All,

I just bought a used and abused 1995 TA. The car is in serious need of a tune up and some TLC. I noticed that the car runs super rich. My scanner is broken, so i cant see if there are any codes, but i did pull some plugs and they were loose and not properly tightened and were super black.

Now the oil filter has a date of 8/6/06! so if its been 2 years since the oil has been changed.. i can only guess at how long the plugs have been in there. Now to my question: If the plugs have been in there for way too long will they fail to properly fire and thus create a rich condition?

 

A tuneup is in order. Change the plugs and see if that helps. There are some many things you should do just to get it running right it might take several to see what is making it run so bad. Change all the fluids and the fuel filter along with plugs and make a visual inspection of the wires and other things like air filter. Any ideas of mods done to it?

 

I wish i had taken pics, but the opti cover and some of the wires were covered in oil. The oil level sensor sprung a leak and made a mess over everything.

At such levels of neglect.. shouldnt i look at replacing the cap and rotor in the opti along with everything else that wears.. i mean a complete tune up!

 

Yes, I would do a complete tuneup. There may be other issues at stake causing a rich condition as well.

 

Get your scanner fixed, or get a new one. From your description of the condition of the engine, you're going to need it. You really need to see if all the sensors are working correctly, what the long term fuel corrections look like, etc.

 

Agreed. I have already requested another cable from AutoXray. Seems the scanner works just fine with other cables.. on other cars. If the scanner doesnt work then i'll just have to buy another. I suspect the car will need some major help. The opti is convered in soot, the plugs were tightened down and im gambling to say that those plugs have been in the car ATLEAST 2 years.