Broken Valve springs?

[gthmcty1]

Okay guys I am not sure I am at a loss right now, the car has been running like crap for some time and and I pulled the plugs and cylinder 4 & 6 are running lean (the plugs are white), I pulled those spark plug wires off the spark plug and it din't make a bit of difference on the idle of the engine but spark is definitely there I know there are a plethora of things that could possibly be wrong I am thinking maybe broken valve springs? It is pinging and detonating at all RPM ranges now, and it is annoying any other suggestions?

Car Specs
1985 3.8 NA, 102k

 

[jdpolzin]

At this point it would be best to check your cam lobes. Take the valve covers off the car and start it. Watch the lifters to see if you can notice a difference in movement as compared to the rest of them. It is very common to wipe our cam lobes as the zinc content in todays oils are essentially based on newer motors with roller cam set ups.

 

[RegalBegal]

I seriously doubt you broke a valve spring. If you had I'm sure the piston would hit the valve. Maybe Ignition? Bad HEI module? Wipe out the cam? You need to investigate further.

 

[gthmcty1]

Okay guys I have pulled the valve cover and looked at the valves and they are opening and closing as they should , I guess the next move would be to check the compression?

 

[rustyroger]

Absolutely check the compression next.
If they are low after the first check try squirting a little oil (a thimbleful is plenty) and do it again, if you get a big improvement that indicates worn bores/rings, if it makes only a bit of difference you more likely have valve or head gasket issues.

Roger.

 

[gthmcty1]

Absolutely check the compression next.
If they are low after the first check try squirting a little oil (a thimbleful is plenty) and do it again, if you get a big improvement that indicates worn bores/rings, if it makes only a bit of difference you more likely have valve or head gasket issues.

Roger.

Ok thanks will try and report back

 

[rustyroger]

Just a thought, I read a similar post on another forum, turned out the plug wires were on the wrong plugs (6 & 8 in that case), the poster was surprised how well it ran on 6 cylinders.

Roger.

 

[gthmcty1]

Just a thought, I read a similar post on another forum, turned out the plug wires were on the wrong plugs (6 & 8 in that case), the poster was surprised how well it ran on 6 cylinders.

Roger.

LOL, funny I thought the same thing but it is weird cause the car was running great one day and the next day it ran like crap (I actually thought I had bad gas) but hey what the hell I will try

Firing order is 1-6-5-4-3-2 correct?

 

[rustyroger]

You have the right firing order, 2 cylinders effectively not firing would make it run like s**t all the time.
My 231 in my Century wagon had a pushrod come adrift, ran really badly with just one cylinder out.

Looks like my suggestions were a washout 😳

Roger.

 

[custom442]

Just a thought, I read a similar post on another forum, turned out the plug wires were on the wrong plugs (6 & 8 in that case), the poster was surprised how well it ran on 6 cylinders.

Roger.

LOL, funny I thought the same thing but it is weird cause the car was running great one day and the next day it ran like crap (I actually thought I had bad gas) but hey what the hell I will try

Firing order is 1-6-5-4-3-2 correct?

the v6 will be completely out of balance with the wrong firing order. v8 has a little leeway you'll know theres something up if you're firing the wrong cylinders in the 3.8

I'm curious why you thought it was a broken valve spring? any pictures? what did the compression test show