new plugs & new wires. certain order is correct. engine so bouncy and rough it want to jump right out of the hood. i’m at a loss. please, any thoughts or suggestions?
also, the engine was running “alright” before…all of this started emmediately after i put in the new plugs. then i did the wires thinking that was the problem. nope. everyone says i got the wires messed up, but i’ve checked and rechecked like ten times already. they are correct.
Many people use the reverse order because they don’t know which way the rotor turns. They turn 1-3-4-2 into 1-2-4-3 because they went the wrong way. The 1 and 4 are always correct, the 3 and 2, not so much. Remove the plugs and see if the tips are damaged. Get the right plugs which are usually made by ND or NGK. Don’t use Champions,AC or Autolite/Motorcraft. Look for rotor damage. You did install the wires wrong. We know. This isn’t the first go-around. After installing the wires right, it takes a little while for the engine to run better.
Also, if you’re basing the firing order off of a Haynes or Chilton or other cheapie service manual, it’s not at all uncommon for the firing orders or engine rotation to be listed wrong.
Check distributor cap for malfuction. Also, looks like bad engine rods too.
It must be the 4 cylinder engine with two spark plugs per cylinder, with this distributor cap which takes eight wires-- 4 wires for the I (intake) side of the cylinders, and 4 wires for the E (exhaust) side of the cylinders: http://www.autozone.com/shopping/repairGuide.htm?pageId=0900c15280061681
Both spark plugs (the I and the E) fire at the same time per cylinder. In the firing order drawing, the distributor cap is shown as the small square.
At first, connect only the I spark plug wires to the distributor cap and, then, to the I spark plugs. When the engine runs smoothly, that way, start connecting the E spark plug wires, one at a time.
You definitely need the repair manual to help you. Here is the firing order for the 4 cylinder engine: http://www.autozone.com/N,26200242/shopping/specsSelect.htm You’ll see the note that the distributor rotor turns counter clock wise.
Thank You to all who replied to my posting. Here’s an update…I took it in to a mechanic today. Verdict if a blown head gasket and possibly a bad cylinder or two. The compression on the first two was at 150 and the back two were at 30. SO i guess I was running on just two cylinders. OUCH.
Thanks again to all who replied.