haha

I had the service engine flashing, and the reading was that the number two cylinder was missfiring. Would this be due to a bad coil? If so, where the heck IS the coil, and how much trouble is it to replace? I have a 1998 sihloette(sic), with around 143k. thanks!

haha

I have 1998 olds van, and the service engine light flashed, and got it read, and it said 2nd cylinder misfiring. If it is'nt the plug, or the wire, is it the coil?

Lady72nRob71

Welcome to the site! I added the clarification to your title to help attract the ones knowledgable on the modern stuff.
The coil sounds like a culprit if the spark plug and plug wire is okay. If all the coils are the same, you can swap two and see if the error codes change. I did that with an impy 4 banger once before.

dan2286

A bad coil would cause two cylinders to misfire, not just one. I am guessing it is a bad plug wire, have they been changed recently? If so, what brand wires? If it is a 3400 engine, which I am pretty sure it is, the coil packs are in the exhaust manifold area towards the front of the car. Follow the wires down there, they are not fun to get to.

jensenracing77

i would also guess the plug wire. as hard as they are to replace i would not get the cheep set from Advance, Auto zone, pep boys... go for the higher priced set. every cheep set i ever seen went bad in under a year. a good set sometime will be as much as $60. with the code you have, my bet is plug wire for sure. just so you know, i am not a professional but just what i have seen on our olds van and Aurora.

OLDSRALLYE350

The coil pack ignition module is located over the back valve cover at the firewall.The wires wrap around the motor to the front three cylinders which are 2,4,6 If the van has over 60,000 miles and has never had plugs or wires its time to replace them. The factory wires dont last past 60,000. If the plug wires have cylinder number id on them the are probably factory. Check the coil posts where the plug wires connect for corrosion this can cause a single cylinder missfire . If the fuel filter has never been replaced now is the time to do so, needs to be done once a year. Have replaced many fuel pumps because of stopped up filter burning up the pumps.

Oldsguy

Welcome to CO. Not familiar with the engine in the Silohette van. Hope someone will reply to your other thread with a good answer. Good luck.

Olds64

Dan is correct. In 98 the Oldsmobile vans used coil packs with two terminals on each coil pack. I agree with the others, check your plugs and plug wires. If you replace the fuel filter you should also have the throttle body removed and desludged along with the IAC motor. This is pretty standard maitenance on OBD 2 vehicles.

70 cutlass s

Sounds like you need a tune up. If you plan on doing it your self buy a repair manual. Yes the coil pack is located on top of the back valve cover. To change the front plug and wires are pretty easy. When changing out the back ones you have to remove the coil pack before you change the plug and wires.

haha

I appreciate all the help, folks. I had the plugs changed when the manifold gasket and water pump were replaced. Not sure about the wires. The coil does not look too easy to change out, either, so maybe I will look and see the wires if they are marked for each cylinder. Wish me luck. Mannnn, I put enough damn money in this thing. I miss my Jeep, and I miss my olds 98. The 98 was an '80, and it was sweet. My Jeep was an 89, not sure why I got rid of it. Ohhh well. thanks again!

Redog

If you have factory wires they should be marked. The coils is they are orignal are marked with which plug they go.

It's not a good idea to replace 1 coil. You'd be better off replacing all 3 coils. ACDelco coils are the best ones to get. the 3400 engine is very touchy with anything other than factory ingition parts (trust me I know)

The coil packs are sitting on a bracket right behind the upper intake manifold. I don't know how hard it is to get to on a van. The coils are held on the ingtion coil modualr with 2 5.5mm bolts. Might be a good idea to get some dielectrical grease too. It might be a good idea to replace the modular too. I replaced my coils and the car started misfiring like crazy so I put the orginals back on. I bought a mod but haven't gotten around to replacing that yet. The mod is held on the bracket with 2 bolts and has plug ins 1 on each side.

plugs 2,4,and 6 arre in the front, 1,3, and 5 are in the back. The coil set-up looking at the engine standing in front of the car is 5-2-3-6-4-1. Double check that because that is the number order for 1999 and up in which the 3400 was called the "LA1", I think it was the LA1 in 1998 too, but double check.

Good luck. I've been looking to buy a Silhouette to take my son around since the wife and I are divorcing. No way am I getting rid of the Alero

haha

Well,,,bad news folks. i went out and bought the coil, took it to the garage, and he went over it again, ....did a compression test, and said there is no reading on the two cylinder....the valve is stuck open..not a cheap repair. Said to drive it, it may free itself, but well...guess it's time to get rid of the damn thing. It only has 143k on it..what a shame for oldsmobile.

