Ford Repair: engine problems (Ford Contour), ford contour, spark plug wire

Question
QUESTION: Hi i have a 96 ford contour 2.0 zetech and i have a reading of Cylinder 2 misfire i replaced the spark plugs and wires and the code still comes up. when i take the the spark plug wire off of the top of the plug i hear a loud rattling noise but once the wire is back on it goes away. people tell me that it might be a bad cylinder and that i will need the engine rebuilt or a new one. what do you thing it could be?
Thanks David

ANSWER: Before you do anything, have the compression tested. You can actually do this yourself, to prevent a trip to the shop, on what might be, a down cylinder. While you are at the parts store picking up the compression tester, price an engine through the parts store salvage program. You might be surprised at the cost. All cylinders should be within 10-15 p.s.i of each other.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: OK now yesterday i went to Car X and got a dianostic test done and they said that my fuel pumps pressure is low but my car doesnt hesitate when starting up and doesnt blog out. and they also said that my fuel injectors are a little clogged and they said they can do a full fuel system cleaning for $120. cant i do it myself by getting fuel injector cleaner? and could any other these problems be why my car code is P0302- Cylinder # 2 misfire?
thanks david

ANSWER: Sure, you can probably do it yourself by buying a $50-$75 can of Engine Fog. Let them do it. Sounds to me like you're #2 fuel injector is down. You can replace the injector yourself, it's around $60. Be sure and buy a complete set of o-rings for all of the injectors and the fuel rails. It's a fairly simple job.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So i should have them do the system cleaning? and how could you tell if an injector is bad can they be cleaned out? And i bought stp injector cleaner yesterday and poured it in my gas tank does that stuff really work?
Thanks Again

Answer
Let me go ahead and give you some nickel advice. All of the fuel injector cleaners, fuel system mumbo jumbo are is kerosene, in on form or another. That's right, kerosene. But that doesn't mean you should pour a pint of kerosene in, they have tinkered with it just enough to make it not to harmful to you're engine. Really good additives will say on the back that they have passed the BMW 318i valve cleaning test. And yes, I would have them clean the injection system. How do I know it's the fuel injector, well quite frankly, it's basically the only thing left that could be wrong.