I have a shaky, misfiring, jumping idle.
I’ve just replaced my spark plugs and wires, I don’t think I have a vacuum leak, but after that I don’t even know what else to check!

I just started it for the first time after replacing my spark plugs and it went smoothly (as in absolutely perfect) without issue for 5 minutes, but once it reached 1,500 rpms it started to misfire and shake a little about every 5-10 seconds
Once it got to 800 rpms it was noticeably shaking with the same misfire every 5 seconds
BUT my jumping idle has gone away, so the engine seems to run how it’s supposed to other than the shaking and misfires.

any ideas on what I should check next?

also I shouldn’t be driving this right? I don’t want to mess up my engine but the misfires seem pretty infrequent and they don’t happen at all above 1,500 rpms, so I’m not sure what to think.

 

if i'm hearing you correctly, you're saying the engine fired and ran like it was supposed to for a few minutes, then as it warmed up started bugging out. is that correct?

if so, then start by checking the temp sensor on the back of the water pump housing. it may be bad.

 

yea that’s exactly what happened, I’ll try that
thank you!

 

I would check/change the Mass Air Flow meter. . .. I know for a fact an out of calibration MFM will cause backfiring.

Replace the Temp sensor and MFM . . .. Doing both should cost around $150 and can be done pretty easily. .

 

if the car ran fine before you did the spark plugs, something you did in the process of changing the plugs likely caused the problem such as getting the spark plug wires mixed up. there's about half a million how to's on checking the plug wires as well as markings on the coils for the wires for where they go.

there's also the plugs themselves, if you used the wrong plugs lots of really bad stuff can happen. or the wires, that could have been damaged during the removal and reinstallation.


the real issue i have with inexperienced folks is not doing the obvious, and moving on to different things and creating more problems instead. use common sense before changing gears and moving on, the worst thing anyone can do is keep poking things on a 35 year old car while trying to diagnose a problem. cars become brittle and fragile with age at which point it becomes VERY easy to break other things.

 

no you misunderstand, and you’re being kind of rude. It was like that before I replaced the spark plugs, and after i replaced them it ran BETTER then before. But still not good enough, so I made the forum hoping to get some help in an area which I am not experienced
Maybe next time offer that help instead of trying to put someone else down.