what kind of plugs did you take out?
the ngk and autolite 3923 plugs are the most popular on this forum, at least thats the plugs that i've seen people talk about the most.
i don't care for champions, i run the bosch platinum +4s and i like them.

it seem to me that your engine doesn't agree with you turning the distributor and possibly the new plugs.
oh, and i'm pretty sure that dodge doesn't require any of their mechanics to be ase certified. so taking advice from them probably isn't the best idea since they just go by what the book says and not what the vehicle is telling them. if they were any good then they would be able to diagnose an issue and get it fixed on the first shot instead of throwing parts at it until one of them fixes it.

also, there is a chance that the plenum gasket got fouled up somehow during the install and blew out again. or the belly pan could be loose.

 

Turning the distributor changes the fuel sync, not the timing. You're going to want a high end scanner to set the fuel sync back where it needs to be.

Try seafoaming it, it may just have carbon build up, especially if it's been babied.

 

I have been accused of babying it a bit. I know that I shouldn't but well honestly, its the nicest truck ive had and have been trying to keep it that way. I could try the seafoam thing but was thinking about doing Lucas injector cleaner (not 100% sure of the name). Any one have any opinions on the lucas? Took out either bosch or champion plugs. Plan for now (i think) is to fix the distributor that we screwed up, have it re-scanned (thank heavens for friends with good scanners!) and see what comes up. If nothing comes up there, think we are going to go after the plenum plate and all those fun lil gaskets, and then head gaskets. For now, Im going to go out and look for any factory update stickers as opinion seems to vary on whether or not death flash could be the issue. Could ethanol in the gas have any bearing on the issue? thanks for all the help and ill check back again in a little bit.

Alyssa

 

My friends Ranger was owned by an old man and a lady with one arm (it's a manual), so it was babied. It pinged like crazy when he got it. We seafoamed it, the ping was gone and hasn't come back because he doesn't baby it.

 

This is all the information that I can make out on the sticker. The info following the headings is all handwritten in ink pen so dude that did it apparently used doctor writing to fill it out.

P/N: 3604010AF (the best i can make out of it)
DLR CODE: (cant read)
DATE: 03/11/02

Authorized Software Update

 

I agree with Hahns, there's probably tons of build up, and if the carbon's getting hot and causing pre-ignition, even higher octane won't stop it.

Get a can of the Mopar Combustion Chamber Cleaner. It's easier to use than a can of seafoam and costs about the same. Dealers in Dallas sell it for about $8 a can. The lucas will take too long to soften and get rid of the deposits, the MCCC and seafoam are an almost instant fix.

Did you know you can also use a small cup of water instead of the the seafoam in the brake booster hose? Just go really slow so you don't hydrolock the engine.

Get that disty set to 0 and then trouble shoot if the cleaning doesn't help.

Also just double check and verify that the No. 5 and 7 spark plug wires are not touching at all, and that you keep the ends on the disty at a right angle.

 

Ok, Ill try the seafoam since i know i can get it at the parts house on a sunday. what exactly do i get (is it a fuel additive or a aerosol) and where do i put it?

 

Important Qualifier: the bf thought it would be best if i pointed out that putting seafoam in certain dark holes of the human anatomy would not be an option. *L* he also asked if it was an oil additive or fuel additive?

 

It can be both. It's most effective when introduced directly into the intake via a vacuum line, let it suck down about 1/3-1/2 a can at around 1200 RPMs,, then shut it off and let it sit for 5-10 minutes and start it up and rev it up and clear out all the smoke.

 

Yeah, I don't know where I was going with that! LOL I know that too much timing can cause pinging, not too little.


However, atleast we have determined that the truck does in fact have the flash. Which can be fixed with a Super Chips tuner for instance, if you'd like to have some more power. And I do agree that between babying it and the carbon build up from the blown gasket could be the problem. As a side note, if the plenum was blown, the precat o2 sensor and the cat are probably in need of changing.