Well great, now I've made it worse

[Secret Chimp]

OK, I really need some help here, I have no idea what's going on.
This morning I fill up the antifreeze and brake fluid and then move on to changing the spark plugs. I go for the #4 cylinder (I believe - right side of the engine facing the front of the car, next to the timing belt/farthest away from the distributor)) first since it's easiest to get at. I do as the manual says and pull up on the boot base... and the wire just decides to break in half.
At this point I had the rubber boot and about 2 inches of insulated wire in my hand and the big long plastic plug, the rest of the wire and the metal contact tube stuck inside of the head. Obviously I needed to get new spark wires at this point.
I hiked back to my place where my girlfriend's car was, drove to Advance and bought a full set of wires (I figured if one did that, they all might, and if not they still looked like shitty wires) and went on back to my girlfriend's house (I use her garage rather than my place's parking lot, where I'm unsure if I'm allowed to do that kind of car work or not).
I was able to pry out the plastic sleeve, metal contact tube, and the rubber bootie thing from the head, but only after liberally spraying down there with WD-40. Rather than go through that 20-some minute ordeal on each cylinder, I just replaced the #4 wire that had broken on me and left the plug in there. I wanted to make sure that at least doing that much let the car run.
Here's where the fun began - it started missing like hell. Idle was the worst, but it continued on up through the normal driving rev range. Oh crap, right? I drove for about a mile in a loop, getting on the gas once or twice, keeping it in 2nd, seeing if I could clear up whatever was going on. Didn't happen. I figured leaving that little bit of WD-40 down there had fouled the plug.
First I used some pliers to stick around 15 Q-Tips down there to soak up all of the WD-40, and hey, my ratchet set can't reach down there.
Blah blah blah, I pay freaking $6.92 for a socket extension at Home Depot so I can get the plug out, and incredibly it comes out very easily (considering how low the brake and coolant fluids were I worried that the plugs had been in there for all 166,000 miles). And it looked fine.
Still, I had bought a new set of NGK plugs the day before, and the threads of the old plug and a bit of the ground were wet with WD, so I figured why not screw it in there. Yes I used a bit of anti-seize on the threads, yes I torqued it but not too much, no the contact in the book was not fouled up. Slid the boot down there and it held on just fine. I started the car and still it missed. It's worse down around warm idle RPM (it misses hard sometimes and feels like it'll die every now and then) but still misses during acceleration.
I tried prying open the little contacts on the distributor end a little better and crimping down the plug end a little, but it didn't make any difference. On my way here I locked it in 2nd and it ran smooth between 3000-4000 rpm, but I've somehow completely ruined the car's normal drivability. What could be going on? Is it just a bad wire? I plan on running back over to Advance and seeing if I can get them to look at it, but if it's something I can fix that'd be preferable.
I bought Autolite (Honeywell) wires, all I touched was the #4/driver's side cylinder, replaced that plug and wire. The plug is not being fouled, which leaves only the wire, but these are freaking brand new, so I'm stumped as to what went wrong. The problem was THE SAME with the old spark plug and the new one.

[sparkplug]

Glad to see you're back first of all. It's been awhile. I have a few suggestions.

a. Make sure you reconnected everything properly.
b. check all vacuum lines that you may have disconnected.
c. Find out the proper timing and confirm you findings.
d. Get a six pack. It's going to be a long night.

If that don't work. Take it to a mechanic before you destroy it.

[AutobahnSHO]

For some reason some engines have one wire out of sequence.  I was ready to push the SHO as far as it took to find a cliff to shove it off until I checked online and found that the Chilton's was wrong on the plug/wire order...

Go with Sparkplug's plan. 

[Secret Chimp]

I connected/disconnected/touched absolutely nothing except for that one spark plug wire. Everything is as pushed in and secure as it can get. No vacuum lines ever came off, I never took off more than that one spark plug wire, I never cranked it with the one cylinder disabled. I have no idea how the timing could have gotten changed just disconnecting one wire; I can't check that now, but I doubt it's any different than what it was before.

[Rupert]

Have you tried the other wires in the set on the plug? My instinct (which is, thus far, pretty bad) would be to replace the rest of the plugs and wires to see if that did anything. I'd say the plug is gapped incorrectly, but the problem didn't change with the plug. The cap and rotor could also be fuckered. It could be one of those coincidences, and it's nothing to do with either the plug or the wire.

But, really, the best thing I've done for a vehicle in the last few months is take it to the mechanic to fix what I screwed up.

[VTEC_Inside]

For starters I've had plug wires that were bad right out of the box.

I'd still change the remaining plugs and wires and see what happens.

Have a really good look at the distributor cap and rotor. Look for carbon tracking inside the cap (fine dark lines that indicate the spark isn't going where you want it). I'd just replace the cap and rotor anyway really.

Check the ground strap going from the head to the body.

