Ok, its been awhile since ive been in here but I hope to be welcomed back with the same excellant advice I recieved in the past...

Today I bought new plugs and wires and supplies for an oil change, removed all the (ORIG) plugs and wires on the 01 monte SS and had a hell of a time doing it...Ive heard that would be the case so no suprize.

I put the new (NGK) plugs and (autolite) wires on and went to start the car, It runs but had a high idle of about 1k ...when I put it in gear and begin to drive it has absolutly no power...the exhaust smells very rich...I checked to make sure the plugs are in good and the wires are on tight..Im not 100% sure the firing order is correct... I used the one according to the owners manual but something not right. I dont think im reading it correctly ..Needless to say its late and i didnt even get to the oil change...


2001 monte carlo SS series 2 3800 104k miles

Someone help please

 

I had the same prob on my 03 monte with the 3400 v-6...when I would accelerate the check engine light would blink, indicating a misfire, plus there was no power and the exhaust smelt like raw gas literally. The plugs were really hard to do also, still had the origional AC Delcos in it at 97,000 miles lol. Anyways, I used the Bosch Platinum +4 plugs and Bosch wires. Come to find out, I received a defective plug.....it was cracked slightly on the white part of it and it was arcing.

Try to run your car at night with absolutely no other lights on and see if u can see anything misfiring...because this sounds like the same thing that happened to me. As to the firing order for the engine, I would either ask someone who knows the firing order on the newer GM engines or I would call the dealer and ask them. Thats how I made sure my firing order was right.

Hope this helps a little!!

 

[align=center]Hi Matt,[/align][align=center]From the problems you are having it sounds like your[/align][align=center]Monte was tuned, or worked on by KidSpace [/align][align=center]I can relate to trying to do it myself, and only having it[/align][align=center]costing me more to have a professional repair my mistakes : ([/align][align=center][/align][align=center][/align][align=center]If you dont have one ? I would suggest investing in a[/align][align=center]HaynesRepair Manual for your year, model Monte Carlo.[/align][align=center]It is a great investment if you are going to work on your[/align][align=center]own car. I have learned it pays to do your homework before[/align][align=center]you begin your task of working on your vehicle.[/align][align=center][/align][align=center]I am sure one of our members will post the firing order for[/align][align=center]the 3.8L in your SS.[/align][align=center]It sounds like you could have cracked a plug on install, or[/align][align=center]have placed your wires on wrong. Also, you could have[/align][align=center]bumped offa wire or hose on your install.[/align][align=center][/align][align=center]It is difficult to determine your problem just by your posted words.[/align][align=center][/align][align=center]I posted the below information for you and other members[/align][align=center]that want to change their own plugs, and wires.[/align][align=center]I hope that you can resolve your problems, and hopefully [/align][align=center]one of our expert GM mechanic members can post what they believe your problem could be.[/align][align=center]Good Luck[/align][align=center]__________________________________________[/align][align=center]How to install plugs in your Monte[/align][align=center][:-][/align]Things you will Need. 1.Spark Plug Socket with the rubber insert.I used a T-Handle. 2.Spark Plug Wire-boot puller,Longer necked version. 3.Gap Gage. 4.Floor Jack. 5.Anti-seige Compound. 6.Racket stap 7. Wet vac,slim nossle.
Let Engine cool down!! First block Back tires. Place the car in nuetral. Disconnect the Negative Terminal on the Battery Position Floor jack under motor,have a 12-16 " 2x4 piece of wood.Leftjack up until about 4" from bottom of motor. Disconnect air intake hose. Place racket strap hook through eye hole of front motor Bracket.Have other end of racket strap fasten to some solid. Loosen and remove front motor brackets. Tight the racket strap up until eye let / or slave hole is line up with exsisting bolt hole for motor mount. Some folks use a crow bar on passageer side,motor mounts. to lift engine forward. (In addition some vehecle has a Slave hole that will enable you to place the bracket bolt though.With this there is no need for you racket strap). Be careful not to move to far foward. Snug the flooor jack up against the motor.Just to where the 2x4 touches . This just a pre-caution in case the motor drops back. Starting with the fist plug wire on the passenger side (Plug 1) use your boot puller tool to rmove the boot. Turning left and right and pulling up on the boot. You may want to use a the wet vac to remove any loose particuls Rmove Spark plug.Vacuum again if needed. Put anti-seige on the threads of your new plug making sure you donnot get any on your conductor ends.Place in new plug making sure you donnot cross thread. There is a torque spec. for this.
With new plug wires make sure of your length to match the old plug wires length. Same procedure for the next plugs in back. Do plugs and or plug wires one at a time.
Once completed with the back check and make sure no vacuum lines have become disconnected. Using crow bar on passenger side hold forward (Bolt throught he hole of the engine bracket) Undo your rachet strap. Go to floor jack and let the engine slowly until the brack holes line up.Place in the engine bracket on drivers side and tighten. Leaving the passenger side bracket of will help when working on the front plugs. The front is much easier to replace. After replacing the front ,reconnected the passenger engine bracket (mount). Reconnect the air intake hose,and battery terminal. For other assistance you could go to a local auto parts dealer and buy the Maintence manual for Monte Carlo. Hope this helps and more inportant makes sense.

