This looks to be the same engine that was in my V6 94 mustang but my friend has been having issues with his 1993 Mercury Sable 3.8

He got gas the other day and about a couple minutes after he left the station the car was starting to act up. When in gear at idle the car would shake. but at idle and the car in Park or Neutral you couldnt feel the shaking. and with the heat on the shaking got worse.

and when you go to drive it you hear a puttering sound coming out the exhaust and has no power at all.

It has the same connector to check the codes as my 5.0 mustang does and I got these codes. keep in mind the VSS code has been there before he even got the car.

But KOEO- 181, 337,452

KOER- 172,536

and i did a cylender test and cylender 2 popped up


Thank you all

 

After fueling the car makes me think maybe the gascap, fuel filter, fuel pump and or sock could have malfuctioned while or after fueling. Did he run the car very low or out of fuel that day? Maybe just a coincidence.

 

you may also need to check the spark wire going to cyl 2. If the car has higher miles on it and the plugs haven't been changed, that may be the issue. It may also be bad gas. Try some octane booster (pour it in the tank and rock the car back and forth some to try and mix it up a little).

 

spark plug wire to number 2 was resting against the exhaust manifold and was melted through. just checked it.

so he'll get another wire tomorrow and see if anything changes.

 

guess it was a misfire. got the wire fixed and put back on and no more problem.

Thanks all

 

spark wires are the first thing I check when I have a rough running car. It's been numerous times that a mechanic just missed putting it on right and just a little shove seats it the rest of the way and the car runs fine. (I've gone through more than a few mechanics due to overlooking little things on their part.)

I'm glad I know as much as I do now so that when I have to let a mechanic work on it, I can tell them what to do and expect they'll do it right and be able to verify the work after the fact.