Finding a "Dead" Cylinder

[orph]

Have a '86 930. Washed the car Thursday night, and Friday morning, car was firing on only 5 cyclinders. Drove it 5 miles or so, thinking if I got water somewhere, it might dry out. ( never had a problem before, following a wash job ). No such luck.

Anyway, what's the best way to find which cylinder is dead, and the cause ? So far, I've pulled the distributor cover off ,and the inside looks nice and dry. For the plug wires I could reach, they all seemed to be tight , both at the distributor and at the plugs themselves . All of the wires at the distributor are extremely tight and hard to get off. I pulled one off, spark very weak, as compared to other one I disconnected. Others I've not messed with.

I've got some basic knowledge on ignition issues, and with two Corvairs, any like problem and I just replaced wires, plugs, rotor and distributor cover. With a Corvair, both time and costs were minimal, but with a 930 its a whole different ball game. I'm not so much worried about the cost, but just getting "stuff" off to get to the plugs and replacing wires seemes to be a monumental task.

All input appreciated !

[Quicksilver]

If it is missing on one cylinder then that cylinder's plug should look noticeably different. I would check it out. Another method is to pull the plug wires one at a time until you find one that doesn't make as much of a difference. Last method (which will be hard on a Porsche) is to see if one of the exhaust tubes is running cooler.

Seeing as this happened after washing the car I would very carefully inspect the cap for a very small crack(s). I would also spray the plug wires down with a light coat of silicone spray and use a touch of some dielectric grease on the sparkplug boots.


Wayne