chevyguy

If you can hear ythe spark jumping from the wires then replace them. Might as well throw new plugs in while you are there

Thats what Im going to do, I sure wont run it at all anymore until I get the money to fix it. I am going to replace the plugs to, I figured as cheap as they really are I might as well if I have it down that far, even though my sevice manual says it can run 100,000 miles before changing them. I always say anytime somebody has to change plug wires they should also change the plugs and whenever they change plugs change the plug wires too. I never have changed one without changing the other. Good to talk to you again.

P.S. I like the camaro in that avatar of yours, it would be awesome if they would bring one back that looked like that. Camaro, Mustang, Dodge Charger all = American Muscle! Keep cool dude!

[Truck_Man]

My mechanic is thinking cataltic converter, I did notice when i pulled in the drive with the truck the day it started acting up, there was steam rolling off my truck bed above where the exhust, and i do notice a funny smell comming from it when the truck warms up. I know it's not the head gasket because the coolant level hasn't gone down at all. The snaping noises im hearing are probably the exhust pipes or manifold getting to hot.

The truck runs pretty good until it warms up, my mechanic told me what is happening is when it warms up the inside of the catalytic converter swells and starts causing restriction and it doesn't take a lot of restriction to have it start acting up. He told me to disconect the catalytic converter enough to bleed off some of the back presure and see if it still acts up, if the problems clears with it disconected then i know that is the problem, however he said dont drive it like that as these newer vehicles have to have a catalytic converter on them or you can mess them up.

He told me the constant flashing engine light is the oxygen sensor, probably from too much back pressure and overheating it. The oxygen sensor may be ruined, i dont know.

[gmtech]

It could be the cat convertor resticted and there are recalls and special policies for them on some of the s10s if you give me your vin I can check and see if it is covered. As far as the flashing check engine light the only time it flashes that I know of is for a misfire or potential converter failure. Any time a vehicle is driven with a misfire from a bad plug or wire there is always potential to damage or shorted the life of the convertor do to the raw fuel getting into it.

[Truck_Man]

Originally Posted by gmtech

It could be the cat convertor resticted and there are recalls and special policies for them on some of the s10s if you give me your vin I can check and see if it is covered. As far as the flashing check engine light the only time it flashes that I know of is for a misfire or potential converter failure. Any time a vehicle is driven with a misfire from a bad plug or wire there is always potential to damage or shorted the life of the convertor do to the raw fuel getting into it.

Just called the GM dealer and there was no recall. The truck just started acting up. Ive only drove it three miles acting up I wont even run it anymore. Before it was runing fine so it's not like it has been driven a long distance like that. There is no spark comming off the wires anywhere even when they are damp and there is no way I can see that those plugs should be bad with only 46,000 miles on it. Claims in my manual that this engine will go 100,000 miles before the plugs need changed.

Ill try to disconect the catalytic converter, and start it and let it run until it warms up and see if it acts up. The steam that was rolling of the truck bed obove where the exhaust run tells me that something got awfully hot where that exaust runs.

[gmtech]

If you give me your vin number I can check for recalls and find out your delivery date since emmisions are covered for 8yrs 80,000 miles so if it is the convertor which if you can only drive a few miles before it looses all power that would be my guess. If your under the 8/80 the convertor would be covered under warranty.