Got a weird one

['88 All-Trac]

So I hit a puddle, car starts misfiring. No biggie, the plug wires are a bit old. I'm used to this act (#4 wire pops off the plug) so I poke it back on this morning, runs pretty good but a little choppy. Check the air filter, it's quite wet on one side (not soaked through) so I replace it with the filter currently sitting in my out-of-action All-Trac. Runs pretty good, until the engine gets a load. It'll chop and then act like I'm giving it no gas whatsoever. It'll suddenly cut out and act weird, so I slip my clutch to get out of the driveway and drive it to the school to pick up my car charger for my phone. I make it to a little slope in the school's driveway, car cuts out. Won't restart. I back it up, talk to my mom a bit to let her know it's broken, she gives me the keys to her Jeep. For giggles, I go back out and try to start it. Cranks a bit, starts. Idles fine. I give it gas, it immediately dies. Doesn't try to rev up, nothing. Like hitting a kill switch.

Any ideas what'll make it do this, guys? The coil is old, I'm gonna replace that either today or sometime this week. As it is, it's sitting dead in the school parking lot.

This is a '91 2wd 3SFE model.


Edit: I believe I found the source of the issue. Water made its way into the #4 spark plug tube and has fouled the already kinda crappy wire. I'll clean out the wire and the tube, or all the tubes for that matter, and see if that fixes it... But not today. All of my tools are on the other side of town and I have no properly running vehicles. Dx

[white90dx]

Get the spark plug tubes and the inside of the distributor dry and you should be able to limp it home, no problem. You already know what needs to be replaced.

-Charlie

['88 All-Trac]

I was able to dry it enough to limp it home. It's kind of a beater car these days. It's been hit twice (first wound was a long time ago, took out a front fender. I recently bent it mostly back into shape to replace the corner light) and a couple months ago someone backed into it at Walmart and took out the new corner marker. Dx It had a front tire explode and further wreck up that same abused fender and a couple months later the other tire went and beat up the other side, though not as bad.

The one thing it's got going for it is no rust on the rear quarterpanels, but the spare tire container is almost rusted through.

It's going to get a fresh set of Borg-Warner ignition components and some NGK copper plugs. Should be right as rain!