Well, after cleaning and repairing both of the front seats, I decided to cough up a little money for some spark plugs, my hypothesis being that the Bosch Platinums I had in the car were causing the stumble in my idle and the misfire under acceleration.

Reading some threads regarding the choice of sparkplugs, I became suspicious. I had already sealed my vacuum leaks and had isolated some known problems with the cold start/idle system (waiting on extra cash to purchase some parts to fix those problems), but was still experiencing poor driveability.

I had put in the platinum plugs and Autolite plug wires shortly after purchasing the car, trusting that my local parts store database would be accurate for recommending good replacement parts. However, the car never has idled well and has always had the misfire during acceleration.

So I did my research here on the brickboard and, about four weeks ago after becoming suspicious of them, I pulled the plugs, saw that they were somewhat fouled, cleaned them with a wire detail brush, reinstalled them, and the car ran better for about two weeks. Then, she returned to her old, evil ways.

Then, I decided to get standard copper plugs. The parts stores I checked locally don't stock or list the Bosch WR7DS or WR7DC, so I took the Champion equivalents (the model number escapes me at the moment; I can find it later if any one is interested). I checked the gap, adjusted only one of the plugs and installed them. The motor feels like I just rebuilt it - she hasn't missed a beat for almost two weeks. A little too soon to tell for sure, but the difference is so great that I believe I have found a solution to one of my problems.

Here are a couple of other questions regarding my ignition:

1. My coil resistance is low, according to Bentley's. The coil is an aftermarket Neihoff. The car is running well now, but would it be adviseable to install a correct model Bosch, or should I just run this offbrand to death?

2. The Autolite plugwires are very inexpensive, compared to Bougicords. Keep 'em or scrap 'em?

Thanks for your help!
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Ten Sleep 1980 245DL 1995 850 Turbo 1997 Dodge Dakota 5.2L