# Why does my old, beat up car have a misfire?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-does-my-old-beat-up-car-have-a-misfire/39967>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** mercury, sable, misfire\
**Created:** [November 25, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-does-my-old-beat-up-car-have-a-misfire/39967 "2009-11-25T01:09:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gunner13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@gunner13](https://community.cartalk.com/u/gunner13)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-does-my-old-beat-up-car-have-a-misfire/39967/1 "2009-11-25T01:09:48Z")

</div>

I have a 1996 Mercury Sable with 260,000 miles. It has a misfire that occurs at about 2k rpm–not below or above while on level road, going up hills, and while idling when the engine is warm, say, at a stoplight after I’ve gotten off the freeway.  
  
  
  
 There are no obvious vacuum leaks, the fuel filter is new and pressure is fine. The plug wires are fresh, but I’m not sure about the plugs themselves. Thoughts?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Xebadaih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/d07c76/32.png) [@Xebadaih](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Xebadaih)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-does-my-old-beat-up-car-have-a-misfire/39967/2 "2009-11-25T01:13:58Z")

</div>

Not sure about the plugs? Pull them out and take a look.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gunner13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@gunner13](https://community.cartalk.com/u/gunner13)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-does-my-old-beat-up-car-have-a-misfire/39967/3 "2009-11-25T01:23:27Z")

</div>

I plan on it. The top of the intake manifold covers half of them though, so it’s a Saturday afternoon just to take a look.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BustedKnuckles](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bustedknuckles/32/25_2.png) [@BustedKnuckles](https://community.cartalk.com/u/BustedKnuckles)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-does-my-old-beat-up-car-have-a-misfire/39967/4 "2009-11-25T01:27:44Z")

</div>

Also do a compression test. With the age and miles, maybe one of the cylinders is getting weak. A weak cylinder may mimic a miss.