Help.. maybe..

stiddy · 06-10-2006, 08:29 PM

hey all..

M car has been running a little bit rough lately.. actually very rough.. What i thought was a bad batch of fuel is starting to prove very costly.
It wont rev past about 4500 and if it does it coughs and backfires and carries on.. sometimes even makes a popping noise out the airbox.....
if i suddenly step on it, it will cough, drop power for about a second then pick up, rev out to about 4000rpm and cough and splutter and miss and carry on again.. no happy with it. Sometimes it will do it all through the rev range and sometimes it wont do it at all and wont miss a beat.
Ive changed the spark plugs $133, plug leads $190, fuel filter $15, injector cleaner $20 and alot of time cleaning the fuel system.

Ive come to the conclusion that its the coil packs.. when they get hot, or something they start to play up..

SO can anyone tell me where can i get some aftermarket high-performance coil packs and price that will bolt into the stock location??

:

Thanks,
stidds

Orbit · 06-10-2006, 09:17 PM

no idea on the coil pacs. sorry.

how are you coolant levels?

Ruger · 06-10-2006, 09:22 PM

msd coils arent cheap expect 100-150 each

hilly1981 · 06-10-2006, 09:55 PM

Maybe one of the injectors is on its way out. Had a similiar problem and it was found the bad batch of fuel that went through caused damage to the injectors themselves.

Had them replaced with a set of reconditioned ones and the car was running smooth again as it should.

However you could be right about the coil pack as well.

Is there much difference when it is running cold and hot?

HLC · 06-10-2006, 10:32 PM

sounds like my nitro rc car when its running rich. but that doesnt help :(

bodes-sh · 06-10-2006, 10:35 PM

it also seems that it could be ecu problems, backfiring and coughing can also be caused by a timing problem, or possibly pinging? have you looked into the fuel pump, filter and strainer themselves? otherwise the ecu could be timing wrong...also check the camshaft sprocket, have you done anything to the cam or head lately?

private9 · 06-10-2006, 10:45 PM

Sounds very much like either a VERY blocked fuel filter (replace this first as it's cheap) or a screwed fuel pump. I have both of these happen on a few cars and the symptons you're describing are exactly what I experienced.

JC · 06-10-2006, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by private9

Sounds very much like either a VERY blocked fuel filter (replace this first as it's cheap) or a screwed fuel pump. I have both of these happen on a few cars and the symptons you're describing are exactly what I experienced.

That would be my guess too.

xr8ute · 07-10-2006, 09:23 AM

I third the blocked fuel filter idea too. Its also the cheapest thing to change next ;)

Does it run normal up to ~4000rpm, before it starts to cough and splutter?

Does it still brake down at 4000rpm if you are only at part throttle (vs WOT), or does it rev a bit higher before braking down?

NeishaXR8_347 · 07-10-2006, 09:28 AM

Since you have changed the fuel filter i would look at the fuel pump, my missus ef I6 did the same thing, it would be fine from cold to hot but after about 20mins it would cough and chug, until one day it finally gave up all together and had to tow it. Anyways when the car is idling i would pop the boot and lift the carpet where the pump is and lightly give it a tap or thump it and see if it affects it in someways or maybe clean the connections it may help it may not but its better then just wasting money buying a new pump and its not really the problem. But my thought is the fuel pump and if not pump then i would suspect the coilpack, they are known for this.

Shaun.

stiddy · 07-10-2006, 03:43 PM

If i ease into it while reving it out, it wont miss or carry on all the way to redline, but foot to the floor it carries on..
stock cam, and i reset the ecu.. no difference..
Ive done the filter, and its still doing it..
the car runs fine while its warming up, when its hot or at normal operating temperature it stuffs around..
As for the coolant, when i checked just before its low.. will that effect anything ?
Im fairly sure its not the fuel pump..

Last night i took it for a very spirited drive, and it didnt play up once.. driving it today it was terrible.. maybe the cold night vs hot day makes a huge difference to the way the car behaves, but its never been this bad on a hot day.

Futura01 · 07-10-2006, 04:36 PM

mate , i place a pretty big bet on your coil pack!!!
Same thing happened to me was driving my car like normal for most the day and didnt miss a beat then i parked it to go shopping come back .
started okay then 5mins later started spluttering and coughing then just died!!!!
It was the coil pack!! best way to check it check the spark from each lead

jonbays · 07-10-2006, 05:06 PM

I would say coilpack too. I have a good spare somewhere in the garage. pm me and you can try it first rather than just buy one. bastard to fit though.

Baboon_AU · 08-10-2006, 02:48 PM

you would have to fit it from the bottom with a help of a mate from the top. then snorkel and fan shroud will have to come off to for your mate to help.. unless you want to take off the plenum chamber...

Orbit · 08-10-2006, 04:23 PM

if you've noticed the coolant having dipped "recently" without any signs of leak. It could point to something internal.
But my money is on the fuel pump an dif its not that then the coils.
and if not that then i'd be looking internal....

