I HAVE A KNOCK IN THE MOTOR AT HIGHT SPEEDS. UN PLUG THE VACCUM AT THE DISTRIBUTOR IT GOES AWAY. WHAT COULD IT BE ?

Is if youre looking at engine from front of car , and the distributor is pointing 3 feeds at you pointing same direction as headlights would . IF distibutor is pointing as said ,I
Then far back right feed on the distibutor pointing towards windshield is number 6 , that should be the far cylinder in back far left ( assuming youre looking from front of vehicle ) .
You got number 6 th
Next wire over ON distributor ( middle , back pointing at windshield ) belongs to cylinder 5 , which is straight across where you put 6 . So both wires are farthest points away from distributor and should be your longest wires most likely . Next number is 4 , goes right next to 6 just like before .
So that the back side of distributor . Front 3 from distibutor far left goes to cylinder 3 , miiddle feed of distributor goes to cylinder 2 , then last remaining is cylinder 1 .
Thats only if yours isnt the distibutor thats clockwise pointing 3 feeds at motor and away from motor .

First you can not put Bosch plugs in it. Also watch cheap wires from parts house. Also check fuel pump pressure at high speed. Also watch for Catt converter plugging. Try unscrewing up stream o2 on both sides then drive. If goes away plugged Catt. You can scan those and see fuel values. Then you can tell. Any codes?

Listen to the noise. Is it on top or bottom of the engine. Is the noise more like tapping or knocking(deeper sound). Neither is good. The reason it goes away is higher RPM's creates more oil pressure.

sounds like a thrust bearing

The knock is likely a worn connecting rod bearing. Are you using the correct weight of oil, never use any heavier than 10W30W, heavy oil viscosity's cause slow circulation through the oil passages and starve the engine's bearings for oil.

You may have the ORDER correct, but the STARTING POINT off by one plug! If you can find the timing mark on the crankshaft, place it in line with the timing indicator, and that should make the rotor (under the distributor cap) point to plug #1. If it looks way off, like 180 degrees away from plug wire #1, rotate the crankshaft one full turn, and recheck where the rotor is pointing! If the knocking problem persists, there may be a problem with the timing belt or chain which drives the distributor at 1/2 the speed of the crankshaft. That would explain the smells because the valves would be open at the wrong times. Caution! Pistons can hit valves that are open at the wrong time! Things can BREAK under those conditions!

1999 4 3 misfiring
Did you find this related site in your forum search? It goes over a number of things that might help ... beyond the distributor/plugs/wires change out
Helpful?
Good luck with your troubleshooting

Replace plugs and wires at the same time and this will fix it. It is not a transmission problem. Common customer problem at a dealership I worked at. Carbon tracking on plugs and wires will cause this , so replace both at the same time to fix.

This could be at engine due to 1) poor gas octane 2) hot engine
for gas try super unleaded and test. keep an eye on temperature also which should be normal

Hello,
your problem appears to be the idle control motor located on the air intake manifold it is a small motor that goes bad quite often. Other items that can cause this is a bad /clogged air filter or a tune up (spark plugs and wires), or clogged fuel injectors. to clean the injectors you can buy a container of fuel system cleaner and pour it into the gas tank and as you drive it cleans the system.

Once the fuel system is cleaned via a tankful of cleaner & gas then the idle controller motor would be next on the list to be replaced.

Good Luck !
Rich Lilja