Not sure what the problem is

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Soldato
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Hi guys,

Got a problem with my MK3 1.8 LX 2001 Mondeo.

The car starts fine and is fine in 5th gear but in the lower gears I think it's misfiring - the rev count is jumping and then coming back down suddenly in say 2nd/3rd gear - I think 3rd is where it jumps most of the time.

Any ideas what the cause of this could be? Is it worth investing my own time and money in trying to repair or am I better off taking it to a mechanic (I don't trust any of them!)

Thanks.
 
Sounds like your clutch is buggered rather than any sort of misfire.

Stick it in 4th at say 30mph and bury the accelerator, the revs will rise but speed will go nowhere. Alternatively park up and try to pull off in 4th - if you can do it there's a problem.

If it's slipping in every gear it's well on the way so you should get it sorted pretty soon, a (very) temporary fix can be to get the car on motorway then dip the clutch and bring it back up just about the bite point and give it some revs for a few seconds. Should help the slipping but wont last long
 
See how good a connection you have to the battery, sounds like there might be electrical fault which could be a bad earth or just the connectors not tight enough, could be a broken cell as well.

If you want to test the clutch, park the car with handbrake hard on, try and pull away in 5th gear it should stall straight away, if it continues to rev your clutch is buggered.
 
Thanks guys I should mention that when this first happened it was juddering quite badly, really kangaroo'ing (if thats such a term :D)

The Engine Management light came on as well.

That all lasted for a day or two and since then, for the last 2 weeks it's just been revving really hard, ie. pushing down on the accelerator hard but sometimes the rev count just going up and then dropping down in certain gears, sounds like the engine is working hard in some gears but then in 4th and 5th it's ok...

Just took it out for a spin around the block for 5 minutes and for the first time in days didn't notice any of the above though! Very perplexing.

I'll try what you suggested unless you think it might be something else given the additional info I've just said.
 
My money is on the MAF.

I'd get it hooked up to some diagnostics equipment as you don't want to start replacing parts that are not faulty.
 
Yeah given your last post I'm not so sure about the clutch, you need to be a little more descriptive.

When you're driving, are you needing to give it a bootful of accelerator to get the car to move or are you putting your foot down and the revs are rapidly rising without an associated increase in speed?

If the eml came on first port of call is to get the codes read. Could be maf / spark / cam position sensor related if it's running rough rather than slipping.
 
rodenal said:
Yeah given your last post I'm not so sure about the clutch, you need to be a little more descriptive.

When you're driving, are you needing to give it a bootful of accelerator to get the car to move or are you putting your foot down and the revs are rapidly rising without an associated increase in speed?

If the eml came on first port of call is to get the codes read. Could be maf / spark / cam position sensor related if it's running rough rather than slipping.
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Hi, sorry it's taken a while to reply. The engine management light hasn't been on for a good 2-3 weeks now but the problems are still present.

When flooring the throttle the revs go up really rapidly and the rev counter shows this but the speedometer stays where it is for a couple of seconds... say 40 mph in 4th gear for example... then it decides to wake up and slowly starts rising....

The car doesn't give you that jolt of acceleration at first. It feels like it wants to stay at the speed it's going and then after a few seconds it'll pick up speed and accelerate.
 
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Ok, assuming the car's a manual as per above then that does sound very like a slipping clutch, with any sensor related fault typically you'd bury the throttle but the revs wouldn't rise or would judder up the range - you may have more than one issue, do some of the clutch checks and try to get the codes read too, do you know anyone with a cheap obd reader?
 
Yep it's a manual,

What are the clutch checks? Unfortunately don't know anyone with an odb reader.

Assuming it is the clutch what's the ball park cost to repair?
 
Just read this on another forum , the guy describes exactly the same as what's happening on mine, probably a bit of a better description than I gave:




The clutch seems to be slipping. In the past 2 weeks, especially on an incline when changing gear, when I accelerate the engine revs for a second or two without the car gaining speed, then bites again.
 
Ok I just pulled up on a level road. Put the handbrake on tight. Car in 3rd gear, released the handbrake and slowly released the clutch. Car pulled away and didn't even stall, or if it was going to I couldn't let it as the layby was coming to an end!
 
Do it in 4th or 5th with the handbrake on (don't release), if it tries to pull away or the clutch slips then you've identified the problem - alternatively stick it in 4th at 30ish and accelerate hard to see if you can replicate the slip.

The fact you can pull away in 3rd sounds ominous though
 
rodenal said:
Do it in 4th or 5th with the handbrake on (don't release), if it tries to pull away or the clutch slips then you've identified the problem - alternatively stick it in 4th at 30ish and accelerate hard to see if you can replicate the slip.

The fact you can pull away in 3rd sounds ominous though
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Ok I'll try later, yes it really was pulling away in 3rd like a car on a mission!
 
Ok just tried that, level road, stopped the car, put the handbrake on, clutch down, idling at 1000rpm, 5th gear, let clutch out slowly, car doesnt pull, sounds like it's going to stall but doesn't, engine remains running - does the same in 4th...

went for a spin up the road, came off the roundabout doing 30mph, put it in 4th, floored the throttle, engine screaming and revs increasingly rapidly, stuck at 30mph for 3 or so seconds then slowly starts creeping up to 40mph.
 
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