first off let me say that i DID do a search but found nothing useful. about 2 days ago i got off work and went to start it and i realized how rough it was running. anyways i got it home and now it's still doing that crap. i took it to my friend's dad (who builds muscle cars) and he tested the spark plugs and the number 2 spark plug wasn't doing something (i forgot exactly what he said) it's like he took this needle looking thing and ground one wire from it and stuck it into each ignition wire and each one made that engine idle low when he poked it except the number 2 wire. we looked the plug and it seemed fine with very little corrosion so could it be the whole wire? should i replace it? the thing is, my local o'reilly's only sells the whole kit ($50) vesus buying a single wire. so shouldi go ahead and buy it or should i take it to a shop? i'm so broke....any help is much appreciated. thanks guys

 

sounds like he was grounding out the ignition and your #2 spark plug wire is toast. you can take the boots off and strip the wire and redo it, but its a PITA. $50 sounds kind of high for spark plug wires. for 90 you can get some 11mm accell wires from Jegs. but you would have to put the boots on yourself since they are a generic kit.

I recommend getting the autozone wires. I got a set, but one of the ends tore off when I was changing plugs, so I put some Ho'Reilly's wires on there. Something wasn't right, so I broke out the multi meter and the Autozone's had a much lower resistance. The Autozone's also have a lifetime warranty, so if you ever rip the boot off, you get a new set of wires.

 

so u think thats the problem? the wires? he said something about maybe the timing is off too...

 

Replace the wires, if there questionable, toss them out and get new ones. Go ahead and do new spark plugs too. They are cheap and you know they are new when you replace them.

Look at the post about timing. It'll tell you what to do.

This is a basic tune up. This is what you pay garages a couple hundred bones to do, and really easy to do yourself. All thats really left is change fluids, oil and air filter and your tuned up. Almost forgot, replace the distributor cap too. My 92 has a bad habit of developing cracks in there. Make sure you get a genuine Nissan cap, I've had bad luck with the aftermarket stuff.

 

what did u mean by "you can take the boots off and strip the wire and redo it" ? how do i do that? if i can do something to get me by for a week i'll do it because i'm outta $$$ right now and i need something to get me by until my next check if possible. and if not then "mom, will u paleeeeaaase take me to work? i'll wax ur car....."

 

Slip the boot back, take a pocket knife, strip the wire, then put it back together. Do it on both ends of the wire. I've never done it myself, but a friend did it to my car once when I was about to get new plug wires.

 

hey can u get on AIM and talk for a few? my name is thisbuds4you6699

 

just get yourself a set of OEM wires and plugs...