first i notice stumbling at light throttle, so i change the plugs. then i have an exhaust leak when im done so it takes about a week of working with my car while going to school to find where it is. after ive got that done, next day out, i find stumbling at higher throttle. so i get under my hood and one of my plug wires is turned to crusty plastic so i tape that up with rubber splice tape for a temp fix. now the stumbling is much worse and im backfiring.

why is my car doing this to me

 

Mine did that when my Optispark died... I got a rebuld kit from Napa for 120bucks last year... no problems since..

It sucks I know.

 

are you absolutely sure? i dont have much money right now

 

Here's what I experienced with my 93's optispark. At low RPMs, it felt like it was missing and the car would stumble. On the freeway in 6th gear with cruise control on, it would do this from time to time. Very annoying. It seemed as though it would do it when the car was running under 1,500 RPMs or if I had more than the usual weight in the car, it would do it under 1,700 RPMs. Sometimes, it would also happen when I tried to launch from a stop. It was mostly just embarassing when I had passengers in the car and was trying to show off like the young male idiot I am. I drove it with this problem for more than two years before having it replaced. When it was replaced, the mechanic also found a leaking water pump which would explain why my optispark was crapping out. Oops.

As the 4th gen FAQ says, the problem is most common in 93-94, but it has happened in 95 and up vehicles.

I found this link which talks about blowing air through the 95 and up model to dry it out. It's worth a shot if you have an air compressor or a friend with one.

What was causing the exhaust leak? Did you inspect the wires when you changed out the plugs? I only ask because you used the word "suddenly" and it'd be nice to know what condition the wires were in when you changed out the plugs. From what I've heard and experienced with my own car, it doesn't take much for bad wires to cause issues. Luckily, yours are easier to replace than mine.

-Lucas

 

the exhaust leak was just me. i didnt get the flanges anywhere near tight enough between headers and y-pipe.

 

Yeah, my car starting smelling like gas, not really burning the gas, backfiring, chugging, etc... did it for about a month before it finally died. I took the opti off cleaned it up, found the rotor was melted, "fixed the rotor" drove it another month and it finally crapped out again. So I just rebuilt the sucker and the second I backed out of my driveway and touched the gas it roared to life and left some nice black marks. Make sure to check the waterpump...might as well just replace it while your doing everything.