In this video I have a look a customers Nissan Quest. He recently replaced the valve cover gaskets, spark plugs and cam sensors. After getting it back together it ran like poo! Let's see what went wrong here. -Enjoy!
If an SMA Video has helped you out please consider giving using "Patreon" to help support us. The videos take real time to create and pull us away from real work that pays our bills. CLICK HERE: https://www.patreon.com/southmainauto
CHECK OUT OUR "SMA SWAG" STORE! Go on Teespring and get your very own SMA merch!
https://teespring.com/stores/the-sma-store
If you don't like Patreon feel free to use the "PayPal Me" link: https://www.paypal.me/SouthMainAuto
The South Main Auto Amazon Store:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/southmainautorepairavoca
AES Wave Automotive Diagnostic Tools: https://www.aeswave.com/cart.php?m=affiliate_go&affiliateID=2525b91fc8e906e8215984074c9d9e8f&go=https://www.aeswave.com/Miscellaneous-p9347.html
Thank you for all the continuing support!
--Eric & Vanessa O.
Feel like sending some swag to SMA because you love the videos but don't know where to send it?
Just ship it here:
South Main Auto Repair
47 S. Main St
PO Box 471
Avoca, NY 14809
Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. South Main Auto Repair assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. South Main Auto Repair recommends safe practices when working with power tools, automotive lifts, lifting tools, jack stands, electrical equipment, blunt instruments, chemicals, lubricants, or any other tools or equipment seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained.

49 thoughts on “Customer replaced spark plugs and now it runs bad!?”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars L M says:

    Idle seem very high, tho.

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars arthur says:

    Great video Eric !

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Paradise Road says:

    …good to change sparkplugs one at a time so that the wire can only go one place…the right place…

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars George Sierra says:

    Nice. I remember when i put the relay on the wrong place. I started the vehicle and it went to limp mode. I was freaking out. I called a tow truck and took it to the transmission shop. Long story short at home after looking for pictures of the relay box is when i noticed my mistake. Called the shop and lucky for me the car was not being attended so i fix the relays at the shop and drove home happy as ever.

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Phil Nichols says:

    kudos Eric

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Joe Bidenov says:

    One time I bought a Ford. Wonโ€™t ever make that mistake again.

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Chase Davis says:

    I did that once, I didnโ€™t seat the coil pack correctly because I couldnโ€™t see back there and it caused a misfire

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars emberPHNX says:

    I mark all my stuff obsessively. Paint pens, labels, even different colors of pipe cleaners or string lol. Thanks for the reminder not to get complacent, good video!!! My mistake, after fighting with my car for a solid day, was forgetting to plug the spark plug wire back into my coil pack on the last plug I did — realized that really quick when I started it up LMAO! Nobody is perfect!

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Nathan Nabors says:

    I sure wish you could help me figure out whars going on with my 2016 fusion2.0 tu rbo.iam getting runaround from dealerships both wherGot any ideas thanks nathan i get it to you if you can help shesa a cool car with 143000 miles and is clean. what could possible problem be other than bad block head gasket

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars b atman says:

    I knew what was wrong right away…because I did the same thing on a Nissan V6 while replacing the valve covers a few years ago. I thought for sure I'd properly reconnected the plug wires. A few hundred bucks later, including a tow, it was corrected by a shop. On the bright side, as they say, I still saved a few thousand dollars because this car needed A LOT of mechanical work. It ran great after the work was completed.

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Hazen Dismukes Jr. says:

    Only one at a time is the best way

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars TONY Bl says:

    Lol whoppsies could've been much worse at least it was an easy fix the last video I watched a shop used a too long spark plug and literally damaged the engine ouch!

