Rep Power: 0

Im a new civic owner and i do not know that much about in depth things on engines....but i was driving how the other night and all of a sudden my check engine light came on and it sounded like my car was only running on three cylinders...so i popped my hood and my distributer wire was popped out about 2 inches from my head...when i pulled it the rest of the way out it sounded like my spark plug was rattling around...what could this mean and how could i fix it????

 
Rep Power: 290

Maybe it was never put in correctly?

Take out the spark plug and try to put it back in, torque it to 13lbs

 
Rep Power: 203

be very careful when changing plugs.

Make sure the engine is cool and don't over torque the plugs.

On a new plug there is a compression ring. So thread it in hand tight then it's 1/2 to 2/3 of a turn with a wrench after that (compressing the ring).

If your inspecting the plug and reusing then that ring is already compressed. So hand tighten then only like a 1/4 turn with a wrench after that.

I know this sound like easy stupid stuff but it's not hard to strip or cross thread a plug.

 
Rep Power: 0

oh ok...thanks...There was also a little bit of oil on the wire...That would most likely just be leaking from under the spark plug..right???

 
Rep Power: 0

My car is sitting at the shop but they have not started on it yet...From how things sound it sounds like this is deffiantly something i can fix on my own... I have all the tools...what would be the best things to go out to buy to fully fix this problem...My last question...with what my problem is, does it sound like it could be anything else major???

 
Rep Power: 290

We cant really know the extent of the damage by just knowing that a spark plug and wire popped off.

If you're just plugging the spark plug back in, all you need is a socket set and a spark plug socket

 
Rep Power: 0

ok...well my car was running fine till this happened...when i plug the wire back in it runs perfect till it pops back out..what could cause that?

 
Rep Power: 203

maybe your spark plug wires are shot.

How many miles on the car? How long since last tune up? When were the plugs last changed? Distributor cap? rotor?

This is all basic one tool stuff you can do yourself. Take the distributor cap off inspect the posts if theres white crud on them then new distributor cap. The rotor is sitting on the post under the cap same deal.

If you know how to use a multimeter you can resistance test the wires.

On my Toyota when the plugs were beat it ran like crap. Three cylinder type stuff. $18 worth of plugs and 20 min of my time and it was A O K.

 
Rep Power: 0

When i bought the car the guy that owned it before me had got a tune up and bought new distributor and rotor...i have only put 300 miles on it since..so it should be good..I just got my car back from the shop and they told me that all 4 of my spark plugs where loose haha the dumb *** before me put the spark plugs in himself and didnt torque them...Car runs perfect now. I should have went out and checked before my mom took it but i was in school...Now i have to pay 60 bucks for a dude just tightening 4 plugs

 
Rep Power: 0

ok I got a 1997 honda civic EX OHC, and its making a tiking noise, does anyone know what i should do