tune up gone bad !!!

['87 fuel-miser]

ok , so i'd thought i'd give my '87 4 cyl /4 sp a tune up . wasn't really running rough , but it had been almost 3 yrs since it was done last , and with the price of gas climbing higher as we speak , i figured , hell it can't hurt . well , that was the " kiss of death " ! i changed out the cap / rotor , wires and new copper plugs ( basic autolite's ) anywho , about a mile into my "test drive" the 'ol boy started to buck , sputter and stall out ! limping back home , completely puzzled ... i decided to pull the plugs ... 1 fine , 2 all carboned up , 3-4 , ok ! checked cap / rotor ... fine ! so , i said to myself ... "self , let's put the old plugs back in " ! ( they weren't bad at all ) ... even tried another cap/rotor for $#!&'s and giggles ... same results ... barely running ! for the life of me , i can't figure out what has happened ??? the 'ol boy was running fine before i touched it ... so , anyone out have any thoughts or ideas what has happened ? anyone run into this problem before ? i can't believe a little preventive maintenance has caused such a problem !!! :doh: :???: :fs1:

[maddzz1]

check the vacuum line to the map sensor. you may have knocked it loose.

[kyleag89]

Did you put the wires back on the correct way? What did the new plugs look like? Were any of the plugs wet with gas when you took them out?

[Geonovast]

Did you put the wires back on the correct way? What did the new plugs look like? Were any of the plugs wet with gas when you took them out?

 

I doubt it's a firing order issue, since he said that it happened about a mile into the drive.

 

Were the new plugs gapped correctly?

['87 fuel-miser]

plugs were gapped .035 took them out a couple were "wet" 1 was carboned up ... old plugs were gapped at 'bout .045 for some reason ... put them back in , no differance barely running ... if you call it that replaced wires/plugs 1 at a time so that's not it ... it's still dark when i get home from work ... i'll have to wait til the weekend to mess with it some more ... i appreciate the replies guys ... i'm sure you'll hear more ! :doh: :huh???: :dunno: :dunce:

[kyleag89]

A couple wet plugs sounds like a couple cylinders aren't firing.

['87 fuel-miser]

well it's been almost a week , but finally have the time to "investigate" what may be the problem ... loose wires , vacuum lines or anything out of the ordinary , nothing ! all looked fine , so lets start it up ! humm , running , idling normal ... ok , test drive , so far , so good . around town , fine . out to the highway , with speeds up to a wopping 62 mph ! ( remember this is a 25 yr old 4 banger ) running fine . after about a 20 mile round trip , no sputtering , no bucking or wanting to stall out . seems to be running back the way it was !!! :banana: i did nothing , other than let it sit for 6 days . the 'ol boy has mericulously repaired itself !!! i'm completely baffled ? :dunno: yet glad at the same time i kept the original "ac" plugs w/ new wires , cap/rotor . apparently , it didn't like the autolite/copper plugs , what else could it be ? i have no idea ??? but , anyway the 'ol boy is once again up and running fine ! i'd like to thank all who replied ... mark :jump: