Ok - not gonna hold you to it, but do you think driving this thing for a couple of more days (maybe another week) like this will screw up things internally?

And I swear - this has to be the final straw... Once this is done, we gotta close this thread and burn it!

 

You should be fine. You'll have reduced fuel economy, but since it's been like that it will just be normal. Fixing this misfire may quiet down the noise you are hearing also, since the piston is just flopping around instead of doing it's job.

 

You might try tapping it w/a wrench with the engine running to dislodge a possible obstruction & try wiggling the connector Where it mounts to the injector before going to the trouble of disconnecting it.

 

ymeski - If I can find something that will reach back there, it's sure worth a try to knock it around a bit.

If that fails, I wondered about your idea, sean... Maybe it's chattering because there isn't any action under the valves. But then again, while I have the whole intake off, why not check the lifters to be sure?

And one last question before I leave you alone for tonight... It's still giving me the 33 code. Could that be related to this by some long shot? It's coming up as a KOEO code and a CM code. Not to mention, how the hell can the EGR move with the engine off anyway?

 

You tested the EGR solenoid for power, right? It gets its power from the same wire as the injectors, but is unlikely #3 and the solenoid have broken off the harness while the rest are still good. Also on that feed: EEC, TAD, TAB, fuel pump relay, canister purge solenoid, IAC. Maybe the computer won't allow the EGR to move since the engine isn't running right. I'm not sure how the oxygen sensor would read an accurate air/fuel ratio with the additional oxygenated air entering the exhaust from that cylinder.

 

The solenoid has power, and it branches off a long way from the #3 injector. Most of the other components that you listed have been tested or replaced (and currently work).

I guess my question is this - during KOEO (with presumably no vacuum or exhaust pressure) how does the EGR valve move? I don't understand how the computer can check that unless the engine is running.

It's probably all guesswork until the #3 cylinder is back in order... I guess I'll get my parts together to do the intake/injector business, and once that's done keep my fingers crossed that everything falls in place and this nightmare is over.

What's kind of funny (ok, it's not that funny) is that looking at the motor from the outside, it looks like I just dropped a brand new crate motor in - just about every external component is new and shiny. Too bad it doesn't run like a brand new crate motor!

 

My generic code book shows 33 as a continuous or engine running code. If you're getting it at KOEO it must store it there too, since it's a major part of the emissions system.

 

Maybe so - for awhile, I was thinking that the computer must be jacked up. Thank God I didn't go buy one of those too!

And if I haven't said so lately, I truly appreciate all of your help (everyone's help for that matter). If you haven't noticed, I'm definitely not a mechanic but you guys have given me the insight and sometimes the courage to wrench on things that I normally would have been scared to death of.

 

That's comeing from the EGR Position sensor. Did you change the sensor? Are there a couple of replacement sensors w/ slightly different resistance ranges? I seem to remember that they come in different colors. If so,that would imply specificy to system or the valve itself. Maybe the thickness of a gasket(or lack of) would be enough to cause a false reading where the sensor mounts. Does the direction it's muonted make a difference?

 

There's something to that. Seems like there's a black version and a gray version. They have difference voltage ranges.

During my errr... experimentation stage? with the EGR deal, I played around with double gaskets, thinner gaskets, etc. and actually got it to read codes for low voltage and high voltage depening on how it was put together.

I don't think the direction matters, aside from the pigtail possibly not reaching.

Either way, after all of the research, reading, testing, tinkering, asking questions, etc., I feel fairly confident that the EGR valve and sensor ...and solenoid ...and inlet tube ...and vacuum lines ...and electrical wiring are all in order.

At this point, I'm dreaming about EGR components, and I can't take it anymore. I think I'll put it behind me until I get the injector issue under control and see how it acts with the motor running right. After that's done, if the EGR rears it's ugly head, I'll cuss a little, drink a lot, and give it another whirl!