Engine died after getting gas

[vipercwf]

Nothings actually been replaced. Simply got bad gas, they agreed to 'fix' it. The shop got it running but the CEL (Misfire - which has been reporting this whole time) has always been on (mechanic said go through a couple tanks of gas the 'knock' sensor in the gas tank was still detecting moisture) Its been about a month since all of that and I'm noticing when the car is cold it runs like s*** - its gotten worse as weathers gotten colder. Runs alot better once engine is warm.

 

[Guest20182]

Ok, so nothing was replaced the shop just drained the gas and "blew out the lines?" . It could be a BUNCH of things. I am doubting their is still water in the lines/gas, but it could be O2 sensor (s), bad injector, fuel pump, fuel filter, plugs/wires/ignition coil, EGR valve, bad head gasket, fuel pressure regulator, the list goes on and on, did you get the code read?

 

[Mz3Hatch]

It could be your fuel pump. What code are you throwing? P2187? Im with everyone else, definitely something else other than "bad gas". Btw, do you have any mods?

 

[vipercwf]

Ya thats why im getting concerned don't see how it could be from bad gas still. My question is tho can bad gas cause any of those things to go bad? Because i didn't have any problems until I got the bad gas and the CEL came on and I've been getting that code the whole time and these problems since, no problems before this. I'm getting a misfire in cylinder 1 (autozones diagnotstic which i know arnt very good - but the mechanic did say the code i was getting was actually a misfire too) No mods..

 

[Guest20182]

It's not from bad gas. Your misfire is caused by one of the things I listed above. These are probably unrelated to the water that was in your gas. I say replace the spark plugs and wires. How many miles on the car?

 

[vipercwf]

P0301 is the code autozone read-

Cylinder misfire detected-cylinder#1
PRobable cause
-Iginition system fault
-vacuum leak
-injector fualt
-high or low fuel pressure

I just don't get the coincidence from the moment i got the bad gas this is the code i've gotten, the CEL has been on the whole time since 1/4 mile from the gas station.

 

[vipercwf]

Alright cool, can't hurt they need replaced anyways im sure. Just hit 60k. Thats when they recommend anyways right?

 

[Guest20182]

Did some research: http://www.coremazda.com/tsb/mazda6/01-023-06-mil-misfire.pdf

 

[vipercwf]

Wow man, thanks a million! Very kind of you. That would make total sense too.

 

[vipercwf]

Well I did that...may have helped a little but its def still doing it. I'll replace the plugs this weekend see if that helps.

 

[vipercwf]

,

Okay so i pulled off my intercooler and look what I found. A mouse built a nest under the intercooler right over the sparkplug/coil area. Looks like it chewed some of the material on the fire wall and also brought grass/etc. I thought somehow maybe thats what was shorting it out causing misfire but after I cleaned it all out its still doing same thing. I replaced the spark plugs, still same prob. The weird thing is it only is backfiring and running like this when its COLD, after its warm it runs absolutely fine. Ive thought maybe the mice chewed some wires, but if that were the case why is it only doing this when its cold? I really don't know where to go from here, any suggestions?

 

[darkthunder]

Could still be a few things. Have you replaced your spark plugs? How did cylinder 1 look? Also you should check the resistance on your coils and the wires. The coils are known to break down due to the heat between the intercooler and the motor. If the coil to number 1 is different from the other 3 that could be the problem.

Also I think the dealer you took your car to hosed you, throwing out random crap to confuse you. They got it running just enough to get you to leave. Thats what they do.

 

[bova80]

did you set the gap on the spark plugs? should be .028-.030

 

[vipercwf]

Ya they def hosed me. I still think its so weird I had no problems with my car until all this happened with bad gas. Anyways, replaced plugs this weekend. They all looked good really and all the same. I still replaced them. Made sure new ones were gap'd correctly. Still having misfire problems tho.
Dumb question here, but how do I tell the cylinder #'s? The one in the pic with mice nest is the 1st one on drivers side. Is that #1 and than 2,3,4 respectively going towards passenger side? I also noticed the coils have different numbers imprinted on the inside by the prongs that go to the boot on the plug. They all had different numbers but couldn't find any sort of sequence (e.g. one said 1 6, another 1 3) - Are these coils cyclinder specific?

 

[pw~mp5]

Number one cylinder is on the end of the engine with the pulleys. On a inline engine the cylinders are sequential. On a V engine, looking at the end with the pulleys, the left bank is odd and the right bank is even.

Are these coils cyclinder specific?

I would not think so, but you could check an online parts store to see.

 

[darkthunder]

Definitely shouldn't be specific, but if you want to just to be safe and for peace of mind go ahead and number them on the tops. Also you should only have to put one bottle of iso heet in to your tank. Its methanol is what it is. So it dries up water and ups octane. No need to keep doing that or it will just end up running rich and cause more problems. What all have you checked for? Vac leak? Do yo have any way to tell what your fuel pressure is? ie dashhawk? There's still plenty of things it could be, the more we know the more we can do to help out.