Okay, so I have a 2001 Blazer LT 4dr 4x4 with the dreaded PO300 code...

I'm no mechanic, but I have a good friend who is, and he and another guy who is supposedly really good on S10s/Blazers has spent the last two days going through everything on it trying to figure out the culprit of the misfiring.

Anyway, the guy pretty much narrowed it down and told me to replace the cap and rotor, plug wires, and then maybe might still need to replace the distributor...

Anyway, already put brand new AC Delco plugs in it, but apparently I have to order the AC Delco wires directly from GM (or get them online obviously) and they said they wouldn't have them in the dealership till Monday or Tuesday at the earliest. They also charge about $170 for the AC Delco wires....

So for now, my main question is: Is there anything wrong with using Borg Warner plug wires? I know I've read that these babies really love the AC Delco plugs, but do the plug WIRES matter as much? Really need to try to get this figured out this weekend....this PO300 is getting on my last nerves....

 

While I recommend AC/Delc electrical parts for GMs, I think any high quality wires will be fine. That said, I used AC wires, but found them at a great price on eBay.

 

Apparently the idiots at advanced auto parts don't know what they're talking about. Shouldn't these be the wires I need?

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...AMS_1100103409___


They say they can't get these! wtf!?

And thanks for the response, but what exactly do you consider "high quality" wires?

 

For example, AutoZone sells both Valucraft (2 yr warranty) and Duralast (Lifetme warranty) wires, both house brands. I would get the Duralast. Don't buy the cheapest wires in a given line.

 

FWIW, I used the Standard "OE Plus" wire set on my 2002 (p/n 7673). Got them locally for around $70. Couldn't see any diff. between them and the Packard wires that were on the vehicle for 5 years or so. Truck is running great so far.

I would stay away from anything too cheap or those gimmicky yellow ones from AutoZone. I always test them with an ohm meter. Resistance should be approx. 1000 ohms per foot. Have tested cheap wires and found readings much higher and inconsistent with the wire length.

Test your coil too. Mine had an open circuit in the secondary winding when cold and was sparking internally. The distributor was the key to making it run well. The new coil stopped it from missing when cold. Since the dist., cap, rotor & coil are all new, I replaced the wires too.

peace

 

Okay, tore off the cap and rotor, the cap had obvious fouling on cylinders 1 and 4 (which was the exact two cylinders the tech told us was misfiring like crazy). Also, changed the wires, but here's something odd: the wire going to plug 3 looked like it had "rust" looking foulage all over it. WTH?

Anyway, the service engine light is still there. Not sure if I have to clear that or if it's just still misfiring. Maybe I should just go ahead and have a distributor put on....

 

If there is rust on the plug, you may have a headgasket going. I would do a compression test, and a pressure test on the radiator. If you have high readings on your compression test, like in the 155-160 range, you probably have a LIM leak. This will also cause a missfire.

 

Compression tests show good on all cylinders, and the scanner shows misfiring on cylinders 1 and 4 only. Also, fuel pressure tested fine, fwiw.

Does anybody know how much play a distributor should have in it? This one has some play both up and down and side to side. Is that normal? If so, how much play is "normal/tolerable?"

 

I personally have never had that much play in any I have. If there is that much, I would at least pull it and check the gear, and overall condition. You also may have gotten a bad plug wire, or a cracked insulator on one of your plugs. I had that happen to me with a new set of plugs, and it took me 6 months to find it. Also just for grins, try lifting the hood at night and see if you have any light shows. I use Taylor wires on everything I drive, they have one of the lowest resistance ratings on the market, and you can get a set from Summit Racing for about $50. I also have used E3 plugs since they came out, and with that combo, I had to set my remote starters crank time to 0.3 sec, because it fires so quick. I hope you find the problem, chasing it down can really be frustrating.