steady to flashing CEL with misfire in cylinder 4

[jry0423]

hi,

I have a 98 Accord that hasn't been perfect in quite some time. It's got the crappy clearcoat peel, which has led to it looking like a junky old beater. however, I take care of it mechanically pretty well. anyway, the CEL has been on for a while. I pulled codes, and got that it's a clogged EGR valve and the cat is bad. Figuring i'll get to those this summer, I haven't worried about them. I've moved to North carolina, which is an inspection state, so I think I'll definitely need to get those taken care of though. They're not the issue at hand. Yesterday, the CEL went from steady to flashing. I pulled codes again, and got the same two, plus a misfire in cylinder 4. Is this something that I could just relpace plugs and wires to fix the problem, as the guy at Advance auto told me, or am I looking at something more complex. This car is my baby, I bought it new, and I want to keep it until it dies. I'm at 235,000 miles now, so "death" balances out when cost exceeds the value of the car now. I can get the cat and EGR for $300, plus plugs and wires for another $40. It doesn't seem like something that simple would create a misfire code and flashing light, though...

Ideas or advice?

[poorman212]

Take care of the egr and egr ports. Check/test the O2 sensors. Replace cat after testing the O2.

 

Then see if the mis fire goes away, unless you are over due on those maint items.

[mattcadieux1]

Was it an insuff flow code? Check the modulator ... make sure the egr valve is getting vauum, also check mechanical movement of solenoid, u should be able to kill the car at idle by pushing valve open. Next, im assuming your talking about a p0420 or somthing along those lines when you talk about your cat being bad..... biggest mistake in the field.... catalyst efficiency could be a lazy 02. along with other things....