what damage can you do to a engine. if you drive around with one cylinder misfiring.
Ruined catalytic converter which depending on the car could be $500+, oil dilution due to unburnt fuel draining into the crankcase leading to all kinds of bearing and lubrication issues. On the other hand I once drove a 68 Oldsmobile with a misfire for quite some time, because I didn’t have the money for a valve job, or the know how to do it myself. But that was long before unleaded fuel and catalytic converters.
Well that really depends on the car and the reason for the misfire. It could range from no harm at all to needing a complete engine rebuild. Can you start with year, make, and model and some more information?
Is the check-engine light flashing? If so, don’t drive it.
That depends. If it’s a one cylinder motorcycle, none, but you may have to scrape your heiney off the pavement. If it’s a 1964 Fairlane (or a 1968 Oldmobile), not much, except some carbon buildup and a few lost stoplight races. If it’s a modern car engine, you could trash the cat converter.
So, can you give us some details? And why would you knowingly drive around with a misfiring cylinder?
@cdaquila … is there any way to make the year, make and model of a vehicle mandatory before you ask a maintenance question? It would sure take the guesswork out of a lot of questions and save a lot of comments concerning the year make and model being discussed.
I m assuming its a 99 jeep Cherokee since dripper posted a question about air bags on that car
Way to stay awake there @wesw but almost every time I assume something…I get bit right on the posterior.
me too. 
Me three.
Dripper, I (and I’m sure others) would be very happy to help you solve the “one cylinder misfiring” problem if you’ll give us information about the vehicle under question. To my mind it’s a much better solution than continuing to drive it, and you’d no longer have to worry about long term effects. The solution might be very simple and less expensive even that the extra gas you’re using by driving around with a cylinder not firing properly.
@missileman, sorry I was out of the forum during the day. You make a good point. I’ve seen a good handful of questions recently that didn’t include any of that. It’s not something we’re able to do right now, but as we’re going forward and looking to make improvements to the functionality of the forum, I think this is something worth emphasizing.
If not enough facts are presented with the question just ask for more information and if it shows up answer the question. If not just ignore it.
I agree with Volvo. If someone comes here seeking help I won’t refuse them because they failed to provide specific information. I’ll assume they didn’t know and simply ask for it. I’ll never turn away someone asking for help.
Many who post her also have native languages other than English and struggle to present their problem, but they are no less deserving of help that someone who articulates their problem with clear English. I can only imagine how much I’d be struggling if I posted on a forum I another language.
Barriers to asking for help should be eliminated where possible. The only absolute criteria should be decency.
Ever seen the cartoon of the cowboy after OSHA got done with him? I’m all for keeping things simple. If you don’t ask a good question, you don’t get a good answer. No point discouraging more people from asking questions.
damage test