Uneven idle....rough acceleration

[TheGreenPunisher]

Ok, so months back, i had a plug wire go bad and it caused my car to misfire. As of today, my car started up...the idle was about 1000RPM...when its normally 900...then it would vary between about 850-1000 but ever so slightly that unless you were watching the tach, you didnt know. Well, the second it is put into gear, the idle is thrown way off and car starts shaking like someone is tapping the gas. Same under acceleration...its like a misfire....but its not giving the computer the misfire signal (blinking SES).

In Park, i can rev it and maintain RPM's very easily, as if nothing is wrong. But put it in gear, and car goes into half-assed misfire mode. What could be wrong? I check all the plugs and wires...and they APPEAR to be good.

[TheGreenPunisher]

Just went to O'Reilly's and bought myself some Borg-Warner wires and NGK TR-55 plugs.

Cross your fingers and pray for me, cause that was my last $40 until Friday lol

[Red]

thats how mine was. No ses light so i went through fuel cleaners etc. I was thinking the worst, then i got the ses light and then the blinking ses. Changed the plugs and wires (less that 10k on them) and it was fixed. My car stumbled like your describing for a month before i just spent 40 bucks and fixed it and i never got a light til the last day.

[TheGreenPunisher]

How the fook do i get to the middle passenger-side plug....geez.... I got the fronts from above...the rears and drivers-middle from the bottom...but i cannot forsee how im gonna get to the passenger-side middle.

[TheGreenPunisher]

Ok...got all the plugs. The passenger-middle was a *****. I had to get the socket on from below...and then get the extensions and crap on while laying down on the engine. Now...for the wires on the passenger side....

[geocor]

Let us know if its OK. Just had the same problem in my thread;"MSD wires expensive crap".One wire & one plug was bad.You need a scanner like a Snap-On or equivilant to get a missfire reading.My "auto x ray" code reader or the cars OBD2 did'nt pick it up.If you can lift the car & spray watter on the suspected plug & wire you can see it arc out,that along with a snap-on scanner revealed my my problem with missfire...

[Red]

that sucks, mine were a breeze to change. I was changing the wires as well so just twisted and then yanked the wires. I could do it in about 15 minutes now, all from the top.

Cant you just check it in the dark to see the arc, i didnt know you had to spray water on it.

[TheGreenPunisher]

Changed all wires and plugs....and the problem is fixed. Dont know which # the culprit was...but all i know is, im very proud of myself. My dad has been in the automotive bussiness for 25 years....and he couldnt do it, and told me i couldnt either. I didnt accept that for an answer.

Ive never changed spark plugs or wires EVER, in my life, on anything except my dirt bike. I was told it couldnt be done...but i did it. It took me 5 hours, 3 band-aids, and 150 curse words, but i dont even care. It was well worth it, cause my parents told me my car was being taken into the shop, and i told them straight up "NO", and that if it killed me, i was doing it myself. Thanks to all the threads ive read on here, it helped me a bunch in getting to all of them. I am 16....and extremely proud of myself.

Problem solved.

[TheGreenPunisher]

Originally posted by geocor:
Let us know if its OK. Just had the same problem in my thread;"MSD wires expensive crap".One wire & one plug was bad.You need a scanner like a Snap-On or equivilant to get a missfire reading.My "auto x ray" code reader or the cars OBD2 did'nt pick it up.If you can lift the car & spray watter on the suspected plug & wire you can see it arc out,that along with a snap-on scanner revealed my my problem with missfire...

The car does sense misfires. The SES light blinking is a misfire.

[geocor]

Evidently there is a limit or threshold of the amount of missfires per crank revs before the PCM will pick up a missfire.Mine on #6 might not of been at that limit yet.Glad your problem is fixed!Yes Red the tech. who read the Snap -on scanner also sprayed water on the plug to see it arc better,that way he saw it easier in daylight.

[TheGreenPunisher]

I think i had the same problem, as i could tell it was misfiring, but it would only sense it when it got really bad. It must have a threshold.