A friend of mine has a Tribute that has trouble when its raining or driving when its wet out. It drives fine but anytime water is involved it sputters really bad. Anyone with a tribute have this problem?

 

In general automotive repair that would be a sign of bad plug wires.

 

checked the wires... they look fine

 

Looks can be deceiving. If they aren't that expensive, just replace them.

Alos, maybe pull engine codes to see if anything is there.

 

How many miles on the plug wires?

 

My 02 Tribute ES (V6) has a stalling problem at idle speed that I am told is the IAC (idle air control) valve. Haven't gotten it fixed yet. At any rate, the problem worsens with wet weather. If it isn't something like a fuel filter or air filter, you may want to have your friend check the throttle system.