My car sounds like a tractor

[Ender]

Hey, i was driving yesterday in traffic at about 20 mph in second the traffic eased up to 30 and as i accelerated and changed to third the car shudderd and then sounded like a tracter, the engine management light flashe's now also... their is no smoke, it still drives and runs but sounds aweful and has lossed power and coughs

Any ideas on this?

cheers

[gmaster]

Could be a coil pack breaking down mate.

[Guest musky]

sounds like a coil pack

[mikey vrs]

Sounds like a coil pack has failed,when mine went i unplugged one coil at a time to see which one had failed(the faulty one wont make any difference to how the car is running) my advice is if you can afford it is to replace all 4 at the same time as i only changed one then 2 months later another one failed! your management light should go out when you replace the coils(code will still be stored though) hope you get it sorted soon,i wouldnt drive the car until its fixed.

Edited 6 April, 2010 by mikey vrs

[Ender]

Thanks, where are tho coil packs located within the engine?

[karlbar2k]

on the top. one is hidden under the vac reservoir, I'll find a pic

[Ender]

I thought so, i unplugged 1 at a time the three i could get at no differance, can i drive it to the garage? its 5 miles

[wrath of bod]

Thanks, where are tho coil packs located within the engine?

under engine cover sat ontop of spark plugs & it does sound like a coil pack

on its way out.

engine cover

under the cover

coil pack looks like

[karlbar2k]

never mind I got side tracked when I saw the beast may be broken :(

Edited 6 April, 2010 by karlbar2k

[TrevorB33]

also sounds like a turbo pipe may have come off

[chicken_eyebrow]

Yep, could be the one behind the offside front wheel that goes to the intercooler. Mine sounded like a Spitfire when it popped off!

[Ender]

nah its not a pipe been over it with a fine tooth comb, im just worried driving it will make it worse, i suspect a coil pack but can i drive it 5 miles to a my garage

[TrevorB33]

nah its not a pipe been over it with a fine tooth comb, im just worried driving it will make it worse, i suspect a coil pack but can i drive it 5 miles to a my garage

you should know if it was a coil pack as the idle would be all over the place and misfireing, if its a pipe then the idle will still fluctuate a little but when you rev it up you will hear a huge gush of air? there are some hose connections not easily seen

[Bodge]

If your driving the car with a failed coilpack (running on 3 cylinders), you should probably disconnect the corresponding injector to prevent damage to the cat.

Unless the car is clever enough to know that there is no spark there and shut down an injector. But I don't think it is....

[Ender]

Cheers, the only reason I wanna drive it is to goto my garage and get it sorted

[SCVRS]

Don't bother driving to a garage. Get someone you know to give you a lift to a car parts place like Eurocarparts. Pick up a new coil and replace it. I am not lying when I say it will take you 30 seconds. If it is the one hidden away, it might take your 2 minutes! You don't need any tools if it is coil 1,2 or 3 other than a small screwdrive to help disconnect the wiring. Get a good grip on the top of the coil and pull it out. Drop the new one in and reconnect the wire. Thats it! You will kick yourself for paying a garage. Alternatively, call the AA if you have membership. They will replace them at the roadside.

[Guest musky]

Very easy to change as SCVRS said. Mine ran pretty well with only 3 running, wasn't particularily rough even.

[Sksig]

i had the exact same problem with my car, and instead going to the car dealership i bought a new coil and replaced it myself and the car runs perfectly now.

i have no experience in fixing cars, it took me 5 minutes to change it,i just replaced the fyrst one and there was no change, then i tried all of theme and it was the last one that was broken

good luck, this forum is a life saver, thanks u all

[Ender]

Ok, so I went to GSF and brought a coil pack, went home and popped the 1st one out and replaced perfect runs like a dream again.

Thanks to all above for A diagnosing and B saving me pounds by telling me to do it myself..