[GoCougs]

Remove the suspect wire from the plug in the head, put the old plug in the wire, start the car and see if you can see it firing. You may have to touch the plug to ground (engine block, etc.).

If it's not firing, it could be lots of things; bad wire, bad plug, damaged post on the distrubotr cap or who knows what else. You have to find out first if the plug is firing though.

[Rupert]

Ignition coil/module, too...

Be careful if you have the car running with a plug out! That's a lotta electricity.

[JWC]

I'm not a big fan of Autolite products, so I'm biased with my thinking that the wire you replaced is crapola.  We go through this a lot with people doing tuneups on the cheap using Autolite plugs.  They seem to last about three months before one begins to misfire. (To be fair, I've had Motorcraft and AC plugs misfire right out of the box).

That said, I would also tend to think that if one wire was so dry-rotted that it broke, then one or more of the original wires are suspect.

[Secret Chimp]

Well, I think later today I'll see if I can get my money back on this full wire set and buy a single that isn't shit. If that brings it back to the way it was, I'll just leave it alone until I can have someone else replace the rest of the wires and plugs for me. (Will NAPA have any good single wires, or should I just try buying a single direct from a Honda dealer?)
The only thing I ever touched was that one wire and plug, I never even laid my hands on any other part of the ignition system (and this whole ordeal created itself within 10 minutes of work) so I'm hoping it's just ass wire.

[southdiver1]

Well, I think later today I'll see if I can get my money back on this full wire set and buy a single that isn't shit. If that brings it back to the way it was, I'll just leave it alone until I can have someone else replace the rest of the wires and plugs for me. (Will NAPA have any good single wires, or should I just try buying a single direct from a Honda dealer?)
The only thing I ever touched was that one wire and plug, I never even laid my hands on any other part of the ignition system (and this whole ordeal created itself within 10 minutes of work) so I'm hoping it's just ass wire.

Start the car and pay attention to the idle.  it should be rough.
While it is running (wear gloves)  pull the # 4 wire off the plug. If you hear no change, then it is a bad wire.
Turn the car off, remove the # 4 plug and put the wire on the plug.  Turn the car back on and (making sure you are not holding the PLUG) look for spark. You can move the plug (holding the boot) close to metal. The intake manifold, a hood hinge, whatever, and look for spark. No spark? bad wire or a bad plug. You can play around with wire/plug combos.

[VTEC_Inside]

Well, I think later today I'll see if I can get my money back on this full wire set and buy a single that isn't shit. If that brings it back to the way it was, I'll just leave it alone until I can have someone else replace the rest of the wires and plugs for me. (Will NAPA have any good single wires, or should I just try buying a single direct from a Honda dealer?)
The only thing I ever touched was that one wire and plug, I never even laid my hands on any other part of the ignition system (and this whole ordeal created itself within 10 minutes of work) so I'm hoping it's just ass wire.

I don't think you will find anyone that will sell you just one wire.

Napa does sell some nice wires though. I've gotten a couple sets there now and they appear to be of much higher quality than the crap at Canadian Tire.

It couldn't hurt to check with Honda though. They are going to be more $, but shouldn't be much more.

[S204STi]

OEM wires are almost always going to be the best option for your car, but take a look at Magnecors and some of the higher end Napa or Carquest stuff. 

[sparkplug]

Might be something with one of the coils or something like that. If you find out what it is. Tell us.

PS. Are you drunk yet.

[Secret Chimp]

I've found that the car runs absolutely fine when the engine is cold. Not the coolant, but the whole engine. If I've been driving it for awhile or if it's been on a few trips in a short while, it'll start missing, worse and worse and worse. This makes me pretty sure it's the wire (as the head heats up, which the wires are all mounted on top of, etc etc etc).
Considering that all I touched was that one wire, I highly doubt that it's a coil, the ignition, timing, blah blah blah. It ran fine before, I changed a wire, boom. I ordered some OEM NGK wires that I should get by Tuesday and have installed on Wednesday, so then I'll see what's what.

[Danish]

cool!

[Secret Chimp]

Alright, problem solved.

1st: every single one of those shitty wires was dry-rotted. Each one tore off inside of the little plastic cylinder tube.
2nd: whoever put in those wires and plugs was an idiot: there was about a tablespoon of motor oil in each of the spark tubes, so much on the #2 that it actually created a carbon buildup between the contact end of the spark plug and the wire. The oil had seeped past the threads on 2 out of 3 of the remaining plugs.

Now: no misses, much smoother idling (this with a bad motor mount to boot) and it doesn't make a Porky the Pig impression when I step on it hard from a stop. Hopefully I'll get better mileage too - I suspect the #2 plug was causing the initial cracked-throttle jerkiness and probably knocking some miles off of my tank. I know the more recent severe miss caused a big dip; I'm past half a tank and haven't even gone 200 miles, which is my usual halfway point. So yays. Thanks for your help.

