Ford Experts

hunnybunny1980, Sep 9, 3:04am
Our 04 XR8 has been running rough at idle for some time now.We had a vacumn hose replaced and thought that fixed it.Does anyone know whether a computer will pick up a problem in any of the coils.My Dad was going to test all the plugs to make sure they are firing but couldn't because of the way they are placed.Sorry if I haven't explained anything right but I'm a chick and don't know much about cars, lol.And does anyone know how much they are to replace (the coils).
tatts2, Sep 9, 3:37am
It sounds like it mite be a coil pack which do go on them.
hunnybunny1980, Sep 9, 3:41am
That's what we were thinking, but is there an easy way to figure out which one!
tatts2, Sep 9, 3:45am
No you have to pull them off 1 at a time and see what difference it makes.
franc123, Sep 9, 3:47am
You need to be taking the car to someone who knows what they are doing and seeing if the fault can be isolated to a particular cylinder before throwing new parts at it, replacing all eight coils which may not be faulty is both expensive and depressing. Some of those Boss 260 engines were known to burn valves, perhaps a compression or manifold vacuum test, a check for induction leaks or even better an electronic power balance test might be the best course of action at this point.
hunnybunny1980, Sep 9, 3:48am
Bugger, because we don't always notice the car running rough.It seems to come and go.Had the Ford dealer look it over a while ago and found no errors or faults.
hunnybunny1980, Sep 9, 3:49am
In fact they didn't even pick up on a split in a vacumn hose that was right in front of their noses.
unbeatabull, Sep 9, 4:05am
A Ford dealer with Ford IDS (Diagnostic computer) can monitor each individual cylinder and coil to see if there is a misfire.

But as above, could be a number of things. When does it do it! Cold, idle, warm, under accel, load, decel, etc
lombax, Sep 9, 4:43am
Signs of a bad coil pack are present when driving the vehicle. The vehicle may have a rough idle and be abnormally louder, and a noticeable reduction in power,major drop in RPM's during acceleration (hot or cold),is the missfire noticable at idle and light cruise!,if so i would change the packs,for your xr8,i would use MSD packs,
hunnybunny1980, Sep 9, 6:43am
Car seems to run fine while driving, just running rough at idle, probably more so once it's warmed up.The rev counter fluctuates quite a bit at idle.Might take it to another Ford dealer and see what they reckon.Will check out the RPMs during acceleration when I drive it tomorrow.Really appreciate all the input, just sorry I can't answer your questions very well!
franc123, Sep 9, 6:58am
You've done as well if not better than some in your description, good detail of what the model, year and engine is and what it seems to be doing.Sadly not all things are easy to diagnose without looking at it or doing some tests, there are lots of possibilities. Good luck.
serf407, Sep 9, 7:36am
Would you take it to an auto electrician first ! Ring the auto electrician and check they have a scanner that is compatible with the Ford.
Some places have mechanics and auto-electricians in the same workshop these days.
hunnybunny1980, Sep 9, 9:06am
Thanks, I was thinking an auto electician will be the next step :)I'm starting to think maybe I'm looking for something that isn't there but I'm sure it never used to feel so 'lumpy' at idle.
j.feck, Sep 9, 10:41am
I have a 04 fairmont v8 same block different heads that has the same issue lumpy idle when hot changed coils ,sparkplugs you name it and its still the same next it will be timing chains cam phasers and what not or be trading it in on a hyundai !
budgel, Sep 9, 9:33pm
On other cars those symptoms can be the air flow meter if it is not a vacuum leak.
hunnybunny1980, Sep 10, 9:18am
Went to an auto electician today, no errors that he could find.He suggested checking when the fuel filter was last done, which was 40,000kms ago, ford mech reckons they should be done ever 60,000kms.So next thing will probably be to get the auto elec to check each coil one by one.So annoying cos she drives like a dream apart from the lumpy idle.
jason18, Sep 10, 6:54pm
I had similar problem in my BA got told to clean the throttle body by the guys on here and she runs way better. + No more lumpy idle
hunnybunny1980, Sep 10, 7:35pm
Thanks, will look into that :)
serf407, Sep 11, 3:26am
My falcon was hard to start etc, was water in the petrol and needed a clean out.
How likely is the possibility of rubbish being in the petrol tank ! Fuel system is only as clean as long as there has been no rubbish/ water tipped into it.
beaker7, Sep 26, 8:53am
We had a 04 XR 8 BA from new .
it ran rough @ Idle & would stall at lights .
took it back to ford dealer 3 times (Diagnostic Computer didn't find any faults ) . Dealer rang ford NZ they said to replace throttle body .
Fixed !
paddyman, Sep 26, 9:39am
I would say its scared, Bathurst coming up next month and its got the shakes, lol!