CamaroFan107

I recently bought a 97 camaro rs with the 3.8l engine. The car shook a bit when i purchased it and the guy gave me a note from his mechanic saying it was in dire need of a full tune up. No smoke came from the exhaust, it passed california smog, no coolant mixed with oil or vice versa.

I took the car to my mechanic to get the tune up today and on the visual inspection he said the engine was emaculate, no leaks below or above, dex-cool is nearing time of replacement (car has 97,000 miles on it now) new belts on it etc. After the tune up we discovered two of the ignition coils had been pretty crispy and there where 3 different types of spark plugs used in the engine!! (Bosch +4, autolites and Bosch platinums) Needless to say I nearly died when he showed me. The plugs where definitely crispy but not devastated.

Well my problem now is my mechanic informed me there is "low" compression in 1 cylinder compared to the rest of my cylinders. I'm getting a compression test as soon as I can afford it to identify the issue. Originally when I drove the vehicle from the mechanic the exhaust smelled like gasoline for a bit, but i let it run in the driveway and the smell slowly went away. I'm using seafoam in the oil right now to clean the lifters and lucas fuel stabilizer in the 91 octane i put in the tank. My mechanic did say he doesnt think it's a headgasket issue as there are no signs of it and he ran some sort of "graph test" and it showed that the headgasket is an unlikely issue but that it may be a bad injector or maybe a ring. I'm kind of down because I really love this car and I can't afford any major issues with it. I'd appreciate ANY info you guys could give me or maybe you've had the same experience ???

2wd-K5

how low is low compression in your #1?

CamaroFan107

It's shaking the car a little at idle, but when I drive i don't feel it. A little bit of white smoke does come out after i warm it up and drive off but not after that. Could the car be burning leftover carbon in the combustion chamber from that messed up tune up it originally had ??

CamaroFan107

Ok on another note I just used my own OBD2 reader on it and this is what I got : Cylinder 4 misfired twice, HO2S-21 (Bank 2 Sensor 1) Heater Circuit , Catalyst System Bank 1 Low Efficiency

Ok so does this help any at all ?

2wd-K5

it means you have a lean condition, it can be caused by low fuel pressure, or a miss-firing injector, if your #1 cyl is withing 20 lbs of the others, just run it

CamaroFan107

Yeah two mechanic friends also mentioned it may be a really bad injector instead of a ring or head gasket issue. I'm going to get the test done either monday or tuesday after i go to the dmv for registration. Hopefully thats what it is. I definitely whole heartedly appreciate the input so far.

2wd-K5

no prob, run a lil bit of injector cleaner through it see if it helps

CamaroFan107

Took a bad turn, while waiting a day before the compression test i decided to flush the radiator as the coolant looked nasty. As I ran the flush i kept the cap off the radiator to watch the new thermostat open and guess what ? Exhaust bubbles sprang up when the car reached operating temp. HEAD GASKET. Looks like the issue has just started and its minor and only affecting a single cylinder. Mechanic recommended THERMAGASKET before i pay for an expensive repair. I'll update later.

2wd-K5

good to know the problem huh?

CamaroFan107

ugh not really. but good to identify the issue and now its time to deal with it.