  13. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Eric Richardson says:

    Adding to his suggestion of taking pictures is to take painters tape or masking tape and put on the wires with numbers/writen so you know where they came from , also sharpies will work too if you dont mind marking your connectors and corresponding areas they go

  14. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Byrd's Junk & Garbage Removal Services says:

    I've got a 02 Dodge Ram 2500 and had some shade tree mechanic change spark plugs back in late 2019. 2 days later was driving to work & it made a pop sound and I thought I had a flat tire when it started shaking. It would crank but the die 10 seconds later. Now when I put key in and turn start the power comes on & door dings but it doesn't turn over. In roughly 3-4 seconds power goes and a red light flashes on dashboard. Any clue what that could mean/be? I need my truck back sooo bad

  15. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars It's a Dogs life... says:

    I consider myself reasonably knowledgeable with car / truck mechanics at the over-ripe old age of 60+, and this happened about twenty years ago. I had bought myself a Nissan Terrano 4wd Auto with the vq30de motor. On one particular day I noticed the the engine sounded slightly "off" and sort of reving to high, noticing that seemed to be somehow related to the gear changes I had a wee panic, so as I wound pass a transmission shop on the way home I called in, related the problem. He took it for a 5 minute drive and returned saying " All fixed!" What the hell I said, to which he responded with a grin, you had the transmission in "power mode" I felt super stupid, and without saying a word I stuffed $20 note in his overalls top pocket and sheepishly drove away. How the heck I thought, then I remembered, my dog, who had been jumping around in the truck earlier that day must have stomped on the switch which is in the center console. Argh!!!

  16. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars twwtb says:

    Note to self: never buy a vehicle with a lateral mounted V6.

  17. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars JOSE C says:

    Wires are crossed?

  18. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Ian Martinez says:

    Gotta ? One of my plugs was either broke off or melted off but put a new one in all good what would cause that can age do jt?

  19. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Ian Martinez says:

    I like he's professional

  20. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars edgar pettijohn says:

    The first time I changed plugs and wires on my 99 dodge ram with the big 3.9 I got the plugs in the wrong spots on the distributor. So I can sympathize. Who thought back of engine is a good spot for the dizzy?

  21. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Emil Thor Andersen says:

    reading wrong in service manual, and tightening the bolt to much and stripping the bolt, and that was for the back sprocket on my motorbike, ending up in buying a new rear sprocket assembly, extra bill 270$ …

  22. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars James Stuart says:

    Moral of story: if you don't know what you're doing, don't do it

  23. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars jesus jimenez says:

    The same just happened to me. Until my little brother noticed that I didn't connect the cable to the spark plug coil. ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ˜…

  24. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Bass Hunter says:

    As mistakes go (unlike Frank Sinatra) I've made too many to mention, but I did'em my way, so we have that in common! ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ

  25. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Mark Ferrick says:

    I always take picture of anything I am about to work on. Saved my butt many times.
    Fun video, thanks.

  26. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Mark G says:

    Bought a fixer Corolla that was boiling over and diagnosed as needing a head gasket. Limped it home with 2 gallons of water. Replaced the head gasket. Old gasket looked fine. Still boiling over just as before. Replaced the radiator cap. All better.

  27. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Alan Coomes says:

    Purchased a very cheap 4 cylinder Renault non runner. It had just had a head job done after cam belt failure but would just not run after being re assembled. On checking the timing, I found that the cam shaft had been set with Cylinder No 4 on the marks. For those who don't know Renault number the cylinders from right to left when looking from the front ( 4-3-2-1) or put another way, left to right when sitting inside the car. (1-2-3-4) .

  28. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Tom Beilman says:

    No can play

  29. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars John Davis says:

    only mistake I've made is one time I thought I was wrong but was actually right.. LOL

  30. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars mgrabo1024 says:

    While swapping a door I mistakenly unplugged a passenger side chassis harness triggering about 20 codes. When I started the car with it unhooked. I started trouble shooting issues and notice they were all from 1 side of the car. Worst being a bunch of evap equipment.

  31. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Stephen says:

    I replace some tune-up parts in a car, the thing wouldn't start. I diddled with it for over an hour before realizing it was out of gas.

