It will run smooth until warm, then you can feel the shutter, the it will smooth out the longer you drive. But, when going up a hill the shutter and loss of power comes back. New plugs, injectors. Would the computer compensate for a missfire to make it run smoother? The codes i am getting are missfire on #7 and missfire on startup. The engine compartment was zealously pressure washed. Could this cause the problem? Also, it sat for a while, would old gas cause a problem?

 

Pull the COP off and check for moisture down in the spark plug well. Blow it out if you have compressed air.

 

Does this require me to pull the fuel rail or will it come out easy?

 

Replace the COP and be done with it.

Jim

 

Pull ALL the cops, dry them out, and blow out all the wells. Be prepared to replace one or more cops.

 

I have never worked on an 02...but a mechanic friend of mine complained that you have to pull the fuel rail to do a tune up...that is when I owned an 02...

FWIW!

 

These engines definitely do not like water on top, the plug wells are deep and they do not have weep holes.