Juddering at low RPM and sudden loss of power

MFrost

MFrost

MFrost

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Joined
20 Feb 2007
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131
Hi all, :)

I don't even pretend to know anything about cars, but I do have some 'googling' skills and hopefully will be able to make sense of any clues/advice you can give me.

This morning on my way to work I was driving along just fine, didn’t seem to be any noticeable problems with the car at all. I came up to a T-junction when I had to come to a complete standstill. When I proceeded to pull out of the junction I realised I was pulling away in 3rd gear when I it was really sluggish but I just left the car to it (probably stupidly) and 'rode it out' so to speak until into the normal rpm speed.

Well since that point and the rest of the journey I’ve had the problem described in my thread title. The car seems to be very shaky and judders at low rpm and has lost a considerable amount of accelerating power. When I get to about 2-2500rpm it seems to mostly smooth out but the power is still not there. It's very noticeable pulling away from a stand still at roundabout and junctions; I seem to be getting a smell of petrol fumes/un-burnt petrol?

I've tried stopping, turning the car off and on again with the ignition. I've also noticed the shaking is almost definitely being caused by something in the engine as if I leave the car in neutral at a standstill and put my foot on the accelerator it does the shaky judders thing too.

I don't know whether I was silly to 'nurse it' all the way to work (35 miles after the problem occurred) but what's done is done.

I only purchased the car 6 weeks ago. Its 1999 Ford Focus 1.6 Petrol with 78k on the clock. Unfortunately I don’t have the logbook/service book with me, that's at home. But I do know that the car has a full service history up until I purchased it and has only had 1 previous lady owner so it shouldn’t have been thrashed about too much. I also dont thrash it about at all, as i try to conserve petrol as much as possible. The garage I got it from gave me a 3 month warranty but I’m sure in the small print it excludes almost every part of the car so I’m probably screwed.

My initial idea is to take it back to this garage on my lunch break (only about 5 miles away) and pray to god it's covered by my warranty. But I hate HATE HATEEEE car traders and do not trust them in the slightest so I really would like to have some kind of clue as to what you think the problem might be first.

I really do appreciate any ideas or suggestions you guys have to offer.

Many thanks it advance! :)

Mathew
 
Could be anything from engine/gearbox mounts to a buggered flywheel,injectors,exhaust, could be a number of things. I think the pulling away in 3rd is just a coincidence that it has sprung up at the same time.

Only way you will find out is by taking it to a garage. No one will be able to diagnose your problem on here unfortunately.
 
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Spark plugs / Coil packs at a guess.

Not all of them at the same time, just a dodgy one or two!
 
sounds like it's firing on three cylinders.

maybe the juddering from pulling away in third, made something come loose and now it's only firing on three cylinders. this could account for the fuel smell too, and there will be unburnt fuel in one of the cylinders.
try checking the ht leads are all firmly in place on the spark plugs
 
I too would say check the leads and plugs. Could be a nice easy fix before you take it to a garage.
 
Dis86 said:
I too would say check the leads and plugs. Could be a nice easy fix before you take it to a garage.
Click to expand...

Coil/Leads/Plugs! Very very common!

Leads and plugs tend to track leaving distinctive burn marks on the plug insulators Both should be changed together (I often find that this issue can occur a couple of weeks after a service if the plugs are replaced and the leads not)

Coils can fail internally leading to low output on one or more towers. Coil faults should not be ignored since they can cause serious damage to the ECU's

No guarantee over the internet but If I was going out to a job like this I would take a full set with me just in case!
 
Thanks a lot for the advice you gave guys.

After doing a few quick checks for loose hoses and plugs etc I knew I couldn't see anything that stood out so ended up taking it to the garage i purchased it from.

You all seem very clued up because your guesses were correct. I went into the garage and said exactly what you guys thought it could be.

When they had a mechanic look at it and come back to me it was indeed a fault coil pack which they replaced for £15 with a 2nd hand part (strange i know O.o) because apparently it wasn't covered under my warrant.

That's a load off my mind anyway!

Cheers again!
 
Yep, coils fail a lot on those, they are very cheap though compared to most. Pulling off in 3rd would have tipped it over the edge if it was ready to die already. High load at low rpm puts a high load on the coils.
 
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