There again - it sounds like a reasonable place to look. I have to wonder if either or both of those (kickdown and converter) would flag a code, though... I'll have to look through my listing of trouble codes when I get home and see if those are listed. I can easily check to see if the kickdown is vacuum operated, but I'm not sure on mine without looking.

As for the o2 sensor, I'm ready to put a bomb on it at this point, so we're definitely outside the bounds of advisable!

 

Hopefully someone can offer some insight, but I have the E4OD tranny, and the chilton book only shows a vacuum actuated kickdown on the C6. Heck if I know, you could tell me it's got a flux capacitor and I'd wouldn't know any different!

It looks like there are codes for most of the tranny related things anyway, so I'd hope that if it were an issue that the computer would let me know.

In terms of the o2 sensor, that booger is still not moving... If it quits raining, I think I'll take one last shot with another neighbor who is the size of a small building. Maybe he can either break it loose or break the whole exhaust pipe. If I didn't have an exhaust leak before, I'll probably have one before this sensor gives in.

I might call the muffler shop if no luck tonight, and schedule a time to have it cut out. Ahh... my money...

 

Some trannys have a vacuum modulator, some have a kickdown cable, some have both, but yours has neither. It is completely computer controlled. The torque converter will only give a code if it's not locking in. I think you can heat the sensor with a torch and it will help in removal. I think that's what people do with stuck bolts. If you hadn't stripped it already I would suggest cutting it off with a sawzall to get a socket on it, but maybe you can beat one on or spot weld it on.

 

Tried the torch tonight... along with a 3 foot breaker bar... and 4 of the biggest neighbors I could find... and it's still not moving. I'm calling the muffler shop tomorrow to see if they can cut the little 3" crosspipe that the sensor screws into and weld a new one in.

I'm tired, I'm sore, I have no skin left on my knuckles, and I now have the whole neighborhood frustrated. Time to give in.

 

A big-*** pipe wrench, a pipe slid over the end to get 2 1/2 -3 Ft. overall length w/ a floor jack on concreate w/ max tourqued position before wrench reaches parallel to ground. It's easier w/ 2 people to set up. Hasn't failed me yet, on a lot larger items. Don't get your nose to close once to torque starts developing.

 

damned thing's in a bad spot... There's only about 1/4 turn to work with between the suspension arm and the other side of the exhaust pipe. And that 1/4 turn is coming down - if you can get past the exhaust pipe, there are transmission lines in the way, and that's the last thing I want involved with a jack and a lot of pressure...

I had the biggest pipe wrench on it that would fit in the space, and about a 3 foot cheater on the wrench. Nothing...

I set an appointment at the muffler shop for tomorrow, and they can quickly cut it out and have it ready for the new sensor. This has got to be it - I can't take much more!

 

I took the truck to the muffler shop this morning to get the old o2 sensor cut out and a new bung welded in for the new one. That's done... and I have good news as well as bad news.

The good news - I took the whole day off to get this done, so I still have plenty of time to tinker with the truck.

The bad news - the O2 sensor didn't help.

The silver lining around this storm cloud is that the mechanic working on the truck said "dude - that thing has a bad miss in it! You might want to put some new plugs in it, or have us check to see if it's something else."

So... It has new plugs, new wires, new cap, new rotor. I'm getting ready to check to make sure I didn't get wires mixed up right now, and I'm also gonna pull one wire at a time to see which cylinder it is.

In the meantime - what are some likely causes? I have a new tail to chase, but I'm not really sure what all I should be looking for.

Thanks again for all of the guidance!

 

And the winner is... cylinder #3. It was the only one that didn't have an impact on the engine idle. Pulled the plug and it was fouled with oil. Cleaned the plug up and put it back in - still missing.

Maybe this thread just converged with my ticking thread - sound like a bad valve seal, could it be a bad coil pack, or am I overlooking something simple?

It just seems odd that this was 'intermittent' a couple of weeks ago, and now it's constant. I have no idea what I'm talking about, but wouldn't a fouled plug or valve problem be constant instead of coming and going? At the moment, the truck runs smooth for 1-3 minutes from a cold start before the missing starts to happen, but it's constant after that.

 

Sorry for the play-by-play here, but maybe it'll help.

I swapped the plug from cylinder 3 with another one, still missing on 3 - not the plug.

I swapped the wire from cylinder 3 with another one, still missing on 3 - not the wire.

What other options are there?
Seems like the coil would be erratic, missing on various cylinders or not working at all?
The distributor is computer controlled - possible issues? There are no codes for mis-fires or anything like that.
Can I pull the plug and connect it loose to see if there is spark? Or will I end up zapping myself or damaging the truck worse than it already is?
Could it be the camshaft position sensor throwing things off?
Is this a fairly strong hint that the issue is underneath the valve cover?

 

Even with the new wires they could allow spark to cross to ground or another wire if you got the cheap ones. The PIP sensor in the distributor would be on the same nub for this cylinder for each firing. It is possible the nub could be worn for that cylinder, but probably not likely. You can pull the plug and watch it for firing, but I think it needs to be laying on something metal like against a bracket or the head. Just the threads touching metal, not the electrode. The PIP sensor is your camshaft position sensor. This issue isn't under the valve cover.