70 cutlass s

It's sad but I have said it before the 3400 is junk. No matter what it's in. So I would stay away from anything with a 3400. 143K is about 23k more than most people get on those vans with that engine.

Allan R

Sorry to hear. Can't hurt to throw in a can of seafoam through it and see what happens.

Anyone know if you can swap a 3800 into this van? They're good engines. Just thinking that if it only has 143 k on it, the rest of the van is probably in reasonable shape. Is this a reasonable thing to do, or does it involve swapping out the engine harness & tranny too?

70 cutlass s

The 3800 won't fit. I had one of those van's when mine died. I looked into putting a 3800 in it. After a lot of time spent looking for answers. A lot time comparing engines. The 3800 won't fit sorry.

Allan R

Too bad. BTW I'm finally working out the issue with my 3800. Your suggestions / suspicions about vacuum were right. But it's a combo of vacuum lines and the idle set screw that no one's supposed to know about. Your help was invaluable. It also solved my AC problem. Glad you are part of CO.

haha

Well, I am now in search of a new vehicle. Being a fan of the pre-90's Jeep cherokee, I began my search. I am interested in a local find, just have to negotiate with no money, which is pretty damn tough. Any idea what my P.O.C. is worth. giving the fact that the mileage is low, and the rest of the van is fine? By the way, the motor in it, is not the original. It was swapped out by the first owner, because it was cheaper than the repairs for the coolant damage. I thought I heard the seller say it had over 50K, and it was from a pontiac? Well, I had since dealt with the expense of the gaskets...I have had cars beofre that just had typical repairs, not like this van!
Well, I test drove the Jeep, and I want to go ahead with the deal. I would like to get a fair price for my van..Any ideas what I could get? Thanks again folks.

haha

by the way....what is seafoam?

Allan R

Here's a link that can tell you more effectively than me typing it out:
http://www.seafoamsales.com/motor-treatment/index.html

70 cutlass s

Allan R I'm glad I could help. Your very welcomed.

70 cutlass s

The seafoam would be worth a try if you can get it running good. That would increase the value of your trade in. Then you could look up the value on line at Kelly Blue Book to find out what it is worth.

Redog

I strongly disagree.

haha, where are you located?

70 cutlass s

If you like them that's OK. I don't because I have never seen one that didn't have major problems. Seams like everyone I know that have had them the problems start around 100,000. Plus I lost a lot of money on the van I had, because it fell apart. If you read the post you see that the van that's being talked about is on it's second engine and only has 143,000 on the van engine has even less miles, and the engine already needs to be replaced again. So that kinda supports what I said about them being junk. I don't know why you want to know where I live, but every time I post it's on there. If you have good one than your lucky. Someone had to get a good one. Wish it had been me.

jensenracing77

the intake gasket on these engines are a ticking time bomb. i replaced mine at 100,000 miles to prevent it from blowing. i am glad i did because it had started leaking to the inside just a very small amount. it never showed in the oil but you could see it after i got the intake off. we now have 138,000 miles and it uses no oil and runs like a dream. only thing is, in another 50,000 miles i will have to do another intake gasket probably. maybe by then i will need a new van anyway.

70 cutlass s

Yeah I changed the intake gasket on mine at 98,000 and 115,000. I had tension pulley brake while driving it cut a hole in the timing cover. Had to replace timing cover, pulley, belt. The A/C stopped working about a year after I bought the van it was going to cost around grand to fix it. It had rear air. The transaxle started slipping the last month I drove it. The engine was blown up when I sold it for parts. I could list all the repairs, parts and what I had to it, but I don't want to be on the computer all day. A friend of mine that works at the local GM shop told me they where junk about a two months after I bought it. I wish I talked to him before I bought it.

jensenracing77

i just had to open my big mouth! i just went outside and had antifreeze all over the floor. it is only the water pump but i just changed it 16,000 miles ago!

70 cutlass s

I forgot I put about 3 water pumps in it, that's part of mine 5 page list of repairs. At least they are easy on those engines. The water pump was the first thing I had to change on that van.

70 cutlass s

Back to the tread If your looking at Jeep Cherokee have any questions just ask. I was really big into 4x4 for years. Jeep Cherokee is great one to fix up the 360 is good power plant. The AMC 360 is a little different from the Dodge. I know what you need to do if you want take it off road a lot. So if go with the Jeep feel free to ask.