Wire boot won't stay on spark plug

[MustangSally98]

I blew my #2 spark plug out of the head and it stripped on I-95 last thursday. I was able to go back and use a heli-coil on it and I put the old plug back in, didn't look damaged at all, except for one thread from the head was on the threads of the plug. But now the boot doesn't stay on the spark plug. On start up it comes loose, and i put it back on and when I give it gas it comes loose again. What could be causing this? It's also knocking. I just did the pi intake but i read the only thing that could really happen is a vacuum leak. And i didn't touch the plugs. But now the issue is the boot comes off and the knocking. Anyone have any ideas? It's 125 miles away too!!!
Thanks!!

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Buy a new spark plug wire? I think there is a little metal collar in there that goes over the top of the plug. You may be able to crimp it tight again but be careful not to damage the rubber. If you can remove the rubber and then crimp that would be best. Also, you should always use silicone dielectric compound on electrical mating surfaces...

 

[starchman]

Yeah, and make sure the metal collar is still in there; it may have come out (happened on my wife's Mitsubishi Galant).

 

[MyEarsHurt]

Same thing happened to one of mine...I used a pair of pliers any gently gripped the outside of the boot, like where the metal ring is on the inside, so that the metal ring closed up a little bit. That worked for a few weeks, then I ended up buying new plug wires anyway cause I didnt want to run the risk of it coming off again.

 

[MustangSally98]

thanks I'll give it a try but I did switch wires, I took #8 and #2 and swapped them, it did the same thing on #2 but not on #8. So i dont think it was the wire.

 

[MustangSally98]

Could a vacuum leak from my intake manifold be the cause of this? The Haynes manual says that a leak there could be the cause of a misfire at idle and acceleration. Maybe my RTV didn't hold up...I'm thinking about putting the nonpi intake back on...Any suggestions or will I just be wasting my time? When I put the pi intake on an injector wire was caught in the #1 or #2 cyclinder and I had to loosen the intake to get it back out, so maybe the rtv is disturbed and now there's a leak?

 

[MustangSally98]

Any suggestions? I'm towing it back this weekend and am considering changing my intake manifold back to stock...am I just wasting my time with this?

 

[CanadaStang]

Could a vacuum leak from my intake manifold be the cause of this? The Haynes manual says that a leak there could be the cause of a misfire at idle and acceleration. Maybe my RTV didn't hold up...I'm thinking about putting the nonpi intake back on...Any suggestions or will I just be wasting my time? When I put the pi intake on an injector wire was caught in the #1 or #2 cyclinder and I had to loosen the intake to get it back out, so maybe the rtv is disturbed and now there's a leak?

Hmmm... a couple things come to mind. On your way to get the car pick up a vacuum gauge, they're pretty cheap and come with instructions.[this will let you know if you do indeed have a vacuum leak.]
Make sure the wire you pinched is OK.
Did you put in the H coil yourself? Hopefully it's not in too far as this may cause the knocking. Any idea where the knocking is coming from or what it sounds like?

 

[MustangSally98]

The wire seems fine, I had no problem before the spark plug blew out and stripped the head. What's the h coil? I did the intake manifold myself.

 

[MustangSally98]

The heli-coil...yeah i did it myself, i'll have to check on whether it's in too far, i don't think it is but i'm up for any suggestions at this point. The knocking sounds like it's coming from that cyclinder or right around it...it's hard to tell. And it doesn't sound like metal against metal, it's almost like a click or something...it's hard to exlain. But it doesn't sound normal but it doesn't sound harsh. It's just that it wasn't like that before.