Changed Plugs, Now Car Will Not Start

[topless98gt]

EDIT:
Videos: http://qik.com/video/757137 and http://qik.com/video/757140
Pictures: http://www.getdropbox.com/gallery/50461/1/plugs?h=d1b6d3

So my car has been miss-firing on cylinder 3 for a little over a week now and yesterday I finally had time to change the plugs. So I started on the driver side, and I unplugged all wires on that side (5 thru 8). I know, big mistake. I replaced all of the plugs: one well had rat poop/urine (rats ate my wires while it was being stored, car ran fine for 9 months), one well had oil in it, and the others seemed ok. All 4 plugs had gray deposits on them. From there, I put all of the wires back on in the only order that made sense based on wire length. Then I did cylinder 1 plug, then I did cylinder 3. Cylinder 3 had about 2 inches of fluid (seemed to be oil/coolant mixture) in the well!! So I drained it using paper towels as best I could before I unscrewed the plug. Then I replaced cylinder 2 plug, then cylinder 4 plug. I replaced the intake and tried to start the car up, and it would not start. It struggles to start, and sometimes it'll run ROUGH for a couple of seconds and then die.

3 people have recommended that I might have messed up the firing order. I looked in my Chilton and was looking over the plug to coil pack diagram and I noticed that my plugs have NEVER been in proper order (based on Chilton) since I've bought the car! Here's how Chilton says they are supposed to be:

Reference: Chilton Ford Mustang 1994-98 Repair Manual (26608), Page 2-23

    4          8
    3          7
    2          6
    1          5
   Front of car

 |5  6|   |2  4|
 |3  1|   |8  7|

Here's how my wires are currently setup:

    4          8
    3          7
    2          6
    1          5
   Front of car

 |5  3|   |8  2|
 |1  6|   |4  7|

Before I try to correct the wires, is there anything else that you guys recommend?

I will post pictures and a video soon so that you can see how it sounds and what the plugs look like from each cylinder.

Thanks again everyone!

EDIT: I just took a look at the Haynes manual and it says a completely different wire order. Here's what the Haynes says:

    4          8
    3          7
    2          6
    1          5
   Front of car

 |6  3|   |7  2|
 |1  5|   |4  8|

Essentially compared to Haynes, my 6-5 are swapped as well as my 7-8.

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

I didn't read the whole post, but did you try any new coils? I had one bad coil on a 5.4L F150 and the truck ran like total crap!! Total crap!! I pulled it out, and it was rusty. Replaced it with a clean used one...boom. Truck ran great. Those coils do NOT like water/corrosion. If they were soaked, I'd replace all of them.

And if rats ate your wires, I would recheck them all.

 

[GDawg]

The Haynes wiring order is correct.

 

[topless98gt]

The Haynes wiring order is correct.

Figures. I rewired it to the Chilton and it still did not start, then to the Haynes way and it started up just fine. It is still miss firing, but not as bad. So I'm going to pull all of the plugs, clean the ports thoroughly, gap the plugs, and put each back together.

I'll let you guys know what happens.

 

[GDawg]

Clean the ports, gap the plugs correctly, seat the wires completely and don't forget to use "anti-seize" on the plug threads.

 

[topless98gt]

Clean the ports, gap the plugs correctly, seat the wires completely and don't forget to use "anti-seize" on the plug threads.

Thanks. Any suggestions on what to clean the ports with? They are way deep and I don't have a vacuum attachment that narrow.

 

[GDawg]

Thanks. Any suggestions on what to clean the ports with? They are way deep and I don't have a vacuum attachment that narrow.

I just wrap a cloth around a thick screwdriver and stick it in there. If there's water down in there, before you pull the plugs you can take a small tube (like a vacuum line) and duct tape it onto a small hose and duct tape that onto the end of your regular vacuum hose. I've done that and it works in order to get something small enough in there.

 

[Shiroelex]

I usually take the blowgun on my compressor to the plug wells before I take the spark plugs out. Also, try soaking the boots of your plug wires in some silicone spray a bit, and throw a dab of dielectric grease inside of the boots.

 

[topless98gt]

I'm assuming that I can get the dielectric grease and silicone spray at AutoZone?

 

[Shiroelex]

I'm assuming that I can get the dielectric grease and silicone spray at AutoZone?

Yessir. You can cover the whole wire with silicone spray, if you want. I use it on my COPs every time I change the plugs out. It softens up the rubber, prevents them from cracking and drying out, and repels water. With the dielectric, I would put some in the boots on the coil side as well as the plug side.

 

[screamin gt]

I just wrap a cloth around a thick screwdriver and stick it in there. If there's water down in there, before you pull the plugs you can take a small tube (like a vacuum line) and duct tape it onto a small hose and duct tape that onto the end of your regular vacuum hose. I've done that and it works in order to get something small enough in there.

lol I thought I was the only one that did that. it works

 

[twogts4us]

I usually take the blowgun on my compressor to the plug wells before I take the spark plugs out. Also, try soaking the boots of your plug wires in some silicone spray a bit, and throw a dab of dielectric grease inside of the boots.

Dittos

 

[JimC]

If you have a multimeter I would also do an ohm test to check each of your COPs. Haynes manual describes how to do it.

 

[GDawg]

If you have a multimeter I would also do an ohm test to check each of your COPs. Haynes manual describes how to do it.

He's got a '98. He doesn't have COPs.