Bucking. Misfire Code. Smoke. Fuel Odor. I need help.

Tiny
MRETUCK232
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 TOYOTA RAV4
  • 2.1L
  • 4 CYL
  • AWD
  • MANUAL
  • 150,000 MILES
So my RAV has been missing on occasion here and there for a few weeks. Finally it began missing like crazy. Jerking on acceleration in low rpms. And then a check engine threw out a misfire code on cyl 4. It also smoked like a train, and I could smell fuel when I started it the next morning.

I pulled the plug and sure enough it was fouled. I replaced all of them while I was there, as well as distributor cap, rotor, and wire. It drove better, almost no misfire, but the next morning it smoked and had a fuel odor again.

Any thoughts on what might be going on? I believe the misfire may be causing the plug to foul and get worse over time. What is causing that?

My daughter is the usual driver. I had the chance to get a good take on it today. Over the last couple of days it is bucking badly in the morning and smoking after a couple of minutes driving. Once hot, the smoking and bucking decreases or stops. Today, it was pretty bad and the smell of fuel was strong. There also seems to be fuel leaking onto the block. Could this be as simple as a bad o-ring from the FI? How labor intensive is that? I have the Haynes manual, and just enough know how to get me in trouble. It's parked until I work up the gumption to tackle it. Any deeper thought or input is greatly appreciated.

There also seems to be an oil leak around the valve cover gasket. Perhaps oil has penetrated the wiring? Ack!
Wednesday, July 16th, 2014 AT 3:51 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,601 POSTS
Misfires are hard to diagnose and are best left to a pro to do he even has a hard time. This can be an injector, valve, compression, ignition, or vacuum problem or another sensor on the engine causing it. Sorry to say save yourself some money, time, and aggravation to have it diagnosed and fixed. Unless you want to take a compression reading to save you something like it's not an internal engine problem.
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Wednesday, July 16th, 2014 AT 4:29 PM
Tiny
MRETUCK232
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I wound up pulling the valve cover, cleaning the injector connectors, replacing the valve cover gasket, and reassembled. It drove perfectly for about 40 miles today. However on the way home tonight it went bad again! What the heck? What did I temporarily fix that suddenly unfixed? So frustrated.
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Friday, July 25th, 2014 AT 1:15 AM
Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,601 POSTS
Probably you got lucky if nothing else. Until you scan for codes and check fuel pressure with a gauge you are just guessing and it will conitinue. If it shows a m isfire code 300-304 then it has to bediagnosed further like compression/injectors etc.
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Friday, July 25th, 2014 AT 6:14 AM

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