2001 cyl 4 Misfire Catastrophe
Hello everyone. I wanted to come on here mostly for support and to receive feedback or comments on my situation.
Bought the car a year and a half ago with 83k miles on it. Drove great, never had any problems with it—bought it from a trusted dealer too. About three weeks ago, i noticed that when i came to a stop at the light my car started to shake a little more than usual—and if you own a 2001, you know they can run a little rough. When i finally put the car in park, the car started to shake a more and my engine light began flashing. i took it to get diagnosed and was told it was a cyl 4 misfire. I talked with my buddy and we elected to change the plugs and wires seeing as i’ve reached 116k miles and hadn’t changed them (rather irresponsible of me i know). Once we did, the car began to run a lot rougher on idle and rpm was slightly below 2k—code was random/multiple cyl misfire. I decided to take it to a trusted mechanic to see what the issue is—i’d seen a lot of discussions about this model and its valves tightening over time, so i didn’t think this would be a costly repair. I was extremely wrong. The mechanic called and informed me that there was no compression in my 4th cyl (something about piston rings…)and that the potential cost of the repair will certainly exceed the value of the vehicle.
I am devastated to say the least. I still have $5k on the car, and it’s my first car i bought on my own, so i’m extremely disappointed with the news. Luckily, i’m able to pay it off in the next coming months and have a way to get around with the family car.
Let me know what you all think of this situation and if you’ve gone through this yourself. Any advice moving forward? Anything helps. Thanks.