Alright, So I first bought my car 1500 miles ago at 87830 miles. I drove 900 miles on it and my coil blew. So, I took my coil I had a spare one in the garage and hooked it up and it ran fine. So I bought some NGK Iridiums as well at the same time (bad choice...?) and it still ran fine. Then, 500 miles later, I THOUGHT I blew my coil AGAIN, so i just bought a BRAND NEW MSD 4 tower coil and installed it today. My car still spudders and idles like hell. I know that I run rich though, but maybe I just need new plug wires? I dont know, what do you guys think!? What could I check for..

Are you throwing any CELs? If it is running that rich does the O2 sensor check out ok? Check the wiring harness near the EGR system. Make sure that none of the wires are touching it and that nothing has melted.

Throw away the Iridiums. They are junk and are causing your problem.

I agree with Dino, get some NGK BKR-6E spark plugs and gap them around .38-.42 They cost only around $5 and work great. I would also get some new wires as they cost around $30 and if you don't know when they have been changed last, might as well do it also.

K I just picked up some new plug wires, ill put those on later though! Would you suggest BRK-7E 's at all? I am turbo so would that be a better choice dont you think? And what should I gap to then if I got BKR-7E's? I am 8.8:1 Compression also...! Thanks guys :thumbsup:



Joe

I use .28" for my gap. Use the largest gap you can without misfiring at max boost.

Originally posted by DarkOne
I use .28" for my gap. Use the largest gap you can without misfiring at max boost.

Alright I have a question also about making gaps smaller... cuz i just checked the gap on my iridiums and theyre like .045"... and i am not sure how to make the gap smaller. How do you?

I like to hit them with something. Like, the ratchet I used to remove them. Or a hammer.

Originally posted by DarkOne
I like to hit them with something. Like, the ratchet I used to remove them. Or a hammer.

Hey sounds good to me. Now I know that this is a bit off topic, but I was diggin around to see if anything was wrong like vacuum leaks or loose connections.. and I dont now if what I have here is necessarily anything bad, but could you guys shed some light on the situation for me with what exactly i am looking at with these pics.. and if theyre a bad thing.

This first one is in the upper right section of the engine bay and runs back like kind of against the firewall, the black connector and the green wire. i didnt see quite where it lead to the whole way, but again I am just wondering what the heck it is and if it should be connected somewhere...







This second one is under the car, picture was taken with me laying on the ground on the left side of my car, with my exhaust piping in the back section of the pic. I doubt that this should be hanging out like this... but again, what is it exactly and should it be like this?



Thanks guys, I hope that my semi-ignorance or however you want to term it is showing through with these posts. Just need to learn though!

that second one looks like an o2 sensor connector?

Originally posted by talon749
that second one looks like an o2 sensor connector?

Probably should be connected then, eh? Great, now the hardest part of doing any work on my car. Getting a jack under it and getting it off the ground. Also, I pick up my BKR-7E's in the morning. Then ill get back to see if she still runs like horse shit.

picked up some new spark plugs, got bkr7e's gapped to .035", and installed the new plug wires as well, still running like a piece of crap. I dont know what else to do

Anyone help me please. Exact problems are that

1. misfires

2. car almost wants to die at idle (idles at about 650rpms), and has a loud rattling in the engine and kind of sounds like rattling under the car too. I can open the hood at idle and see my intake to the turbo just shuttering back and forth with that loud rattling noise.

3. After driving it for tests to see if problems get ANY better (which they dont), I come to a stop light and when i slow down all you hear is backfiring. I come to a stop and my car literally drops to 100 rpms, then a have to peddle the gas to raise it back to 600 rpms (which is where it idles now cuz of this whole problem)

4. When I floor it, the first time out of the test runs that i floor it, it goes good. But if i try to floor it again, it wont go. it bogs like crazy. I can only get one good run out of her per time i test it.

For better diagnosis, I have replaced the following to the car so far

1. New MSD coil tower

2. New spark plug wires

3. New spark plugs (NGK BKR7E, gapped to .035" (change gap?)

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your help!

Try and see if you can find a ecu to borrow to see if that's your problem.

never dealt with exchanging an ecu in and out. I have accel powertuner, so would that cause a problem for the uninstall and reinstall? Any thoughts on if it could be a MAS or MAFT?

sounds kinda like bad timing to me... :shrug

Originally posted by RoninEclipse2G
sounds kinda like bad timing to me... :shrug

Would bad timing cause me to misfire though? How could it all of the sudden have bad timing? good info though! If anyone can further give me ideas, id really appreciate it :thumbsup thanks


Joe

Originally posted by mysteryclipse21

Originally posted by RoninEclipse2G sounds kinda like bad timing to me... :shrug

Would bad timing cause me to misfire though? How could it all of the sudden have bad timing? good info though! If anyone can further give me ideas, id really appreciate it :thumbsup thanks Joe

your tensioner might be going bad, a bearing on one of the pulleys might be going out, I had one explode on me, keep an eye on those.

Originally posted by talon749
your tensioner might be going bad, a bearing on one of the pulleys might be going out, I had one explode on me, keep an eye on those.

yup. I got lucky when mine went. no damage, just a ton of time learning.

