Need some help...I will try to explain...Bought this car in Feb 2012. 130k miles

Symptoms: CEL cam on about month or 2 ago. Code 1310 (Misfire?) Changed plugs CEL still on. Wires and distributor look new so did not change. Car idles and ran fine except for slight stutter when on highway. Never happened at less than 30mph. and always stopped after 10 -15 minutes. Stutter would happen every 20 to 30 seconds. All of sudden two days ago ti died and will not start.

So far- Pulled spark plugs and found slight oil on 3 of them. the other very dirty. Checked fuel rail and o rings and definitely plenty of fuel going in to injectors. Found out the hard way when I loosened it. No leaks.

Advice so far- Change valve gasket/o-rings (?).

I did clean the spark plugs and tried to start. Does start for about 5 seconds and dies. My concern is that changing this gasket may be a major project for me. Found distributor and rotor for 30 bucks at parts store in stock, which looks pretty simple. Should I start there? It seems to me that when I cleaned the plugs, car should have ran at least for a while. I am concerned that the oil on plugs is a secondary problem. Thinking maybe ignition coil as well? $135 but can not find in stock. I really need to fix this car today. If I can get it running I have a mechanic that I can get to do the gasket fairly cheap.

Thanks.

 

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I assume you meant to write came instead of cam on this line... Symptoms: CEL cam on about month or 2 ago. That being the case, a P1310 is not the standard misfire code for having a cylinder or two bad which is the P0302, ETC. Search the code and see what it is for. If it's a cam sensor code, that will stop the car from starting and running.

Also, the wires should have a date stamped on them, the week and year of manufacture, something like 29/08, that would be the 29th week of 2008.

You need 4 things for a car to start and run... Air, Fuel, Spark, Compression. Make sure you have all 4. If you are getting oil on the plugs, which is very rare with these cars, the valve/cam cover will likely have to come off to replace those seals, but I would do a compression test before you go doing that.