Aaargh....2.3 Running Problems...help

[Mjtray]

OK...story so far....2001 2.3 Galaxy manual with 72,000 miles

 

Car started running rough, ie felt like it was breathing through a straw and would stutter, eventually clear, but never felt happy....engine management light came on. Symptoms are particularly noticeable when driving on a light throttle

 

This showed that the coil pack had failed on No1 cylinder. Replaced coil pack and whilst this got rid of the EML light the car still ran with exactly the same symptoms.

 

Car taken into garage and they advised replacing the plug leads which was duly done with genuine Ford items....no change to running problems. EML light still off.

 

Garage have cleaned throttle body and found a tiny split in a vacumn hose.....car still running with exactly the same symptoms and like a dog. EML light is still off.

 

So the question is...whats going on? Any clues?

 

Having run Mercs for many years (which can suffer from MAF problems), I decided to disconnect the MAF on the Galaxy and the car still ran like a dog....does this give any clues and do Galaxy 2.3's typically suffer from MAF problems?

 

Apparently the garage claim that they have checked the emissions on the car and they are fine, which they say rules out the Lambda sensor, but they seem as lost as I am on this running problem.....any help or pointers would be much appreciated.

[seatkid]

Disconnect battery for 30 seconds (you will lose radio code mind) to reset ECU.

 

Then I would check spark plugs, air filter and fuel filter in that order

 

You might still have a faulty coil pak, check the ignition leads have not been put on the wrong plugs.

[snoopyKTFC]

We had a similar problem on our 99 2.3. Coils and Fuel Pump fixed it.