# Can this really happen?



## YankeeAltima (Feb 1, 2009)

Hi all! I have a 1999 Altima SE with 200,100 miles on it. (turned 200,000 RIGHT in front of my house--how's that for cool?!) I've been running Moblie-1 Synthetic oil on a 5,000-mile cycle since I bought the car used at ~ 24,000 miles. I live in Massachusetts with outside temps down to zero-degrees at night. Car is kept outside, and under a car cover when it gets really cold and/or snows.

A few days ago I was stopped at a traffic light in town and all of a sudden the car started to run very rough--like it was running on 3 cylinders. Within two miles of this happening, my “Service Engine Soon” light started flashing seriously displeasure.

I took it to Auto Zone and they coded it--came out to a cylinder-3 misfire. (If I recall correctly, I think I had new plugs, plug wires and distributor cap put in about 40,000 miles ago.) I had to drive it about 15 miles in this condition before I took it to Sears Auto, where they diagnosed it, confirmed the cylinder-3 problem, and put in new plugs, plug wires, distributor cap (but not new rotor—I was told that it didn't need a new rotor... at THAT mileage, I asked? they still said, “no.”). When they took out the plug-boot for cylinder-3, the plug-end of it was an orange-tint color, unlike the usual gray of the other three boots. hmmm...?

Complicating this all is the presence of two respectable exhaust pipe holes, one just behind the catalytic converter, and one just before the rear muffler. Muffler and Resonator are in good shape. Car is starting to sound like a small truck. This Sears "quick fix" seemed to cure the problem and my “service engine” light was reset and has not come back on. I do notice that car is a bit sluggish now, but the Sears mechanic says that this is because of the carbon build-up the mis-fire has caused, and suggested a bottle of gas treatment, which I bought. 

So my questions are: 1) Can this kind of symptom come on all of a sudden, as it did? 2) What is the significance of the orange-color boot #3 tip? 3) Are the exhaust leaks causing any problems here? 4) What else do you think about all of this? Many thank, in advance, for your experience and wisdom!


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## YankeeAltima (Feb 1, 2009)

I could really use your advice here! many thanks!


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## blackalti (Jan 2, 2009)

just had the same problem.....cyl 3 misfire.....its been gone now for about a week.......reset the cel and it hasnt come back on

its probably due to bad plug wires.....as far as the orange...im not sure on that one.. idk


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## Outkast (Jan 29, 2006)

Those chassics where bad about blowing intake gaskets. Take some starter fluid and spray it where the intake meets the head if the idle changes then you found the problem. Every time I replace one it usually the #3 and/or #4 where it blows. And if that is the problem then you really need to use an OEM gasket cause the AutoZone ones are really cheap and thin.


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