  32. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Brian McGauley says:

    mistake I made when I was a teen on my T-bird was after an accident, replacing the front right wheel assembly I ended up needing to use locking clamps to hold it in place… decided I'm immortal, duck taped the clamps so the entire assembly was held on by this (tow angle if I remember right) and promptly forgot about it. Roughly 1200 miles later (surprisingly) is when the entire wheel feel off and rolled past me on the highway. Fun times being a teen. I am reformed, and I am better now, do all my own work on my cars still and haven't had anything major in the last decade or so with 3 vehicles. Don't roast me too hard please ๐Ÿ™‚

  33. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars SGTUSMCVET 269 GO PLAY IN TRAFFIC TROLLS! says:

    When I was 16 I bought a 70 Chevelle for $200. It was a junk heap. I changed the plugs and swapped wires. I didnโ€™t know what I was doing. It misfired all to heck. My uncle taught me how to run the firing order later that day. Lesson learned

  34. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Carlos Valadez says:

    I installed a head gasket up side down.

  35. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Tim Foreman says:

    This video wonโ€™t play and Iโ€™m not sure why, it seems like my issue exactly so I wish it would play. I am thinking maybe if I go back and gap them maybe that will help

  36. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Roy z says:

    I wish I had half your knowledge

  37. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars ljs05 says:

    I spy a not so stealthy ninja

  38. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Noel Jesus Mauldin says:

    Removing an engine to be worked on. Failed to install main engine ground. Took 5 hours to trace.

  39. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Dawson Dowhy says:

    I always take lots of pictures and label each plug and connector so everything returns in the exact same spot same with lots of bolts and stuff if I do a transmission build I put all the bolts in a baggy and label it and store them somewhere I'll remember where they are safe, especially on someone else's vehicle my biggest mistake is on a trailer I put the tire on slightly wrong, when I next serviced the trailer to check tire pressures I couldn't get to the valve stem so I had to remove the tires just to rotate the tire LOL! now I always remember when I do tire swaps to put them on rotated correctly lol!

  40. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Prime Zero says:

    " Classic reach around" cracked up at that one lol.

  41. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Nigel Pocock says:

    Changing the differential on an old lotus. 6hrs to get it out, 6 hrs to replace, then discovered that i had to attach something to the diff before it was re-installed. Another 12 hrs work

  42. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Shaun Brown says:

    The most common mistake for an amateur is to put them back in, in the wrong order. At least 2, obviously. Firing order! Thatโ€™s it! Iโ€™ve just changed my spark plugs on a full service, and the thing I make sure more than making sure the car doesnโ€™t fall on me, is to put those plugs in order. Otherwise itโ€™s such a headache, itโ€™s worth paying a mechanic to fix.

  43. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Same Screen says:

    It pays to triple check everything as an occasional DIY'er. We're not working on these things every day and we've all made plenty mistakes I'm sure. I had one that cost me luckily only 700, could have been 2 grand had it been worse. Slow down and take time on that bolt that isn't going in nice, or snap pics of the vacuum lines, etc. Better yet if you have doubts, sometimes it's better to just pay a pro a know it'll be done right (or he'll fix his mistake for free if he makes one). The joys.

  44. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Brian Oakes says:

    Took the gearbox off my ford capri on the side of the road and had it in bits, only to find the noise was coming from the exhaust bracket!!

  45. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Broken says:

    ugliest interior/dash I've ever seen ๐Ÿ˜›

  46. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars stang1970 says:

    It's kinda hard to replace the valve cover gaskets without removing the coil packs isn't it ?? Everyone is talking about doing one plug at a time, but missed the hole reason why he tore it apart to begin with.

  47. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Olaf Eklund says:

    Man, those transverse V6's are a PIA to work on!

  48. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Adam Jones says:

    This is a old one but i re watched it for some reason. You never learn new things in life if you never have a crack at it!! We all make mistakes.

  49. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars South Main Auto Repair LLC says:

    Sorry for the 360p, something on YT's end… It was uploaded in 1080 60fps. Sometimes this takes a while for them to render it.

Leave a Reply to Adam Jones Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.