valve noise, power loss on Olds Achieva V-6 3.somthing liter?

Is it the 3100 or 3400 and are you loosing dexcool? Check some of the posts here on the lower intake gasket problems. Did he do a compression check? Is the plug fowled or wire bad? Find a mechanic to analyze the problem rather than boost income....

Um, why are you taking it to a mechanic who doesn't seem to know anything about the engine? How do you know it is valve noise? Is there a problem with compression on that cylinder? Did he do a compression check? There are plenty of other things that could cause a problem on one cylinder other than the valves, mainly ignition related.

Harry

The answer is one of these:

1) All relevant data was lost somewhere between the mechanic and your posting of his analysis on the net. 2) The tech knows nothing about auto mechanics. 3) You are being ripped off.

I dunno, I'll check.

Yes. In fact, I have had to replace coolant regularly, but have never seen a leak. I ran out of that Dex coolant and am using water.

Are you saying coolant is leaking, or is fuel leaking? There is no moisture or fluid in the oil.

No. I don't think so. He just hooked an analyser up to a plug under the dashboard.

Hmmm. Is the plug were fouled or the wire bad, would that cause valve noise, though? I did check the plugs and wires for tightness, but did not pull any plugs to check for oil fouling them. Neither did he. He heard the tapping noise and right away said it needed a valve job.

Huh...easier said than done. You know such a mechanic in Houston?

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-Randy

Appreciate all the responses here,

The problem was not present on the drive home tonight. The car ran fine. But that is typical of this problem.

I posted everything the mechanic told me.

I guess at this point all I can do is take a lot at the plugs and then try to find another opinion.

I do not know much about fuel injected cars. Is there a distributor? And a cap? I may try to locate a manual and maybe swap a spark plug wire or 2.

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-Randy

Nope. He never really looked at the wires.

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-Randy

He pinpointed the offending cylinder without checking the basics? Hard to believe unless he is trying to sell you a 1200 dollar set of wires.

If you are leaking coolant internally you won't see it. The water evaporates off in the oil and leaves the sludge from the DexCool. The next thing that happens is usually frozen cam shaft bearing and busted cam. By then the engine is toast. Look for a thin brown film on the inside of oil fill cap and inside valve cover. Sometimes a sludge shows up on the dip stick. Do a google search on GM 3400 intake leak and you will find many horror stories. Call your dealer service department and ask them. While my 99 Venture is not leaking fluid yet the dealer wanted to replace the gasket anyway at about $700.

cylinder other than the valves, mainly ignition

Hi, Randy. You said "Well, the analyzer showed a massive history of misfiring. Could a bad

about that?" Well, a bad wire arcing to ground could certainly cause a "massive history of misfiring"--that's exactly what is doing.. Actually a wire arcing to ground not only causes misfire, but it can sound quite sharp under proper conditions and resemble a "tapping" noise. Ever heard static elec. "pop" when you walked across a carpet and touched a brass doorknob? Multiply that sound by a much-enhanced voltage! HTH & good luck. Actually sounds like you've got 2 problems--leaking coolant AND intermittent misfiring. But the 2 can easily overlap on their cause. One more thing. When lifters/cam get worn and the oil gets hot & loses its viscosity, it can cause the lifters to malfunction when too much clearance develops. Cheap to try: change oil & filter & use Castro 20W50 oil (NOT synthetic; no other brand!!!). I've seen it do wonders for earlier (esp.Pontiac) engines. Seems like their lifters were more susceptible to lowered viscosity, hot oil. HTH.......sdlomi.