A alternate trick to get at the rear plugs
Learned this from another Monte Carlo message board.
My MC has the 3800 V6. [align=center]Remove the two anti-torque brackets on front/top of engine. Swing them up and out of the way. Now, stand outside the drivers door (with the door open) with the tranny in Park. If you rock the car back and forth you will notice the engine really rolls forward and backward without those 2 brackets in place. The trick is to catch this movement with the engine rolled AS FAR FORWARD as possible. Now, as you're doing this, step on the parking brake at the instant the engine is rolled far forward. You should now be able to reach the 3 plugs at the rear of the engine! (At this point, for safety I would put a chock behind all 4 wheels.) When I first heard about and then tried this technique I couldn't believe how well it worked! [/align]

 

I agree that you should get a Haynes manual. For $15 it is one of the best purchases you can make.

As for the firing order, it doesn't matter. What you need to make sure is that each wire is plugged into the correct cylinder and the correct coil post. The firing order won't change.

For future reference on plugs and wires, do each one individually and that will insure you don't get them mixed up.

 

Sounds like you got your wires in the wrong order. My son just did this to his truck. Intimidator is right on the money. Do them one at a time or draw a quick little diagram. Dont rely on memory. It will eventually let you down. Definitely pick up a Haynes manual. Best $14 you will ever spend. I buy one for every vehicle I pick up. Easy instruction with real pictures. Call your dealer and have them give the order across the coils,in relation to the front and rear rows of plugs.

 

Hey everyone,

Thanks for everyones input, First mistake was starting this late after a full day of work and in the dark with my not so trusty drop light...

Moving on, Im proud to report that I had the wiring correct on my plug wires. Im less happy to report that I actully got a bad wire in the new set I had purchased....Has this happened to anyone else before?

I double and triple checked the wiring and was frusterated to find that the wiring was correct.
I removed the wires and plugs again inspected the plugs... These all seemed fine, and so I removed one of the plugs and connected it to my coil pack with one wire at a time, checking the color of the spark coming from each wire.

1 of the wires was not giving me a good spark so to double check i tried this again with the same wire and a different plug on a different coil..again getting a weak spark.

I went back to the local parts store and asked for a different set and explained what i had done, they gave me a new set and I went home and installed them..

Also pleased to report im very happy with the end result

NGK iridium plus, autolite wires. A can of sea foam and switched the car over to mobile1 high mileage full syn.

After all was said and done, I was gifted with a better sounding smoother running Monte I found I had a refreshingly responsive throttle and better gas mileage.

I have since replaced my fuel filter and the car runs great.


Thanks again for everyones input