95 350 Doesn't Like Low Speed

[mistaake]

Oreillys BWD is now branded “STANDARD” but same parts, and is brass; Napa “echlin” line should also be brass - granted it’s been 8 years since I worked there.
MSD streetfire is also brass.

BWD/Standard is generally quality stuff. Just don't buy MasterPro. Trust me, I work at O'Somewhere

 

[Phillip Buessing]

Sounds like an egr issue, you have the light throttle romp, romp? Just try unhooking the egr, plugging the vacuum line and capping the vacuum port on the valve and see if the issue changes or quits.

 

[95C1500]

Okay, I finally made time to do the basic plugs, wires, cap, rotor. Still have not double checked the new sensor readings or messed with the egr. I hope to get to that Wednesday or Thursday when I have more time. The idle smoothed out a lot compared to before. There was a slight stumble, now there is none. The low speed issue I was having, as described in the post above "romp, romp", drastically improved as well. It takes very, very light throttle to make it happen now. Almost so little throttle, I don't think I'd experience it under normal driving. However, the problem is still there so I'll continue to diagnose. Tomorrow I will double check that all wires are secured on the plugs and the cap, just as an extra precaution.

Here's the plugs I pulled
I'm concerned about their condition

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2

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4

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Somehow didn't get a picture of this one? Don't know what happened.I'll get one tomorrow.

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Sounds like an egr issue, you have the light throttle romp, romp? Just try unhooking the egr, plugging the vacuum line and capping the vacuum port on the valve and see if the issue changes or quits.

I will definitely give that a shot.

 

[DerekTheGreat]

The fluffy brown/tan stuff is normal of plugs that have been in for awhile, and judging from those electrodes, those plugs have been in a long time. Your engine looks to have been running pretty well, aside from cylinders 4 & 2. But those don't look terrible IMO. I'd just make a note of when your new plugs went in, and check those the next time you change your oil and see how they look.

 

[Schurkey]

Oreillys BWD is now branded “STANDARD” but same parts, and is brass; Napa “echlin” line should also be brass - granted it’s been 8 years since I worked there.
MSD streetfire is also brass.

1. Standard and BWD are owned by the same company. They're just boxed differently.
2. Brass is less-conductive than aluminum.
3. The advantage to brass is that it doesn't corrode as fast.
4. The TBI-style caps sold by MSD are Communist Chinese dreck.

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[95C1500]

The fluffy brown/tan stuff is normal of plugs that have been in for awhile, and judging from those electrodes, those plugs have been in a long time. Your engine looks to have been running pretty well, aside from cylinders 4 & 2. But those don't look terrible IMO. I'd just make a note of when your new plugs went in, and check those the next time you change your oil and see how they look.

48,000 miles. I expected them to last longer than that. #2 is the one that really concerned me. I'll check them in a few thousand miles and see what they look like.


Something I forgot to mention was that the truck runs much better. Still has an issue with low speed/rpm as before but much better than before. However, I parked the truck last night and ate dinner. came back out and fired it up and the idle jumped around from ~300-~1000 rpm while it struggled to stay running. Gave it some gas and the issue went away. Drove normally (by normal, I mean the way it did right after changing the plugs, main issue was still there but better than before plug change). Parked it again for about 20 minutes or so and went out to start it and again, the idle fluctuated badly and it died. Cranked it up again, still didn't want to idle. Popped it in drive and took off down the street. It didn't catch itself until I hit the stop sign about 200 ft away. Ran normally the rest of the way home. Not an uncommon occurrence, but not frequent either. This issue doesn't seem to be plug/wire/cap/rotor related. Appears I have a couple different issues.

 

[DerekTheGreat]

The owner's manual specifies to change the plus (not sure about wires and other stuff) every 30k miles, so 1.5x life is pretty good. And if that's what my #2 plug looked like after 48k miles, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[smdk2500]

48,000 miles. I expected them to last longer than that. #2 is the one that really concerned me. I'll check them in a few thousand miles and see what they look like.


Something I forgot to mention was that the truck runs much better. Still has an issue with low speed/rpm as before but much better than before. However, I parked the truck last night and ate dinner. came back out and fired it up and the idle jumped around from ~300-~1000 rpm while it struggled to stay running. Gave it some gas and the issue went away. Drove normally (by normal, I mean the way it did right after changing the plugs, main issue was still there but better than before plug change). Parked it again for about 20 minutes or so and went out to start it and again, the idle fluctuated badly and it died. Cranked it up again, still didn't want to idle. Popped it in drive and took off down the street. It didn't catch itself until I hit the stop sign about 200 ft away. Ran normally the rest of the way home. Not an uncommon occurrence, but not frequent either. This issue doesn't seem to be plug/wire/cap/rotor related. Appears I have a couple different issues.

If it makes you feel better i just did my 95's and half of them looked like your #2 and they only had 6k maybe 7k on them. Most of my problem im hoping is that it was the cheap cap rotor and wires i put on it a year and a half ago but time will tell for sure and mine burns a qt of oil about every 350 miles.

 

[95C1500]

The owner's manual specifies to change the plus (not sure about wires and other stuff) every 30k miles, so 1.5x life is pretty good. And if that's what my #2 plug looked like after 48k miles, I wouldn't worry about it.

I remember being told in high school (autotech) that plugs were a 60-100k mile thing depending on the vehicle, condition, etc... Maybe I should crack open that owners manual more often than every oil change looking for the crankcase capacity lol.

If it makes you feel better i just did my 95's and half of them looked like your #2 and they only had 6k maybe 7k on them. Most of my problem im hoping is that it was the cheap cap rotor and wires i put on it a year and a half ago but time will tell for sure and mine burns a qt of oil about every 350 miles.

That does make me feel better. I bought all ACDelco except the cap (apparently, ACD doesn't make a cap with brass terminals?).

 

[Schurkey]

I remember being told in high school (autotech) that plugs were a 60-100k mile thing depending on the vehicle, condition, etc... Maybe I should crack open that owners manual more often than every oil change looking for the crankcase capacity lol.

In the days before O2 sensors and overdrive transmissions, plugs were a 10K--15K "every year" deal--although GM HEI did extend the interval a little. Even so, 35K on a set of plugs was considered "neglect" by service people.

I suspect that back in the Model T days, spark plug life was a matter of a thousand miles or less--the prehistoric spark plugs could be disassembled for cleaning.

I bought all ACDelco except the cap (apparently, ACD doesn't make a cap with brass terminals?).

Aluminum terminals are "industry standard" and--as said previously--conduct better than brass if you knock the corrosion off of them periodically. Nothing wrong with them unless you "forget" to check the cap now and then. Service life of aluminum terminals is probably shorter than the service life of brass terminals.