car died! stuck on the A1 (live)

[jcb]

coming off a roundabout and it just lost a cylinder, coasted to a layby where it lost another then died!
i left it for a moment, checked it had oil, water, electricity, tried starting it up agin and it fired on three, then four then two and died.

i happen to have some tools, suspecting something coil pack/plug related I pulled the coil packs to find three out of four spark plugs loose!
sods law the only long socket I dont have is the fecking one I need so an forced to wait the esrimated 2 hours for the RAC....


how do three spark plugs come loose now given I have just driven 300 miles fault free?!
am I beimg a pessimist by thinkimg this os not just a loss of compression through loose plugs?

sounds like it is fubar!

anyone got an AJL engine for sale somewhere near the Sandy roundabout on the A1!?

 

[aragorn]

pretty unusual! Have you changed the plugs recently?

 

[Broken Byzan]

icm failure?

 

[ScottD3]

ICM?

I've seen a couple of plugs come lose (BMWs) but that was just where they was not done up tight enough.

 

[Bradderz_1988]

icm or crank sensor maybe ??

 

[jcb]

nope, embarrassingly the plugs must be 2 years old!
RAC man pulled them.

1 plug had dropped the centre electrode. I dread to think where it is now!
one other just looked shagged, both were loose as was one further one.

RAC slapped in some back up plugs and they tightened up OK them we realised at least one coil pack is dead, or at leasy dead under any kind of load.
45mins later only to find that the nearest factor only has one!
swapped it around to show misfore on 4, duly plugged into 4, then a missfire on 3!
RAC is currently off to get another one from another factor in the opposite direction!

boy has patience and has earned his stripes today!

 

[ScottD3]

Top marks to RAC but negative marks to you for poor plugs.

 

[Oranoco]

I'm only down the road mate, you could have popped in for a coffee. lol

 

[jcb]

not plugs afterall
dodgy MAF!

ran lean on 1 and 2 ****** the plugs.
was missing as it was dumping fuel.

pulled the MAF after some top advice from Kevin at KMK an drove another 90 miles!

now have a brand new unwanted coil pack if anyon needs one

 

[jcb]

found the spark plug electrode!!!


turbo now sounds like it has swallowed a kazoo

 

[ScottD3]

found the spark plug electrode!!!


turbo now sounds like it has swallowed a kazoo

****

New turbo needed?

All this from a dodgy MAF and possible future issues by old spark plugs?

 

[jcb]

MAF killed the plugs, no doubt. ran very lean and scorched the tips, too hot for the electrode on one.

turbo still pulls well, may just be a dinged vane.
still good excuse to start looking for a cheap option.

I still have my 630cc injectors, Mapped ECU and MAF from the 2l build!!

just need a ghetto manifold and a 2nd hand turbo!

 

[adamss24]

Didn't you felt like you needed a kick in the nuts after the engine stopped and you just congratulated yourself for selling the engine you had ? I know i did- TWICE !
My allroad dropped a valve on motorway as i was back from Bristol (close to slough) and required nearly 4 days work as one piston was smashed and the head scrap ! It also needed 900 quid worth of parts (cams/lifters/cambelts,etc.) and prior that i've sold 2 good engines and a v6 which had a fully built engine following a broken cambelt !
Hope you'll get it fixed cheaply !

 

[jcb]

yep, thats exactly what I was thinking.

now researching turbo options....