Heartbroken, In Disrepair.

I’m having trouble with my car again.

She stalled in traffic and had to be towed to the shop. My mechanic replaced the ignition module and coil, but it still does the same thing.

It had a little smoke last year but that was fixed after valve stem seals were replaced.

Code 32 (EGR) been setting code for some time now, but had never caused any noticeable issues, and the mechanic reported the new code 42.

Symptoms:

-Stalls after about 3 miles of driving
-Must sit and cool for about an hour and then restarts
-Missing on 6 and 8, pulling these plug wires and it runs the same
-Has spark on 6, compression tested at 75; spark on 8, untested at the time of      this posting
-Plugs don’t look fouled
-code 42 and 32 set
-Fuel pressure checked and good

Actions taken:

- replaced intition coil and module, spark plugs on 6&8
- plug wiring order was verified
-Fuel pressure checked and OK’d

After talking to the previous owner and my mechanic, we determined that it was most likely not the fuel pump or filter as they were replaced just a few years ago.

Its been suggested to check the resistance on the injectors (cold, and hot), as they may need to be replaced. Injectors should be around 16 ohms, however similar symptoms to mine have been reported when the driver’s side injectors read less than 9 ohms (hot).  This is a test you can run yourself at home with a multimeter.  A second person chimed in and said, “My Formula would start fine and idle nice, but then develop a ‘miss’, which would gradually get worse until stall. Turns out two injectors were toast and a few more headed that way.”

This is reassuring on the count that it is a rather inexpensive job.  However, as much as I love my car, I’m secretly hoping that its an issue that will require major engine work to be done.  In this case, I can go ahead and invest in having the entire engine rebuilt, which is something I’d love to have done now while I have the money.

My dad’s thoughts are that it is most likely an electrical issue, but it could be an issue with one of the heads.

Any thoughts or ideas are always welcome.  You can find the discussion posted on the Third Gen forums.