So for the past 6 months to a year, I have had a slight misfire (more of a car jerk at idle speeds) turn into a nasty misfire accompanied by vibration and poor fuel economy. I also get poor acceleration but occasionally, it will run fine. I'd say 1/15 times I drive it. I had a diagnostic done at tires plus and they said my distributor needed to be replaced... well, they said to start with the distributor, but it might also be the PCM. Apparently the miss is on the #3 cylinder, and the distributor shows no pulse generation with a scanner hooked up. I am debating spending $150 on a new distributor or buying a used one on ebay out of a 1992 deville for $30 with a 6 month warranty. Basically, how likely is it that if I buy a used distributor, it will die within a year?

Any trouble codes? Replacing PCM is easier than distributor. I would start with PCM.

Yes... E23,E30,E41,E48,E53,E62 and F31... The first 5 lead me to assume its the distributor... and the F31 is because I just replaced the fuel data center... and E62 is just the cruise control... I had an electrical shortage that took out the entire electronic console (AC, speedometer, odometer, and fuel data center), which was fixed about 6 months ago and I just replaced the fuel data center last weekend, enabling me to finally pull codes. That is when I took it to the dealer to scan it and check it out. Could it just be the PCM not correctly contolling my distributor?

Yes... E23,E30,E41,E48,E53,E62 and F31... The first 5 lead me to assume its the distributor... and the F31 is because I just replaced the fuel data center... and E62 is just the cruise control... I had an electrical shortage that took out the entire electronic console (AC, speedometer, odometer, and fuel data center), which was fixed about 6 months ago and I just replaced the fuel data center last weekend, enabling me to finally pull codes. That is when I took it to the dealer to scan it and check it out. Could it just be the PCM not correctly contolling my distributor?
Actually only E41 and E53 are distributor-related...

I also get poor acceleration but occasionally, it will run fine. I'd say 1/15 times I drive it.

That's exactly how my car ran when I had E041. For me it turned out to be the ECM but check the cam sensor first.

Actually only E41 and E53 are distributor-related...


Well, yes, but couldn't the others be related? And as far as checking out the cam sensor first... how do I go about that?

I suggest you buy a Haynes manual for your car and a digital voltmeter so you can perform the tests on the sensor to see if it is bad. Are all your codes current? If not, clear them and see which ones come back... A current E041 has a profound effect on driveability regardless of everything else. You gotta take it one code at a time...

I can post the diagnostic trouble tree from the factory service manual for diagnosing E41 tomorrow as soon as I get a chance. You will nee a DVM though at the very least to perform the tests.

If you do your own work, buying a digital voltmeter is a great idea and will pay for itself in short order.

I suggest you buy a Haynes manual for your car and a digital voltmeter so you can perform the tests on the sensor to see if it is bad. Are all your codes current? If not, clear them and see which ones come back... A current E041 has a profound effect on driveability regardless of everything else. You gotta take it one code at a time...

I can post the diagnostic trouble tree from the factory service manual for diagnosing E41 tomorrow as soon as I get a chance. You will nee a DVM though at the very least to perform the tests.

If you do your own work, buying a digital voltmeter is a great idea and will pay for itself in short order.

Why Haynes when Factory Service Manuals are available on eBay for next to nothing?

Why Haynes when Factory Service Manuals are available on eBay for next to nothing?

Because he can run down to the store and pick one up TODAY. It's like a 'quick reference' guide for the FSM. Not to judge the OP, but some people just want their problem solved as simply as possible. Alot of folks around here have BOTH books but still they want you to spell it out for them! :banghead:

I use my Haynes for little things like torque specs and voltage values for testing sensors and such... But nothing compares to the trouble trees in the FSM.