Dropped something in hole where spark plug goes?

1994 FORD CROWN VICTORIA
123,456 MILES • 4.6L • V8 • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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EVANDER GAMBLE
Car has a little cough coming from exhaust now. Is there something I can do to fix it? I dropped a little piece of paper towel in it by accident cleaning the housing around the spark plug. When I drove, it had weird little misfires as if it was choking from too much fuel. It still drives but in certain cases you can hear it still popping. Do I have to tear it down to fix it up?
Jul 1, 2025 at 3:11 AM
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MECHTRIX
  • ✓ASE Certified Mechanic
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Wow not good" If it's a very small piece of paper towel it will most likely get pushed out into the exhaust travel downstream and get caught in the cat eventually burn up and turn to ash and be blown out the exhaust. Once you stop getting the symptoms it will have moved on. Shouldn't be too long maybe a day or two.in the meantime it might cast a misfire code if it does follow up on it. oh boy, do i hope this helps. Good luck
Jul 1, 2025 at 9:18 AM
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STRAILER
  • ✓ASE Certified Mechanic
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I would do a compression test to see if any damage has occurred, this guide will help you.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-test-engine-compression

Please go over this guide and get back to us.
Sep 5, 2025 at 5:12 PM
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