The truck ran great but had a miss on a single cylinder so I let it run and pulled plug caps as it ran to diagnose it, as soon as I pulled cylinder #8 plug cap it just cut off… So I replaced the distributor, rotor, crankshaft sensor, coil pack(used), battery terminals and not it’ll start but only on like 3 cylinders and needs more gas to keep it running.
Could it just need a new coil? It wouldn’t start at all even in a crappy way till I changed it with a used coil. Otherwise I was told its a fuel pump but I just did it not too long ago.
It must ha’ve fried something but I replaced almost everything i can personally think of, even a good used battery.
Any ideas? I need to get this nightmare out of here please and thank you.
Instead of guessing and replacing every part under the sun, I would recommend getting a Factory Service Manual (Buy from dealer) and follow the troubleshooting instructions - using a multimeter.
If you don’t know how to do that and are not willing to learn, then take it to a mechanic.
To repair these things you need the proper tools. One of those tools is the repair instructions (Factory Service Manual). These can be up to 2000 pages for one model year of vehicle alone!
Another source of the same information is AllData - alldatadiy.com
Did you do any other troubleshooting between pulling a sparkplug wire and replacing everything BUT the spark plug…like replacing the spark plug or checking the spark plug for fouling or replacing the wire or checking the distributor cap and/or distributor for cracking or moisture etc?
Next, it’s my (very possibly incorrect, especially without being there) understanding that when you’re having a firing issue, it’s usually the plug you pull that causes an issue that isn’t the problem. If a cylinder isn’t firing/is missing, pulling the wire shouldn’t make as big of a difference.
Also, you didn’t mention the year. If it’s missing, I assume the check engine light is on. If it’s 95 or after, get a code scanner and find out what code is being thrown. Any auto parts store will pull the code for you. Even if the CEL isn’t on, there may still be codes stored that can point you in the right direction.
If it’s pre-95 and CEL is on, learn how to pull the codes with a paper clip.
Having said all that, I suggest, like Billy said, either get a manual or take it in. You replaced a lot of really strange parts for what you suspect is a mis-firing (single) cylinder. For example, why would you replace the coil? If the coil is bad you’d have spark problems on ALL the cylinders, not one, same for the rotor and battery.