:

atleast a new engine isn't that expensive...

:

StookEB · 08-10-2006, 07:20 PM

With my little experience i'd say it's the coil, well at least you can fix all parts so they won't brake while on the 1/4.

**Mechan1k** · 11-10-2006, 12:54 PM

Stiddy ... how did it go.
To me it sounds like a coilpack ... had similar issues with the ute.
Not too hard to change ... picked up a literally brand new one from Macarthur Parts Plus for about $40 .... Ford wanted nearly $300 for one .... meh.

autickfordfairmont · 11-10-2006, 02:01 PM

I would almost bet my left nut on blocked cat. It is exactly what mine did. Wouldnt rev past 4500rpm, then over tmie that dropped lower and lower, if you ease it on it will but not if you flatten it or give it a bit it woul dcough and fart. the reason being is that the ECU is cutting fuel off (which gives a fuel starve indication) because there is to much back pressure, get your cat looked at. I took mine in to a well known mechanic to diagnose and they had the car for 2 days, spent something like 15 hours on it and then finally came up with blocked cat.

From what you have described its identical to mine

stiddy · 11-10-2006, 07:33 PM

OK very very strange **** going on lol..
washed my car tonight, and while I was at it I topped up my washer fluid with the hose.. and thought hmmm engines a little dirty i'll hose it down..
so full pressure from the hose all over the engine bay...
started the car, it idled rough, coughed and spluttered like it does and then ran fine..
took it for a brap up the street to 'dry' the engine...
No missing, no backfiring, no poping no nothing!!
What the hell??, took it for a long drive, didnt miss abeat once.. and to top it off it feels like its going better now than what it did before it started all the stuff around..
What makes me say this?? I just recently got new tyres and I struggled to spin them, 4000rpm dump and its away with a little chirp... tonight, 4000rpm dump and all I get is a review mirror full of smoke.. even taking off then standing on it, it would break out all through first and hold half of 2nd..
drive it hard or soft, wide open throttle or easing into it, gave the car hell for about 20mins and drove it grampa like for 20mins.. didnt miss a beat once..

Anyone explain this..

bodes-sh · 11-10-2006, 07:40 PM

sounds very much like a coil pack or lead issue, i guess i should have asked this at first, were all your plug leads plugged right in both on the plugs and coil pack? im thinking the water may have knocked it and made it sit more on something

xr8ute · 11-10-2006, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stiddy

Anyone explain this..

I think it means its time to take it back to the track for a PB ;)

**Mechan1k** · 12-10-2006, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stiddy

Anyone explain this..

Gremlins can be nasty little buggers.

I6corp · 12-10-2006, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stiddy

Anyone explain this..

One of the sensor's were loose, or dirty and the pressure wash fixed it?

nat_daly · 12-10-2006, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xr8ute

I think it means its time to take it back to the track for a PB ;)

i second that

**Mechan1k** · 12-10-2006, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I6corp

One of the sensor's were loose, or dirty and the pressure wash fixed it?

Dodgy oxygen sensor maybe.

**Stav** · 12-10-2006, 04:11 PM

Stidds ..try red bull instead of water next time.

Seirously though that is wierd.My first thoughts were that you have a leaking intake manifold gasket.The other thought is a bad electrical connection somewhere..

**Mechan1k** · 12-10-2006, 04:13 PM

errr ... i'd hate to change an intake manifold gasket ... not fun.

Could be a dodgy earth.

could be a number of things ... I guess it comes down to trial and error in some cases.
start with the cheapest items to replace and slowly work your way up until it is fixed.

Or ... you might have fixed it with an engine bath

stiddy · 12-10-2006, 10:08 PM

Its stuffed again..
Was running well all day, on the way home from work this arvo sitting in traffic doing about 30km/h in 2nd, the car just went all spastic, didnt idle right, coughed spluttered carried on backfiring again.. then tonight its fine for a bit, stuffed for a bit, fine for a bit, stuffed for a bit..
Ready to roll and burn the thing!!
Im going to flush the fuel tank, fuel lines, fuel rail, new filters and injector clean this weekend.. and i'll check the coils. Hopefully this fixes it.

poolkeeper · 13-10-2006, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stiddy

Im going to flush the fuel tank, fuel lines, fuel rail, new filters and injector clean this weekend.. and i'll check the coils. Hopefully this fixes it.

Havent you already done that stiddy?
My mate had a problem like yours, one of the ecu wires had come loose.

**Mechan1k** · 13-10-2006, 10:38 AM

It's weird that it is doing it sometimes and not others.
It might be a dodgy earth connection somewhere.

Weird thing happened to the brother-in-law's VR ... kept cutting out ... and in a dip in the road near home it lost all power and conked out. Needed the earth connection cleaned up ... got another one put in place as well ... just to make sure he had a good connection.

Actually .... might look at getting a separate earth done on the ute actually.