Lash & Boost,

Thanks for hanging in there with me...your support is appreciated. I totally understand the wire/02 sensor theory. When I saw that I let out a hugh HHHHUUUMMMMM. For the record the other 2 plastic wire covers where up over the valve cover. The #6 cylinder wire cover had slipped all the way down to the plug end, gotten brittle and kinda split half way off exposing the wire to the 02 sensor. I'm also wondering about the ICM and the cleanup of the coil packs etc. Maybe that had something to do with the issue too. I'm trying to not sound negative, but time will tell. I'm actually looking forward to the 700 mile round trip Saturday. I'll feel a little better about it after the trip if Bufford runs good all the way So far today no problems either.

Good news about the scanner and fuel pressure gauge too. I work at a communtiy college and they have a Ford/GM automotive program. So I think I maybe able to get that looked into. I'll report back when I get that taken care of. I've been burning the candle at both ends for 3 months now..and It'* showing....Duh.....I can't believe I didn't think of this before Thanks again guys for everything. Please keep and eye out on this post for updates.

One question....should I put some thermal compond between the ICM and the mounting plate to help with heat disipation ?
Mark.

The only thing I would put between the ICM and the mounting plate is some dielectric goop. You want a good ground contact there.

Ok....Just curious, Good ground ? Isn't the ICM grounded via the black wire that I took off and cleaned the other night ? I'm not second guessing you, but I wondered about this too when I had the ICM off of the mounting plate. I know I reported earlier that everything looked good, but the mounting plate was a little dirty when I pulled the ICM off. Mainly it had dirt/oil from the leaky valve cover that had ran down the side and onto the ICM mounting plate. How clean should I make that ? Clean enough to eat off of ? I sprayed a little WD40 on it to break down the oil/dirt and wiped the rest of it off pretty good. I guess I better pull the ICM again and clean it better and apply the dielectric goop.

Thanks Lash.

I used a superfine steel wool on both the bottom of the icm (where it'* metal) and the mounting plate. That wire under the mounting plate is an added ground for the wiring harness and ICM. In your case with the oil reside, also spray it with some brake cleaner ($3) or electrical contact cleaner ($, either will remove the residue. A very light amount of dielectric.

The thing with trying to fix things at time is, you can't see everything. That'* why the buddy system and a forum helps to speed things up.

Boost,

Absolutely The power of the Internet ! I'm already in contact with the Auto guys at the college. Hopefully I can get the scanning and pressure checked out soon. Doesn't hurt...even if everything check'* out. Next time something happens, I'll know these steps to take so I can come in with a real challenge for you guys instead of this boring stuff :P

Don't challenge us too much, you might find our limitations, lol. :P

Good evening,

Tonight I went ahead and took off the coil packs and ICM - again. I cleaned the mounting plate and the back of the ICM with steel wool, sprayed it with brake cleaner, and wiped off. Then applied a light coat of dielectric goop per Boost'* suggestion. Actually I got my 15 year old son involved. These days he'* REAL interested in cars (specially this one) hhhuuumm wonder why ? He done a great job. We also installed a new serpentine belt. Found the instructions via a search. Found an old post when Lash was doing this. All'* well with the belt. I'm going to the dealer for the elbow for the vacuum line tomorrow to get that fixed up. then the trip. I'll report back in probably Sunday, hopefully with good news.

Sounds like you're getting things taken care of.

Also, sounds like your son may end up with a really nice 1st car, lol...

BTW, an interestingly ironic thing happened to me last night. My wife drives White Horse during the day. She came home and told me that she "broke the car". It was missing and it wanted to stall at a stop light, plus the CEL came on. Fortunately for me, I have a scanner, so I hooked it up.

Wanna guess what code came up???? LOL!

Yep, P0306. A quick review showed that my #6 plug wire was almost touching the O2 sensor (crappy stock routing, IMO), and may have occasionally been touching during regular driving. So I lightly zip tied it to the engine lift bracket and did a quick visual and finger check of my battery cables, connections, wires, coils, ICM, and vacuum lines.

Not seeing anything else obvious, I cleared the codes (there was really only the one misfire incident recorded in the history) and took it for a test drive with the scanner hooked up for real time data monitoring. Took a quick 6 mile test drive which included long stop lights, stop and go traffic, and a quick zip up the unterstate to record under WOT. Good results. No new misfires.

Now, I am not 100% convinced that this is the end of it, but it ran smooth and like a champ, so I'll have to wait and see...

Let us know on that elbow.

Lash Good luck is all I can say.

Lash,

AAAHHHHHH that warm fuzzy feeling that your not alone. Sorry to hear that your/where having the same type problem. Ironic indeed. The time spent my son is priceless.....they grow up to fast :( .