did i F(%! my car over?

warrior86

New Member
Apr 19, 2005
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Alright, im kinda an intermediate when it comes to mechanics, plus dirtbikes are more of my thing but i have two questions i hope you guys wouldnt mind answering....

1. When i was having hesitation issues and my friend took a plug out real quick (in a parking lot) to see what was going on in there. He didnt blow out the area by the coil and he didnt blow out the hole for the sparkplug before removing the plug. I didnt take much thought to this but when i went to gap one of my plugs, i noticed that there were some grains of dirt and sand in the small ledge which the plug is in the middle of. (know where im talking about??? its a larger circumference so that the socket can get down there) Anyways, i was thinking what if some sand fell from that inside ledge into teh cylinder when my friend pulled the plug out. Is that really bad? I know from dirtbikes that sand is pretty much the worst enemy so just the thought of this has me paranoid. (im anal about my stuff as it is) I put the plug back in as careful as i could and then blew the inside area out wiht air and all the crap came shooting out. So whats teh deal? basically, how bad is this?

2. I was racing an srt-4 and yes i know how to drive stick well. However, im not completely used to the short throw shifter i have (hurst) Well from first gear we were about even, but it was time to shift to second. I was so anxious to get into second as fast as possible so i could get accelerating again (didnt wanna lose to a neon!) that i kinda got ahead of myself and dropped the clutch before i was into second resulting in the gear grinding like a biotch. Again, i ask.... how bad is this? This is the first time ive ever grinded a gear and hopefully itlll be the last, but im worried now. A couple of people told me the damage is insignificant until you start doing it a lot and thats where the damage occurs. I wanted to hear what u guys had to say about it. thanks for all the help.

Sorry if i sound over cautious but my stang is my baby and well....you know.
 
How much dirt are we talking here....if its a small amount I wouldnt worry about it that much. Its inevitable that you are gonna get some dirt in your engine sooner or later. Granted its good to be careful, but I wouldnt flip out over a few grains of dirt.
 
as for scratching gears, I believe that it happens to everyone once in a blue moon... just nobody wants to admit it. Its not so bad unless you are seriously grinding hard, like if you miss a shift while powershifting, then thats pretty much real bad. but if its a light grind, its nothing to worry about.
 
a few grains of dirt. No like a heaping tablespoon or anything. To be honest, i dont KNOW if ANY even got in. But judging by the situation...it seemed likely cause they were right on the edge of the spark plug hole.