If you have records, check for last time Plugs were Replaced.

After checking for night time fire works (aka sparks) you may wish to check foir fouling plug wires
I will send u a pic of my discovery.

It does not take long but pull one wire at a time from the D Cap

Have a look at the attached pic = Misfire - due to chips in the plug wire protective coating
This was after 12,000 miles on New Plugs and a Loose Distributor cap / Rotor

 

There is also a member on this forum (IXLR8) who sells a complete set of wires, so just the wires. I went this route while doing the Varioram inlet manifold swap. Great quality and the set came with clear instructions. Still happy with the set after two years

 

I did that too. He no longer make them though. You can buy just wire sets from pelican. They are around the same price.

 

thanks for the pic, am I looking for the chalky residue? between the plug and the dist. cap? if this is the problem how do you fix that?

 

Update-

Mechanic says all the plugs checked out well, no arc-ing on any connectors

opened up the cap and saw carbon from arc-ing.

recommends replace both caps and rotors.

i assume that the cap was leaking due to a crack (have not seen myself) should i replace more now that this is off?

 

The caps and rotors are pretty much plug-and-play. Aside from the plugs and wires that have already been discussed, you could always have someone rebuild the distributor replacing the belt if not done recently. Since the mechanic already has the caps off, there's just one bolt and a bunch of friction holding in the distributor.

 

Yeah, for me new caps and rotors cured that 100%

 

tHE WHITE RESIDUE IS ULTIMATELY THE RESULT OF A MIS-FIRE in my case

CAUSES: 1 A LOOSE DISTRIBUTOR CAP
2 Worn / Tired Distributor Cap and Rotors
3 Worn Distributor Belt
4 Chips in the Spark Plug Wires

This is potentially an item that should be attended to sooner than later because misfires = testing plug wires - spray / mists of water sprayed on wires to see if sparks or arching occurs - particularly if you have a Vario-Ram car (96 or 97 or 98)

PM Me if u need other info
TJ993