1990 Honda Accord_Started Missing Under Load

I have a 1990 Honda Accord that I purchased new. It has 120K. Last
summer it started to miss under load (going up a hill for example). It
only occured occassionally - it was not consistent. About 2 months
ago, I was driving home from a friend's home about 45 minutes away by
the freeway. It ran fine on the way down, but it started to miss so
bad on the way home that I thought it might fall apart. I limped it
home and wondered. Driving around town it is fine. It starts and idles
fine too.

The funny thing about this situation is that a couple of months back I
noticed one of the plugs wires was not completely covering the hole of
the spark plug. The side was curled under somewhat. Not a huge amount,
but it did not seal it. I fixed it and pressed it back down correctly
- I don't know why I had not noticed this before. This was the spark
plug furthest to the driver's side. The car has not had a tuneup since
1997 when it had just under 73K. At that time I had the timing belt
replaced as well.

This last weekend, I replaced all the plugs (Bosch+4), plug wires, cap
and rotor. The car runs somewhat better, but still misses under load -
just not so bad. When I removed the spark plug cap from the plug
furthest to the driver's side, I noticed that the walls inside were
extremely dirty - like a fine dust. The plug was tight. But before I
removed it, I used an air compressor to blow out the dust. It came out
in clouds. I don't understand why it was so dirty. All 3 remaining
plug cylinders (correct word?) were clean as new!

I am thinking now that maybe it should have the timing checked, but
I'm not sure what else could be going on. Does anyone have any
thoughts on what I could look at next? I am thinking that I should
also have the timing belt replaced too as it's been 10 years - even
though the mileage is only about 37K since it was last changed.

I appreciate any comments or thoughts!

Thanks,
Dave

Dave wrote:
> I have a 1990 Honda Accord that I purchased new. It has 120K. Last
> summer it started to miss under load (going up a hill for example). It
> only occured occassionally - it was not consistent. About 2 months
> ago, I was driving home from a friend's home about 45 minutes away by
> the freeway. It ran fine on the way down, but it started to miss so
> bad on the way home that I thought it might fall apart. I limped it
> home and wondered. Driving around town it is fine. It starts and idles
> fine too.
>
> The funny thing about this situation is that a couple of months back I
> noticed one of the plugs wires was not completely covering the hole of
> the spark plug. The side was curled under somewhat. Not a huge amount,
> but it did not seal it. I fixed it and pressed it back down correctly
> - I don't know why I had not noticed this before. This was the spark
> plug furthest to the driver's side. The car has not had a tuneup since
> 1997 when it had just under 73K. At that time I had the timing belt
> replaced as well.
>
> This last weekend, I replaced all the plugs (Bosch+4), plug wires, cap
> and rotor. The car runs somewhat better, but still misses under load -
> just not so bad. When I removed the spark plug cap from the plug
> furthest to the driver's side, I noticed that the walls inside were
> extremely dirty - like a fine dust. The plug was tight. But before I
> removed it, I used an air compressor to blow out the dust. It came out
> in clouds. I don't understand why it was so dirty. All 3 remaining
> plug cylinders (correct word?) were clean as new!
>
> I am thinking now that maybe it should have the timing checked, but
> I'm not sure what else could be going on. Does anyone have any
> thoughts on what I could look at next? I am thinking that I should
> also have the timing belt replaced too as it's been 10 years - even
> though the mileage is only about 37K since it was last changed.
>
> I appreciate any comments or thoughts!
>
> Thanks,
> Dave
>
the plug lead coming off the plug is consistent with a plug not screwed
in tight enough and there being sufficient gas leakage to blow it off.
that'll fill the plug tube with debris easily. in order to ensure a
proper seal with the new plug, you'll need to make sure the plug seat is
clean to allow the gasket to have metal to seal against.

as for missing under load, run injector cleaner through it.

also, don't use bosch plugs in a honda. [i personally wouldn't use them
in /any/ vehicle.] they're notorious for strange faults and are highly
unreliable. google this group for countless examples. even basic ngk's
work better, last well, and continue firing until they're just burnt
stubs of meteorite. you're lucky if bosch will make it to the ice cream
parlor and back, even thought they /look/ perfect.

one last thought - check into the distributor. i had problems a year or
so ago with a leaking distributor condenser [capacitor] that was
weakening the spark substantially. replaced it and the car has worked
strongly and flawlessly ever since.

Dave wrote:
> I have a 1990 Honda Accord that I purchased new. It has 120K. Last
> summer it started to miss under load (going up a hill for example). It
> only occured occassionally - it was not consistent. About 2 months
> ago, I was driving home from a friend's home about 45 minutes away by
> the freeway. It ran fine on the way down, but it started to miss so
> bad on the way home that I thought it might fall apart. I limped it
> home and wondered. Driving around town it is fine. It starts and idles
> fine too.
>
> The funny thing about this situation is that a couple of months back I
> noticed one of the plugs wires was not completely covering the hole of
> the spark plug. The side was curled under somewhat. Not a huge amount,
> but it did not seal it. I fixed it and pressed it back down correctly
> - I don't know why I had not noticed this before. This was the spark
> plug furthest to the driver's side. The car has not had a tuneup since
> 1997 when it had just under 73K. At that time I had the timing belt
> replaced as well.
>
> This last weekend, I replaced all the plugs (Bosch+4), plug wires, cap
> and rotor. The car runs somewhat better, but still misses under load -
> just not so bad. When I removed the spark plug cap from the plug
> furthest to the driver's side, I noticed that the walls inside were
> extremely dirty - like a fine dust. The plug was tight. But before I
> removed it, I used an air compressor to blow out the dust. It came out
> in clouds. I don't understand why it was so dirty. All 3 remaining
> plug cylinders (correct word?) were clean as new!
>
> I am thinking now that maybe it should have the timing checked, but
> I'm not sure what else could be going on. Does anyone have any
> thoughts on what I could look at next? I am thinking that I should
> also have the timing belt replaced too as it's been 10 years - even
> though the mileage is only about 37K since it was last changed.
>
> I appreciate any comments or thoughts!
>
> Thanks,
> Dave
>
---------------------------------

Jim's right. Plugs were loose and you've put in the wrong ones, you need
some injector cleaner.

You also need to back-flush or replace your fuel filter. (injector
cleaner may solve the filter too) Do you drive a lot of dirt roads or
park in a damp parkade?

'Curly'