Engine misfire on cylinder three, engine shaking?

Tiny
P TONE
  • MEMBER
  • 2011 CHEVROLET CRUZE
  • 1.8L
  • 4 CYL
  • MANUAL
  • 120,000 MILES
1. I tried a cylinder compression test on cylinder 1
Cylinder 2
Cylinder 4 all are reading fine.

I am unable to use my compression tool on cylinder 3 due to the fact its mis threaded I'm unable to fit the tool on there


2. Topdon pro 900 lite

My topdon says I have 1300 misfires on cylinder 3

3. Test

Evap/smoke
I did a smoke/evap test found 1 spot on the radiator but that's it

Spark plugs
I tested all spark plugs, and all are fine with voltage meter they are fine
Cilinder 3 is mis threaded had to use a bigger in diameter spark plug so it would fit

Coil pack
Tested coil pack with tool coil pack works


Tested injectors
by removing each on
Each one responded in a good way


Moter mounts.

I have not inspected motor mounts yet. Is there a trick to easily identify if it's a Motor mount?
Thursday, February 13th, 2025 AT 3:12 AM

15 Replies

Tiny
BORIS K
  • MECHANIC
  • 835 POSTS
Hello,

As you have tested all required components, I would suggest getting yourself a push on compression tester. See image below.

Cheers, Boris
Image (Click to make bigger)
Thumb
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Friday, February 14th, 2025 AT 8:52 AM
Tiny
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I forgot to ask my question, lol.
My engine is shaking badly. I just bought the car listed above with a 5 speed.

Can you give me a list and I'll do what I can do following instructions?
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Friday, February 14th, 2025 AT 8:58 AM
Tiny
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Question 1.
If it's bad gas, should I add in higher octane gas to clear out the old gas and help with the engine misfire.

Question 2
Compression is at 225 on all cylinders but cylinder 3 is at 200 is that too high or too low?

Question tested spark plugs good.
Coil pack good.
Evap test good.

Haven't checked downstream o2 sensers yet.
Haven't cleaned the injectors I'm about to.

What do I do grasshopper?
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Saturday, February 15th, 2025 AT 2:36 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 50,271 POSTS
The compression is good, you must have a bad spark plug, coil or injector. I would remove the spark plug to see what it looks like. If it looks white with no color, I would check the injector signal and if it is getting one replace the fuel injector.

Here are two guides to help us:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-a-fuel-injector

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-misfires-or-runs-rough

Please upload an image of the spark plug so I can see.
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Monday, February 17th, 2025 AT 8:34 AM
Tiny
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I check the continuity of the injectors themselves they were all consistent same readings.

I checked the spark plugs continuity all came out the same.

The 3 cylinder is mis threaded, and I had to use a bigger spark plug in diameter the cylinder 3 needs to be tapped and resized.

Could this be the cause of my misfire?

I'm about to clean injectors.
Do a fuel pressure test.
I tested the coil pack with probe, and it reacted.
Tested spark plugs all same it's AC/Delco iridium reading was 4.6 or 4.5 each with the reading set on uhms.
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Monday, February 17th, 2025 AT 9:20 AM
Tiny
BORIS K
  • MECHANIC
  • 835 POSTS
Hello,

Is the Cylinder 3 spark plug the same type of spark plug used in the other cylinders? Does it have the same reach into the combustion chamber?

Please attach a couple of good pictures showing the spark plugs next to each other.

Cheers, Boris
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Tuesday, February 18th, 2025 AT 3:16 AM
Tiny
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No it's a different spark plug. Listen. My engine was shaking before the spark plugs were ever changed. Cylinder 3 spark plug is shorter but it's the only one that would fit the diameter of the chamber. I was told I need to do a tap and resize it to fit the regular spark plug again.

I've done every test imaginable.
Besides the fuel pressure test and a leak down test.
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Tuesday, February 18th, 2025 AT 6:07 AM
Tiny
BORIS K
  • MECHANIC
  • 835 POSTS
Hello,

Fuel pressure will cause running issues across all cylinders.
The Cylinder leak down test would be advised once the spark plug thread has been repaired.
There should be no more than 10% leak.

Regarding the compression values 225 PSI, even 200 PSI, seem extremely high, suggesting a possible issue with the compression tester. Petrol engines usually have around 150-160 PSI of compression pressure.

Cheers, Boris
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Tuesday, February 18th, 2025 AT 8:52 AM
Tiny
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Step 1 fix thread / Tapp cylinder 3.
Step 2 leak down test I'll try these and report back.

Where did you find the specs for the compression test PSI?
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Tuesday, February 18th, 2025 AT 2:13 PM
Tiny
P TONE
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Was it.

Mitchell's?
Alldata? Or something else? How do I find besides Google the correct specs/voltage

Coil packs
Spark plugs
Injectors anything trying find this stuff isn't easy.
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Tuesday, February 18th, 2025 AT 2:25 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 50,271 POSTS
What are the compression readings? Also, is the spark plug white when you remove it from cylinder #3?
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Wednesday, February 19th, 2025 AT 9:53 AM
Tiny
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It's blackish.

Compression on cylinder 1 2 4 225
And cylinder 3 is 200. I'm aware from a previous mechanic had pointed out that it should be between 170 to 200 because my car is a "patrol" whatever that means.

I'm ordering a fuel pressure test.
Going to preform a tap on cylinder 3.
And a leak down test when I get the tool.

The engine is vibrating like crazy.

Feel free to text this number I don't have a lot of tools yet but I'm accumulating 9044373302
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Wednesday, February 19th, 2025 AT 9:58 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 50,271 POSTS
Are there any other codes? And can you please upload a short video of the engine running so we can, see? The compression is good, so I don't think that is an issue. What does the spark plug look like for cylinder #3? Can you upload an image?
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Wednesday, February 19th, 2025 AT 10:57 AM
Tiny
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Mr Ken sir. The cylinder compression for my 2011 1.8 LS Chevy Cruze cylinder is as follows:

These are my current compression
Cylinders 1 2 and 4 are 225. Cylinder 3 is 200.

I was told it was supposed to be between 170 and 200 not 225 am just FYI the engine doesn't look like it's shaking in the video at all! On a scale of shake from 1 to 10 it's like 4 sometimes a 5.
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Wednesday, February 19th, 2025 AT 11:50 AM
Tiny
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I apologize. Ya'll do a great service for helping people but nobody in the right mind is going to sit here back and forth like this. I'll literally never get the issue taken care of this way.
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Wednesday, February 19th, 2025 AT 12:46 PM

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