[AutobahnSHO]

2nd: whoever put in those wires and plugs was an idiot: there was about a tablespoon of motor oil in each of the spark tubes, so much on the #2 that it actually created a carbon buildup between the contact end of the spark plug and the wire. The oil had seeped past the threads on 2 out of 3 of the remaining plugs.

Make sure there aren't any seals that might allow the oil to seep.  I don't know of other cars but SHOs were famous for this.  When I pulled the plug wires one time the entire plugs were submerged in oil...

[VTEC_Inside]

Make sure there aren't any seals that might allow the oil to seep. I don't know of other cars but SHOs were famous for this. When I pulled the plug wires one time the entire plugs were submerged in oil...

Yeah that. You should keep an eye on those plug wells. The seals aren't that expensive and pretty easy to replace.

[Secret Chimp]

Well, my Haynes thing says to check the condition of the spark plug sealing washers before reinstalling the valve cover, but only on VTEC engines. Yet on Rock Auto I can buy a set for an LX Accord. If the non-VTEC F22B2 engine does have them, I'm going to have to take the valve cover off, which is going to require a torque wrench and properly using RTV sealant and possibly replacing the valve cover gasket (and if that ends up crumbling or tearing or whatever, that'll be a big whoop-de-shit for me) which is all crap I'd rather not immediately get in to.
If this engine does have tube seals and they're leaking, will I be OK just pulling the wires every other tank of gas or so to mop out the tubes as necessary, or is this something I need to get on quickly?
Also, any idea what a shop would charge for this job? I know that this past issue wasn't any fault of my workmanship, but after helping to magically create a problem with my previously just-fine car I'm very wary of messing it up, something that I could easily see myself doing if I have to touch anything near the valvetrain :P

[VTEC_Inside]

Well, my Haynes thing says to check the condition of the spark plug sealing washers before reinstalling the valve cover, but only on VTEC engines. Yet on Rock Auto I can buy a set for an LX Accord. If the non-VTEC F22B2 engine does have them, I'm going to have to take the valve cover off, which is going to require a torque wrench and properly using RTV sealant and possibly replacing the valve cover gasket (and if that ends up crumbling or tearing or whatever, that'll be a big whoop-de-shit for me) which is all crap I'd rather not immediately get in to.
If this engine does have tube seals and they're leaking, will I be OK just pulling the wires every other tank of gas or so to mop out the tubes as necessary, or is this something I need to get on quickly?
Also, any idea what a shop would charge for this job? I know that this past issue wasn't any fault of my workmanship, but after helping to magically create a problem with my previously just-fine car I'm very wary of messing it up, something that I could easily see myself doing if I have to touch anything near the valvetrain :P

It really isn't all that hard. I would recommend a torque wrench to put it back on, but a simple needle style (cheap) will suffice.

Honda uses rubber gaskets, and you only need a bit of rtv in the corners and over the cam hump.

The most annoying part can be just getting the cover off. Look around the head, one of the corners may have a flattened off part of the gasket and you can put whatever on that and push down prying the cover up.

[Rupert]

Yeah, valve cover gaskets are easy.

[AutobahnSHO]

It really isn't all that hard. I would recommend a torque wrench to put it back on, but a simple needle style (cheap) will suffice.

Honda uses rubber gaskets, and you only need a bit of rtv in the corners and over the cam hump.

The most annoying part can be just getting the cover off. Look around the head, one of the corners may have a flattened off part of the gasket and you can put whatever on that and push down prying the cover up.

And really if you're REALLY careful you don't need a torque wrench, when they're snug you don't overtighten them (or you'll break studs/bolts).
For my SHO I had to pull the entire intake and do 2 valve covers.  The seals were $70 apiece, but wires were $100... 

IF they're leaking bad you could just sop up the oil every couple months, but too much oil will rot your plugwires. I found my wires were bad AFTER I changed the plugs/ sucked up the oil, and put new seals on, it started missing bad.  The oil was apparently insulating the spark from the bad wires.

[VTEC_Inside]

And really if you're REALLY careful you don't need a torque wrench, when they're snug you don't overtighten them (or you'll break studs/bolts).
For my SHO I had to pull the entire intake and do 2 valve covers. The seals were $70 apiece, but wires were $100...

IF they're leaking bad you could just sop up the oil every couple months, but too much oil will rot your plugwires. I found my wires were bad AFTER I changed the plugs/ sucked up the oil, and put new seals on, it started missing bad. The oil was apparently insulating the spark from the bad wires.

I helped my buddy do them on his SHO. Quite the involving process on that engine.

[AutobahnSHO]

I helped my buddy do them on his SHO. Quite the involving process on that engine.

LOL
That car taught me more than I wanted to know about auto repair.  One of my favorite sho forum signatures was one with a gif of a black Gen1 getting pulled up onto the wrecker- and he'd animated the hazard lights blinking..