Okay I am hoping that I don;t need a motor but I dont know what is going on. This morning when I backed out of the driveway there was a bang. As if I hit something and I am not sure where it came from because I wasnt listening for it. Now there is some snow here so I figured it was a big clump but when I got out there was nothing. But yet when I backed up again no bang. So then I go somewhere and same thing, when I get out there is another bang but not as hard, and again only in reverse. So on the way home the car starts missing and the check engine light is flickering. So I borrow a code reader and it says misfire in #6. Well I already had that plug pulled and it looked fine. Now where the wire went into the coil it was a little more corroded then the other 5 wires as if the connection wasn't the greatest. So I take the ICM and coils down to Autozone and the ICM is bad but the coils check out (used a multimeter). So I get home put it back together (new ICM, plugs, and wires) and I still have a miss but the check engine light isnt blinking anymore it is just on. But it is always on because of code 440 evap and I already changed the gas cap so it must be a vacuum line. So I am unsure now if that is why the light is still on but at least it is not blinking. Something else I noticed, all while on my way home when the car started missing the oil pressure guage wouldn't move and was in the middle. Same thing now after I start her up, oil pressure guage remains constant, whether at idle or 4k rpms. And now I am hearing some upper motor noise. I am not sure if it is a motor noise because to be honest with you I don't listen that alertly to my motor I just turn the key and drive. Now I was low a quart of oil but by no means was I out or anything like that, and even so I dont think that would cause a misfire in a cylinder. So I am wondering is it possible for the oil pump to go bad and would that cause the pressure to me constant and maybe the motor is fried? Could it be the cat?

Very sad and waiting fro help, Jack

You will need to get the light checked. might be something else. A vacuum leak even in the HVAC system will cause problems. You never want unmetered air entering the engine. Find and fix the vacuum leak. A single cylinder misfire is generally a bad wire, or bad plug, but can also be a bad injector. If your hearing noise, there might be a mechanical problem with the engine, such as a stuck valve, another cause of misfire and could also explain the bang (back fire) You will need a compression test to find out.

Hi Dan, what about the oil pressure not really fluctuating like it should any ideas?

Bad pressure sender? Only way to know for sure is to use a mechanical pressure tester. If it was to low you would hear the lifter tapping, if it was to high, you would have a mess.

It is not a lifter tapping, a bearing or a rod. But it does sound like it is coming from right below teh intake manifold. I might go back to autozone and get the reader again.

I guess I will ask the question, can any 3.8 be put in this car? Sure I am going to have to do some swapping but I just want to here about other member'* experiences. What year motor is better to get then others? Ya know stuff like that.

Thanks

A series2 from the same year and body style will make it much easier. Putting a Wbody engine in wont work without changing over things like ICM/tensioner bracket, Oil filter bracket, and a few other things. The engine it'* self is the same.

Did you verify it was the engine itself? Don't give up until you determine it is the engine. What seems like a huge problem may be a real small one.

How about getting a video of the noise that you believe is uppper end. We oddly can sometimes tell a lot by it. As for #6.. a few secrets about that is..ensure the plug wire is not touching the O2 sensor or wire. Check for issues by swapping the #3 and #6 wires at the coil. The coil fires both at the same time..so if your issue moves to #3 then it'* usually a bad coil

I don't trust the testing of coils/ICM that the parts stores do because we've seen a lot of them bad, even though they tested good. It'* a tough thing to understand how the test is good..but it can be a false positive.

Well i got the reader and after I cleared the codes and ran the car for 40 seconds or so I was unable to get the check engine light to come back on. I really do not want to run the car anymore because I think the noise is getting louder and it is a rapping noise coming from the top end. Yo know the old wives tale about throwing a rod, could of that happened this morning and that was the bang I heard when I backed out of my driveway?