Spark plug gap & hesitation

Also if a nut is stripped a little... should I just use a Craftsman bolt-out set to get it off, or is there a cheaper way?

-Mike

My experience has been a hearty YES it can. I was running some Autolites gapped a little too wide for the past few months and the car ran like complete crap. Seemed like it was stumbling or misfiring.

Turns out it was the plugs. I installed NGKs that were factory gapped at .54 and the car runs like a top again.

Well... I guess that is my problem then. Sucks that I replaced the MAF meter & IAT sensor (friggin IAT sensor was hard to get on a Sunday afternoon!!)... at least that'll be just that much longer trouble-free (knock on wood) for MAF & IAT... on the 4th plug.. you hafta remove that metal piece.. black metal piece... close to the firewall.. secured at 3 points. I stripped the brass-colored nut... guess I'm off to Sears today to get a bolt-out set... I think the plug is gapped too far & that's why it's running like shit... stumbling like no other! I step on the gas & it feels like an earthquake (well not that bad, but still.. getting worse as the car warms up more & more). Problem is now... I feel bad for bickering with you :P. Thanks, Tungsten... really..

-Mike

Think nothing of it. Bitch. ;-)

Seriously though, I replaced the coils, the cam position sensor and the flywheel position sensor, the fuel filter and the plug wires before it dawned on me that the only damn thing I hadn't replaced (lately) was the spark plugs.

I threw in the NGKs and it was like a new car all over again. Sometimes it's those simple little nickle and dime parts that end up costing you so much money.

Hope that fixes your car too.

LOL...

Thanks again... I'll go pick up a bolt-out set & keep ya updated on how the spark plug re-gapping works.

-Mike

Hehe...lmao.

Did you read my post on everything I have eplaced lately? LOL, definitely like driving a new car all over again.

Don Manning

You've GOT to be kidding me!!!! After all that whining, bitching, ordering, installing, troubleshooting, advice-over-the-'Net-seeking, troubleshooting (yes, I wrote it twice), knuckle-scarring, wrench-twisting, and gnashing of teeth it was the FRICKING SPARK PLUGS?????

Go sit in the corner.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tom

1998 GT Coupe 5-spd. Bright Atlantic Blue K&N FIPK, Tri-Ax, 3.73's, FRPP Coated Shorties, SpeedCal, P&P 2K Heads, 2K Intake, Bassani X-Pipe and Cat-Back, Subframe Connectors, JMS Chip, Eagle Alloy Wheels

LMAO!! Great!!

Mike

1995 Eagle Talon TSi of all the old cars

** on the 4th plug.. you hafta remove that metal piece.. black ** metal piece... close to the firewall.. secured at 3 points.

Last year, I came up with a way to change plug #4 with EASE, using only 2 different sized 3/8" extensions and U-jointed socket adapter, and by inserting the tool in a very unique location.

The next time I change plugs, I plan to photograph the apparatus and post it for others. Hell, now that I think about it, I may do this weekend. It was a novel approach to #4, and no one else I know has ever come up with it. Using my technique, one can change all 8 plugs in under 15 mins. without removing any brackets. Cussing and heavy drinking is optional.

And yes, noodling with the plugs will make it run rough. Check not only plug gap, but also that all plug wires are seated properly. Use some dielectric grease on the inside of the boot, and make sure it 'snicks' when pressed down.

-JD

-------------------------------- Enlightenment for The Masses: http:/207.13.104.8/users/jdadams--------------------------------

Somewhere back about a year and a half ago I finally took my Dremel to that three-legged bracket piece of shit that covers the FPR and blocks plug #4 and hacked the front leg of it off.

It's no longer a problem for me and I can change all of my plugs with ease now, plus the little bracket / shield / thingamabob is still in place doing WTF ever Ford intended it to do.

Another question... is there a different way to get out a stripped nut (like I've talked a/b in this thread) other than going to Sears & buying a bolt-out set? 10mm socket used to fit... now it barely slips..

-Mike

I must have missed your post about the nut in question. Let me dig back through the thread.

Vice Grips should work if you can get them onto it. If not the regular type, the needle nose version.

I don't have any vice grips... I'll see which is cheaper.

-Mike

Well, CONCLUSION:

Thank you Tungsten & JD Adams... you both rule. I dragged my friend outta bed & got him to help me out with the situation... after wrestling with plug #4 for 30 mins I got it out & re-gapped... stumbling went down BIG TIME... but wasn't gone.. so we pulled the rest of the plugs.. and I don't remember WHICH ones.. but 3 of the 8 (including f*cking #4) were not gapped at 0.054 like the rest were... so we checked them ALL (20 mins) & set 'em to 0.054 & now it runs smooth as a baby's butt. Thanks all.

-Mike

Ahhh... still running so smoothly.. I just wanna drive it 24/7 now! *hugs Elizabeth* (my car's name--my g/f's middle name).

-Mike

My ex-wife's name, my daughter's middle name, my sister-in-laws name...

Don Manning

Glad to hear it worked out for you. I threw my old spark plugs into a bag to keep on hand in the GT for the next time someone tailgates me on the highway.

Just kidding.

LOL Jeezus Don... lotta Liz's in your family ;D. (or ex-family?)

-Mike