I'm really struggling to understand the way you go about things with this truck mate... you've had a CEL on ever since you picked up your ride after the engine swap -why not get the mechanic who did the engine swap to look this over carefully rather than throwing parts at it? If you're suspecting low compression on a new engine wouldn't taking it back to the guy who did the work be the logical thing to do, if you want any chance of having a warranty honored should it come to that?

Sorry if I missed something somewhere back in the pages of your thread but you seem to be fixated with cosmetic upgrades and off road mods rather than resolving a potentially serious issue with your new $10k engine.

 

You missed quit a bit indeed. Heres a summery of events from late January to present:

Truck ran great with no fault codes for maybe a week after picking her up from the shop. Then P0141, P0161 and P0160 popped up. Rear 02 sensor related faults. Sometimes the codes would disappear after clearing the codes and would not show up again for a day or a week at a time. Eventually they came back for good. I checked the ECU as well as all the fused under the hood. During the diagnosing I learned that the electric fan was seized. Sourced a used fan and replaced it - now the electric fan works. Next the heater began acting up and shooting out luke warm heat at best. As per the recommendations of many I attached a hose and flushed both lines to the heater core. Heater works good now most of the time... Not long after I learned that one of the cat back 02 sensors was loose and not fully connected. Problem solved and gone were all the P0141, P0161 and P0160 codes. At the same time a new code popped up. Cylinder 1 misfire. Keep in mind all the 02 sensors, ignition wires and spark plugs are new. So I got a opinion from a mechanic and replaced both ignition coils. Ran good for maybe 10 minutes than ran like **** (worse than before I replaced the coils); flashing check engine light and code P0301: Cylinder 1 misfire. At this point the cats are getting red. Acquired another set of magnecore wires and installed them. Truck ran great for maybe 30 minutes than ran like **** again.

Now we are caught up with events

 

Last night I found that cylinder 1 ignition wire was completely disconnected from the spark plug and hanging down in the engine bay. The reason being that that specific wire was to short. When I installed the wires I was unaware of the fact that the wires are vary in length. Still after studying the diagram I concluded that the length from the cylinder 1 port on the block to the port on the ignition coil was the shortest so I used the shortest wire for that port. Apparently I miscalculated. I still have the old set of mag wires so I swapped it out for a slightly longer one. Did not take anything apart, just reached my hand behind the intake manifold and plugged it into the coil. Took it for a test drive around town and no more cylinder 1 misfire and the truck ran alot better for maybe 20 minutes. Then 2 new codes popped; P0306 and P0300. P0306 is cylinder 6 misfire. P0300 means random cylinder misfire detected. This led me to conclude that the problem is neither the fuel injectors or bad compression in the block.
cylinder 6 port on the coil is on the top row right beside the cylinder 1 port so its possible that the wire for cylinder 6 is not properly connected to coil. I have reached my hand back there, detached and re-connected the wire to the coil and I disconnected the wire from the spark plug and noted the condition of the spark plug.









Next I did a spark test. There is a tiny spark coming from the plug, but nothing spectacular. So I re-connected it and pulled the cylinder 4 spark plug and also noted its condition as seen below. See below for pics of cylinder 4 plug. Then I did a spark test on it and found "quit a show". There is more spark, more colors in the spark and when you touch the plug you get a little zap. So It seems like cylinder 4 is getting a good spark while cylinder 6 is getting poor spark. I cannot get a firm grip on the cylinder 6 port on the coil without taking **** apart so I will wait until this weekend to do it. But when I do I will try my best to secure the wire to the coil. Most of the time when you connect a wire to a coil you can hear/feel a little snap. But I did have issues with the top row of wires. Less room so you cant get as good a grip and some of the top row wires I plugged in but could not get the "snap" feeling.

 

Maybe if you take off those hand shoes you could feel things better.

 

I'd get some nice Bosch plugs while your messing around........Dump the Champions.


Fish.........Hand shoe's........lol........cracks me up!

 

I believe Champion plugs are fitted from factory and highly recommended. Mine are new and working as they should, so why replace them? They are easy enough to replace WHEN they go bad so no sense in wasting money.

Fish the intake was still hot when I proceeded to diagnose the ignition system. Try putting your bare hand back there when its hot... also ideal to have gloves when testing spark plugs for spark.

 

I've used champions and Bosch +4s and I can't tell a difference. My original champions lasted 120000 miles. I've replaced my Bosch plugs twice, so maybe that's a difference.

Triari is very particular and this project is a long, expensive quest that I gather is a large portion of a long time of discretionary spending, with a specific goal that involved driving a disco to and in Alaska.

I'm really bummed that his engine isn't running perfectly.

 

Why would you be holding a spark plug while testing it??


Champions are fine. No need to Quadruple Platinum Awesomeness. Check out Kingsbourne Wires. They make nice 8mm sets for a fraction the cost of those Magnacore, I know lots of people running them who are happy.


I think you need to be more deliberate in your troubleshooting/fixing.
Seems like there's a lot of "should be good" and "got it as best I could" going on in this thread. You can swap plug wires with another cylinder that isn't giving a code and see if the code follows the wire.


Also, the 250 miles worth of jerry cans on your roof is kinda pointless don't ya think? When is the last time anyone drove 500+ miles in between gas stations??

 

Cylinder 6 wire was to short to rest the tip with plug attached onto a metal surface without it falling down into the bay. Had to hold it against the intake manifold to test the spark. Again unless these wires are bad, why swap them out for a third set of wires? Valid point but I remind you that this project is also a learning experience for me. I did not jump into this truck a certified ASE mechanic with 10 years experience wrenching on Rovers. I learn as I go. As new problems come up I have to decide if I should do the work or pay a mechanic. I try to do the work myself and take in the knowledge when I can - weather and work space permit. If I had more free time, a big well lit garage and the best tools, all the tools needed for all mechanical jobs on this truck than I imagine things would go more smoothly. But the reality is that anytime I work on my truck, its probably outisde in the elements with limited tools, holding my own flashlight and learning through trial and error. Last weekend I learned how to remove intake manifold and swap coils. For the most part I enjoy the experience as thats part of owning this vehicle. Its not all about the looks or the capabilities.


Thank you for your honest concern about the items fitted to the roof of my truck, I will review it with the board and determine if any changes should be made

 

I'm not trying to be condescending, but you do know that #1 and #2 are the closest to the radiator, right?