engine trouble

I took out a couple of spark plugs to check them and see if they needed replacement, when i took of the wire, the inside clip part stuck onto the spark plug and I had to pull it off with pliers. Then i tried shoving that back into the boot of the wire, after putting the spark plugs back in, i started the car up and it seemed to run fine, i was worried that there wouldnt be a connection to the spark plug, but there are two anyway, i dont know if it can run fine with only one spark plug firing or not. Anyway, this afternoon i tried starting it up and it sounded horrible, shaking and stuff. so i turn it off and tried starting it later and it was worse, it sounds like a lawnmower, like only one cylinder is firing and the car shakes and it revs below what the tach can read. I dont know what the hell the problem could be, besides I only took out two spark plugs to check the night before. I didnt do anything else to the car, can anyone help me?

Were the two plugs that you took out on the same cylinder. If so, it is possible that those wires are now not making a connection, and makin ghte car run on three cylinders. If you were having that much trouble getting the wires off the plugs, it may be time to change the wires going to the plugs from the distributer, and the two wires going from the coils to the distributer. Also as far as plugs go use ONLY NGK. They are the best for our cars. The platinum are good, but the Iridium IX are the best in my opinion. Also check the threads, and make sure that all the plugs are grounding back to the block and topend, and at the same time check to make sure that the block and topend are also grounded properly to the battery. grounding on an older car is vital, and just a stupid little thing can make all the difference. 8)

I changed all the plugs to ngk v-power, and put in new wires today. I talked to this guy i know who always fixes my moms car and that was what he suggested. It deffinetly felt like it had been running on three, and after i replaced everything it still was, only stronger than before. I took of the distributor cap and stuff and cleaned it all and will put it back tomorrow. But chances that its the problem are slim. Probably a stuck valve or something costly, so, ill be spending my first big paycheck for the summer on my car just so that i can actually get to work!! :wall:

When you took off the 2 plug wires, did you put them back on the right plugs?

I don't mean to sound like an ass ... but I know I've done it. And hey, the 200 will run with 1st and 4th the wrong way around, just not well.

If you're really worried about it, here's what I suggest you try.

With the car running, unplug a spark plug boot. Start with the #1 cylinder. If the motor runs worse or dies altogether, that plug was firing. Put it back. Start the car up again and repeat on #2, 3 and 4. If you find one that does nothing when you pull it, that is your dead cylinder.

If you have a dead cylinder, stick a spare plug into the plug wire and start the car. Hold the plug against the block, or something that is a good ground. If the plug fires, you know the problem is likely in the engine.

If it doesn't fire, something electrical is funky. It's not common, but not unheard of for a distributor cap to lose one post.

If the plug is firing, run a compression test on that cylinder. If the number is low, add a tsp of oil directly into the plug hole and test again.

If compression comes up with oil, your piston ring is likely toast. If it doesn't, the problem is 99.5% certainly in your valvetrain. If your mileage is getting up there (80,000+ miles) it could be your valve seals. Those aren't hard to change and cost about 60¢ each.

But since the problem started after you were checking plugs, I'd be looking more for something ignition related.