Pontiac Repair: 96 pontiac grand am 2.4 ltr., valve cover gasket, ac delco

Question
i have been trying to fix my grand am for quite some time. it runs fine but when you start to go uphill it acts like it misfires. i replaced the spark plugs and the coil packs and while i did this i noticed an oil leak possibly around the valve cover gasket. it was leaking on the coil packs and spark plugs. could this cause a misfire?

Answer
Hi Justin:

No that will not cause the issue at least it shouldn't. if it only misfires under a heavy load I would suspect either a fuel delivery issue from possably and plugged fuel filter or a spark issue. these engines were noted for the coil housings to go bad and the coils cross fire inside the housings. usually when that happens though it misfires all the time not just under a load. did you replace the plugs with ac delco plugs? if not use only original equipment parts. same goes with any new cars if it a ford use ford parts etc.. The last possablity is maybe a bad spark plug boot between the coils and the plugs from time to time they go bad. you can spray down the engine with some water and load up the engine and see if the engine starts to misfire if so it's an ignition issue and the water is mkaing it do it worse. The water will act like a conductor and the lack of spark issue will become more pronounced if that's what it is.
. good luck :)