Gummee

So its spring and time for maintenance, right? Since I don't know when the last time plugs were changed, I decided to do something easy.

...except things are worse now than when I started!

The spark plug cover fought me coming off. 3 of 6 bolts were so tight, it took muscle to get em loose. (I'm pretty sure those 3 holes are now stripped. Yes, I was loosening, not tightening them!)

The spark plugs themselves fought me coming out. It was like someone put em in with an air wrench!

So I get things buttoned back up except the cover won't tighten and now the car feels like its running on 4 of 6 cylinders. Plugs are snug plus an eighth of a turn, not 'air wrenched' on.

Is the cover bolting down the coils *that* important to the well-being of the car?

I don't *think* I messed up the wires to/from the coils when I pulled things. Nothing felt 'off.'

I didn't disconnect either sensor on the crossover tube, I loosened the hose clamps closest to the crossover and just removed it, leaving it connected to the wire/sensor on the driver's side of the engine

...so what went wrong?

Better question: how do I undo my goof?

:ear

I'm pretty sure the car is in 'limp home' mode. I haven't searched yet, but can someone point me to the thread that tells how to re-set that? ...or does the car do it on its own?

M

(how's that for a first thread?)

Gummee

No one?

M

Gummee

Did some diagnosing: One of the coils wasn't firing. Figured it out as I was checking spark plugs. Swapped coils 1 and 3 and the car ran like new(ish) till yesterday when it started acting up again.

I'm not sure if it isn't the engine wiring harness + old coils or just old coils. No, I haven't done the engine wiring harness yet. I'm pretty sure it needs it on top of a bunch of other 'deferred maintenance' from when it sat after Dad passed away.

M