Alright, i did a plug wire test check, and it seems as though 2 of my plugs arent quite giving off the same spark as the other 2, the color of the spark is fine, but the frequency of sparks going off is alot less then the other 2 plug wires. I have a new coil pack and everything. So god knows what the hell is happening.

As for the timing issue, how does one go about getting a new one, or diagnosing the exact timing problem. Should I just take it into a local shop and tell them what you guys told me, and they can check it out? cuz i dont think i am car smart enough to, well, first take anything apart, then definitely not put it back in correctly!

Maybe I should just take it in and get it tuned finally, and while I am at it, get the timing issue dealt with. What would you all suggest I do? Should I just not drive the car for a while, and even when I do, not drive it hard, and only if its absolutly neccessary? I will obviously need to drive to a shop, happens to be 35 minutes away though.

buy, borrow or steal a timing light (ignore the steal) clip the power leads to the battery, put the funky clamp piece on the #1 plug wire. take off the small access cover on the timing cover. turn the engine on and allow it to idle. watch the belt through the acess cover opening, is it flapping or shifting? if not point the timing light at the point where the cam sprockets come the closest together. you should see marks on the cams reflecting at you (if the sprockets are rusty this could make life harder) if they don't reflect perfectly in the middle that's ok, computer ignition retard pulls things back a few degrees. if you have an adjustable timing light you should be able to adjust the advance on the light a few degrees. can you get the marks to line up while idling? yes- good if it's within 15-20* (correct me if I'm wrong guys) beyond that there's something wrong, stretched belt, bad tensioner, cam or crank sensor going bad. if the marks won't even come close to lining up you've got a jumped tooth or worse.

if things are off don't drive any farther. let us know and we can recommend where to go from there

Originally posted by RoninEclipse2G
buy, borrow or steal a timing light (ignore the steal) clip the power leads to the battery, put the funky clamp piece on the #1 plug wire. take off the small access cover on the timing cover. turn the engine on and allow it to idle. watch the belt through the acess cover opening, is it flapping or shifting? if not point the timing light at the point where the cam sprockets come the closest together. you should see marks on the cams reflecting at you (if the sprockets are rusty this could make life harder) if they don't reflect perfectly in the middle that's ok, computer ignition retard pulls things back a few degrees. if you have an adjustable timing light you should be able to adjust the advance on the light a few degrees. can you get the marks to line up while idling? yes- good if it's within 15-20* (correct me if I'm wrong guys) beyond that there's something wrong, stretched belt, bad tensioner, cam or crank sensor going bad. if the marks won't even come close to lining up you've got a jumped tooth or worse. if things are off don't drive any farther. let us know and we can recommend where to go from there

Wow, thanks for the very nice description! I need to learn up on my timing. Also, anyone honestly think switching to BPR7ES would do anything at all? Or are they basically the exact same as BKR-7E's?

here's some info on ngk spark plugs, right from the horses mouth!

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/tech_support/spark_plugs/faqs/faqcode.asp?mode=nml

download the pdf file. there's tons of other useful info if you look through their site

Well, everything ignition wise is brand new, same problem though. I havent done much with the car as of late, so i decided to drive it to autozone to get checked for codes because I wasnt sure if the CEL was even supposed to be on (CEL burnt out). They scanned it, and it came back with 5 codes, 1 for the EGR, and the other 4 for each cylinder. I wish I wouldve written down the exact codes, but all I remember is it was something about the exhaust gas recirculation and that something was happening in turn, to all four cylinders. Would an EGR block off cause that code? The cylinder codes as well?


I drove it home, parked it in the driveway. Went back about 3 or 4 hours later, car wont start. It cranks and will have that noise like its about to compress or something, but once it is JUST about to start, it just doesnt and continues to keep cranking over.

Anyone think that it is my MAP sensor thats f-ed? or would a fouled o2 sensor make it act like this? BAd MAP sensor would cause all the stated problems, But how the hell could it have just gone out on me out of no where, i guess its possible!? If so, should I just go 3.5 bar? cuz I cant even find the damn EGR in my car, so I am pretty sure it was previusly blocked off. God. someone please PLEASE help me


Edit: Alright now the car wont even crank over. It just sits there and does nothing, no cranking at all.I tried to jump it, disconnecting battery cables to see if it would just need a reset. I also had my dad push me and try to pop start the car, and thats when it started to not even crank anymore. before we tried pop starting it, it cranked, but wouldnt start. now it just does nothing. Anyone have any ideas? I would go to a shop, but cant drive! :(

Originally posted by mysteryclipse21
Alright, So I first bought my car 1500 miles ago at 87830 miles. I drove 900 miles on it and my coil blew. So, I took my coil I had a spare one in the garage and hooked it up and it ran fine. So I bought some NGK Iridiums as well at the same time (bad choice...?) and it still ran fine. Then, 500 miles later, I THOUGHT I blew my coil AGAIN, so i just bought a BRAND NEW MSD 4 tower coil and installed it today. My car still spudders and idles like hell. I know that I run rich though, but maybe I just need new plug wires? I dont know, what do you guys think!? What could I check for..

Could be your injectors are dirty, have you used a scanner