popping sound

[mikes_accord_se]

so i got new spark plugs, wires, and caps + rotors installed about a month ago from my firestone mechanic. apparently, they said i still had original plugs and wires from when it was brand new. paid $300 bucks (way way too much if you ask me) they said that was probably the main reason why i felt like my car wasn't as powerful as it should be but it still feels the same if not worse. i also feel popping sounds all the time when i'm idling or driving. i don't hear anything at say, 30 but that's probably because my engine is making more noise than the popping sounds. i know they have to be the spark plugs making those sounds. it just sounds jacked up. did they not gap or space them properly because i've never heard this on any car before. what's wrong?

[Pierce22]

I had the same prob with my old CRX. Went and got a set of NGK plugs and with proper gap the prob stopped.

[mikes_accord_se]

so should i just go back to the mechanic and tell them to redo it properly? i mean, it can't be that hard. my mom wants all the mechanical stuff done professionally. the wires i got were like 70 bucks which was a heck of a lot i thought. how hard would it be to gap the plugs myself? i heard there is something you can do to postion them somewhere to get a little bit more power. how does that work and can a beginner do this without putting the engine in danger?

[lucid]

my mom wants all the mechanical stuff done professionally.

I hope your mom is paying and has lots of money.
A set of plug wires from honda is $50, they make good stuff.
Cap, plugs and rotor are probably about $40 if you got nice parts (which it sounds like you didn't)
$210 bucks for labor???

I'm not exaggerating when I say it might take me 30 minutes to install everything "professionally."

...if I was so drunk and high that I had to use the car to hold myself up, lol.

I'm charging someone ~200 for installing shocks, springs, camber kits and a full polyurethane bushing set on a '90 Integra, just for comparison.

I can tell by your sentence structure and spelling that you are intelligent enough to do at least as good a job as the mechanic who got paid about $500.00 per hour to do your tune-up.
Buy a Haynes manual at an autoparts store for fifteen bucks and just start looking through it every now and then to see what you're paying somebody to do.

NOBODY ...works on my car unless they are holding the flashlight for me or have an alignment machine, and I make enough money to do things otherwise.
Start with spark plugs and oil changes, those "mechanics" are not geniuses, just guys trying to get you in and out and get your cash, although there are honest ones out there. They all have to make a living off of others' ignorance and/or extra money.

A good set of tools and a $15 manual will save you like, a million dollars if you keep the car long enough.

Good Luck and welcome to CB7 Heaven!

[lucid]

You can try to index the plugs so the open part faces the intake manifold, but it's prob. not going to make much difference in a honda since the plug is already in the center of the combustion chamber. For now, get a 3/8" ratchet with extension and 5/8" spark plug socket (and maybe a magnet in case the plug doesn't stay in the socket). Remove one plug at a time so you don't get the wires out of order. I would get the brand and number from the plug and cross-reference it on the internet to make sure it's the right part for your car. You can get a spark plug gap tool at an auto parts store for a couple bucks and make sure the gap is right, all the other similar hondas use a 0.044" gap. The tool has a loop of wire on it that is the same size as your gap, pass it between the two electrodes, it should slide through without extra space, touching both sides gently. Assuming you don't have a torque wrench (I don't use one for plugs), hand tighten with the extension (no ratchet), then use the ratchet to go 1/2 to 2/3 turn (says bosch).

Yesterday I went to Autozone to get plugs for my H22A.
I had told them it was a '94 vtec because some companies don't realize they came out in '93.
I got home and was checking the numbers, and bosch actually screwed up on their chart. They listed the h22 plug incorrectly for the '94 year only, because they had an alternate plug for '93 and then '95.
I got Bosch Platinum +4s, #4418.
I need #4417
I was going to take all four back, got the receipt, they only charged me for one @ $5.97/ea !!!
I see you have an SE
the #4418 plugs I have fit Accords with the F22A4 or F22A6 engine (se,ex)
Want some nice (pre-gapped) plugs for your ride?
It costs about six bucks to ship (from ebay), so if you want 'em
...$15?
I'll install them for $100.00,
Good luck whatever you decide, but is it really a good idea to take a car back to a mechanic who couldn't get spark plugs right the first time?
Later.

[Pierce22]

Yeah...like they said

[mikes_accord_se]

yeah, i paid her 100 bucks out of the 300. i got a haynes manual at a 1/2 price book store for 4 bucks so that has been a pretty good investment

my mom swears to firestone mechanics for some reason. it's pretty stupid i think but i guess she thinks i'm going to jack something up. i guess i'll go get some tools and take them out and reposition them because whoever installed them didn't do a very good job.

[mainecrab]

My dad used to be the same way, helping me outside and stuff to make sure I didnt mess things up. Now I am just outside myself doing all sorts of stuff lol.