1994 Ford Escort hard idle/hesitation

[escortguy]

Make:Ford
Model:Escort LX 4 door 1.9L engine

issue: my car has been ideling VERY hard.. and it would hesitate when i pushed on the gas....

i did some research on my components.
spark plugs are still good(may need to be replaced, will further explain)
spark plug wires are bad... i was looking at my wires from the coil to the head.. and i noticed that the wires had a blue glow on them.. i looked closer and it looked like the wires were on fire from the sparks arching from each wire to the other...

I went and got a new set of spark plug wires, and installed those.

the car doesnt idle as hard, but in first gear, it hesistates and in 4 and 5th gear, it feels like the engine is going to fall out when i push on the gas...

I opened the hood, and looked into the spark plug chamber for #2... (left to right...#1, #2, #3, #4)

i noticed that there was a small spark arching from the boot to the chamber wall...about 1 inch into the chamber.. every time it would spark, the engine would act like it was stalling... and i can hear a spark noise... when i rev it, the spark, sparks faster, goes with the rythms of the pistons... btw. the boot is pushed on as far as it will go.

If anyone needs pictures, i could get some. maybe I just need to get new spark plugs? maybe the ceramic case is broken?

Thanks

Brian

[chevyn0va1]

yes i have seen the ceramic break before be sure you have good quality wires lifetime warrenty and coat them well with dielectric grease. let us know

[escortguy]

chevyn0va1 - Thanks for the fast reply... I will be sure to check the spark plug when I remove it tomorrow. Im guessing, from when the last time they were checked, they did not use a safe socket? I know there are padded sockets for removeing/installing spark plugs, are they always used?

brian

[chevyn0va1]

To be honest I have not always used one I had thought the biggest reason to use them is to hold the plug in place while you install it-lol

Also be sure you get platnum motorcraft (although that seems to be up for debate) and be sure they are gapped properly

[escortguy]

I went out and bought BOSCH Platinum +4 spark plugs, I'll let you know how it works after I get them installed later today... too hot to work in the middle of the day without a garage.

Brian

[Jet-Lee]

WAIT!!! They're not the ones with 4 arm thingy's are they?! If so, DON'T USE THEM!!! Get MotorCraft, go to Autozone, and look in a Haynes manual. Chapter 1 specifications, it will tell you EXACTLY which spark plug to use. That plug will give you the best power and mileage.

[escortguy]

Have I missed something in regards to the BOSCH?

Brian

[chevyn0va1]

Originally Posted by escortguy

Have I missed something in regards to the BOSCH?

Brian

yes for some reason people are saying not to use the bosch 4 plugs in a 4 cyl engine. ( had used them before in a 4 cyl caravan and I loved them in that motor)

[ZX2000]

for some reason those plugs done agree w/ most 4 cyl. engines... the two cases i have experienced w/ them have been a 2.3L ford truck and a 1.6L Honda Civic.... in both cases the plugs worked for about 7000 miles or so..... even gave the user a good gain in gas mileage, and better spark of course.... however, when that 7000 miles was up, the plugs started acting weird... when they accelerated above 45 mph the car and truck started lurching like the plugs were not firing and they acted like they wanted to stall...

that grade of plug is very very usefull when dealing w/ an extremely upgraded ignition system. one that puts out more spark than normal spark plugs can handle... it is not designed however for a car that has all stock ignition. use the platinum 1's or the split tips... the gains and gas mileage will be as much or more than the plat. 4's.. trust me...

*edit* scratch buying bosch platinum plugs...... go w/ autolite double plats..... i was just reading about bosch platinum plugs and i won't recommend them to anyone anymore..... motorcraft or autolite is what id say man.... good luck...

[chevyn0va1]

Originally Posted by ZX2000

for some reason those plugs done agree w/ most 4 cyl. engines... the two cases i have experienced w/ them have been a 2.3L ford truck and a 1.6L Honda Civic.... in both cases the plugs worked for about 7000 miles or so..... even gave the user a good gain in gas mileage, and better spark of course.... however, when that 7000 miles was up, the plugs started acting weird... when they accelerated above 45 mph the car and truck started lurching like the plugs were not firing and they acted like they wanted to stall...

that grade of plug is very very usefull when dealing w/ an extremely upgraded ignition system. one that puts out more spark than normal spark plugs can handle... it is not designed however for a car that has all stock ignition. use the platinum 1's or the split tips... the gains and gas mileage will be as much or more than the plat. 4's.. trust me...

I went cheep on this car and bought the autolite plats in my heart I wanted to stick with bocsh but didnt have the $$$ at the time. So far no one is happy with the autolite. So now its down to motorcraft or bosch which is it people? BTW didnt i see something about 2 differnt types of plugs (at least my 99 2.0) they even had differnt color paint at the bottom of the white part (if i was to guess one was red one was green)

[ZX2000]

read my edit..... ill never recommend bosch again after the shit i just read... my friend swears on autolite double plats...... and he's the man so...

[escortguy]

I ended up sticking with the Bosch.. ya ya ya.. I read your opinions, I just didnt want to make a new trip to the auto store... I wont be driving the car after about 1000 more miles, im getting a new one... i paid 1.99 per plug, so I got a deal there.

The car runs ALOT better now, Very little to no hesitation at all. the engine still makes a very annoying sputter sound (almost like a lawn mower) when I accelerate. Im guessing that is the cause of an air leak or vaccum leak somewhere??

any guesses?

thanks again for all the replys!!


Brian

[chevyn0va1]

Originally Posted by escortguy

I ended up sticking with the Bosch.. ya ya ya.. I read your opinions, I just didnt want to make a new trip to the auto store... I wont be driving the car after about 1000 more miles, im getting a new one... i paid 1.99 per plug, so I got a deal there.

The car runs ALOT better now, Very little to no hesitation at all. the engine still makes a very annoying sputter sound (almost like a lawn mower) when I accelerate. Im guessing that is the cause of an air leak or vaccum leak somewhere??
Brian

Yes if you suspect a vaccum leak try spraying some cleaner (gumout) around all suspected leak if you spray a hose that has a leak and you spray it the car will "smooth out" or run better if it does thats where your leak is. Also have your tried spraying the thottle body down with some of that same cleaner? If not try taking the hose end of your air cleaner where it goes to your intake and spray into the intake while moving your butterfly valve (accelorator linkage)

I had a car that ran like that (chevy lumina) and cleaned the intake and butterfly vavle and it ran so much better afterwords this tip stopped the car from running like crap and stalling out. Let me know if it works for ya

[escortguy]

Alright. Ill try that on Friday. I have to work today, so I wont be able to get much done. I will keep you posted on what turns out...


Brian