MISFIRE 1 AND 4

I have a 1998 ford escort 1.6 16 valve. When I start the car its fine but after about 10 minutes it starts to misfire. Its worse when going up an hill and I have to drop it down a gear. I have put no spark plugs in and put injector cleaner in. At fist the sparks worked but after a week it started again. Can you help?

. No there is no check engine light showing. It seems to miss fire at 2000 and 4000 revs.

I have a 1997 Ford Escort LX sedan with a 2.0L, SOHC engine with split-port induction. I have 137,763 miles on the engine. In the past, I've had certified mechanics replace the water pump and timing belt (on time), and they aren't due to be changed again for another 60k miles or so; I've also had certified mechanics completely overhaul the brake system recently. I've been diligent about changing the oil every 3-5k miles, keeping the filters clean, etc. I've replaced the battery, and had all new tires put on the car. I drive the car, on average, 500 miles per week at highway speeds. The majority of the above mileage has been on highways.

The issue is as follows: at speeds up to about 50-55mph, the engine is fine; I can accelerate and coast without issue. Over 55mph, however, I can keep accelerating - or, indeed, keep traveling at any given speed as long as I keep the accelerator pressed - without incident; however, if I attempt to coast (taking my foot off the accelerator) the engine makes a horrid "rattling, chattering, metallic vibrating" sound until the speed drops back below 50 or I slightly push the accelerator. As long as I keep the flow of fuel and air moving into the engine, even if it's only a little bit, it's happy enough at any speed; if I attempt to make the engine pull fuel and air on its own, it has a problem.

I asked a friend, who knows engines, what it might be; he thought that it might be the crankarm (or rod) bearings, and said that I should change them out. I did, and while the engine sounds smoother than it has in years, changing the bearings did not take care of the issue above. I examined the oil that I drained out of the engine; there were no specks of metal in it. Nor was there any residue in the oil filter in the engine.

Might anyone know of something else that should be checked? I can't really afford a new car right now, and am willing to get the tools I need to have to do the job unless we're talking about wholesale engine rebuilding.

Thanks in advance for any and all pertinent assistance.

Cheers,

Rock_Guide

Edited to include: the car is an automatic 5-speed, and if I have any part of the fan/ventilation system on the rattling/chattering is much more noticeable, even at lower speeds. If the AC is on, it's a constant.

Earlier Escorts were know for problems with the catalytic convertor heat shield breaking and causing a noise like this. You will need to get under the car and check the heat shield and exhaust system mounts.

Thanks for the heads-up. I did just that, and found no loose anything.

However, in the process of finding nothing loose, I did notice that the serpentine belt is what's causing the chattering - because it's vibrating. I changed out the belt, but that didn't stop the noise - the belt was still vibrating. I checked the pulleys, and didn't notice anything grinding or catching, so it's not likely a broken bearing. Any other thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

Rock_Guide

You will need to check the tensioner bearing as well as all the other drive components serviced by this belt -- alternator, A/C compressor. P/S pump etc.

My problem started five months ago and was very intermittent until now. The engine would run rough at start up either cold of hot and then run fine after about two or three miles. Now it runs rough all the time. I have installed a new ignition coil, new spark plug wires and new spark plugs. The engine starts ok but it runs rough and when I pull the spark plug wires one at a time, while it is running, the spark is very weak on cylinders 2 and 4. The spark on the other two cylinders looks good. I have checked the connector on the powertrain control module, which is a EEC-V, and there doesn't seem to be any bad connections there. Thanks for your assistance.

Thanks for the fast reply. With the timing belt cover off and the serpentine (drive) belt in place I don't see any wobble in the balancer.

I checked the toner ring on the balancer. I don't see any chips and it is tight.

My ford escort 1.6 16 valve keeps misfiring when it its at 2000 and 4000 revs. I have changed the spark plugs and put some injector cleaner in but its still doing the same. There is no warning light to say there is a problem. Can you help? Thanks

My car is 1998 and it does have a distributor. Any other suggetions would be of great help. Thanks alot

Are you referring to the air gap between the crankshaft position sensor and the toner ring on the balancer?

I checked the air gap between the crankshaft position sensor and the toner ring tips on the balancer, they are all the same.