Overheating leading to misfire - solved

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peanuts01

Active Member
Posts
91
Location
Uttoxeter
1994 3.9 Classic
On the way home a few weeks ago the temperature gauge started to creep up, I was on gas so swopped to petrol to see if it made any difference (runs hotter on gas) I'll get home (5ish miles) I thought, wrong:(, it went very hot very quick so I had to stop (farmers field entrance). Bonnet up, coolant pouring out around cap and me thinking WTF. Let it cool down, topped it up, heater on full and a/c on to get fans on to keep it cool(er), worked, but I now had a V7, one down! Talking to various mechanic minded friends main body of opinion was viscous fan failure for the overheating (replaced, that problem solved) but the misfire ideas ranged from head gasket to cracked block and beyond:eek:. Checked plugs, all clean, compression test, all good, yes I was worried. Took it for a run to see if it would clear, wrong again! Checked plugs again, one was sooted up, to cut a long story short, friend suggested testing plug lead resistances and that was all it was a plug lead had failed, replaced and I'm back to V8. Moral, Classics are not all doom and gloom, sometimes the simplest of things work.:) What would you have thought was the problem? Plug lead never even occurred to me.
 
I wa driving my 98 around shortly after I bought it and suddenly it started running on 7 cylinders and I had a missfire message on the dash. Did some investigating and found that plug lead had popped out of the coil pack. Someone must have worked on it and not plugged the lead in all the way. Sigh of relief after finding that.
 
1994 3.9 Classic
On the way home a few weeks ago the temperature gauge started to creep up, I was on gas so swopped to petrol to see if it made any difference (runs hotter on gas) I'll get home (5ish miles) I thought, wrong:(, it went very hot very quick so I had to stop (farmers field entrance). Bonnet up, coolant pouring out around cap and me thinking WTF. Let it cool down, topped it up, heater on full and a/c on to get fans on to keep it cool(er), worked, but I now had a V7, one down! Talking to various mechanic minded friends main body of opinion was viscous fan failure for the overheating (replaced, that problem solved) but the misfire ideas ranged from head gasket to cracked block and beyond:eek:. Checked plugs, all clean, compression test, all good, yes I was worried. Took it for a run to see if it would clear, wrong again! Checked plugs again, one was sooted up, to cut a long story short, friend suggested testing plug lead resistances and that was all it was a plug lead had failed, replaced and I'm back to V8. Moral, Classics are not all doom and gloom, sometimes the simplest of things work.:) What would you have thought was the problem? Plug lead never even occurred to me.
The moral is always check the basic and cheapest things first.;):D
 
That's why the viscous fan got replaced LOL:D, cheapest first, spot on! But, plug lead was never mentioned in those first few days of panic mode. Overheat = failed plug lead just didn't seem to occur to any-one initially:confused:, and then to only one person (who also keeps my MGB and Mk1 mini alive - outside of work time boss:p).
 
That's why the viscous fan got replaced LOL:D, cheapest first, spot on! But, plug lead was never mentioned in those first few days of panic mode. Overheat = failed plug lead just didn't seem to occur to any-one initially:confused:, and then to only one person (who also keeps my MGB and Mk1 mini alive - outside of work time boss:p).
Well done for sorting it and posting the result.;)
 
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