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Lost a cylinder... but which one?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Docholo, Apr 26, 2019.

  1. Docholo

    Docholo Junior Member

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    My 2005 started consuming oil and then I probably over-filled it. Now one of the cylinders has definitely gone out and I've lost compression somewhere.

    Is there a way to easy figure out which cylinder is not working anymore so I can disable the fuel injectors on that cylinder?
     
    #1 Docholo, Apr 26, 2019
  2. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    If you aren't getting a misfire code (P030x, x = bad cylinder number) then the next easiest would be disconnecting (either) fuel injector or spark plug for cylinder 1, test to see if the symptoms get worse. If there is no change, cylinder 1 was bad. If it got worse, reconnect that one and move to the next until you find the one that doesn't need spark or fuel.
     
    #2 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Apr 26, 2019
    Mendel Leisk, scona and Raytheeagle like this.
  3. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Could you clarify this for me? I haven't met a 2005 yet that didn't consume some oil. You say a cylinder has gone out and you've lost compression. How do you know that if you don't even know which cylinder isn't working? What information do you have that indicates a cylinder isn't working? The only way to determine a loss of compression is to perform a compression test, which requires connecting a pressure gauge to each cylinder at the spark plug hole. Why in the world would you want to just disconnect an injector to a supposedly non-firing cylinder instead of just getting it to work?

    Maybe you just have a bad spark plug?

    Do you plan to run the car using just 3 cylinders? Seriously?
     
    #3 TMR-JWAP, Apr 26, 2019
    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller likes this.
  4. Docholo

    Docholo Junior Member

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    Car began emitting catastrophic amounts of grey smoke and lost most of the torque power made by the ICE. Not enough torque to drive. Right now the engine runs really rough at battery-recharge idle and I don't want to run it very long because I want to prevent further damage caused by dumping fuel into a cylidner that can not properly burn the fuel.

    I would like to stop the injector from dumping fuel into a cylinder that can not properly burn it. I'm not planning on driving the car anywhere, just getting it on to a tow truck for the scrap yard.
     
    #4 Docholo, May 1, 2019
  5. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Tow truck doesn’t need the car running to grab it. A flat bed will drag it tow truck will hook it. Both easy
    They do it all day long.
     
    #5 edthefox5, May 1, 2019
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