Car Idling Bad, Chuggy Feeling

[lincellusion]

Hi guys. My mums car has been idling failrly strangley for the past month or so (she says it only started doing it AFTER she got it serviced). the car feels like it aint running on all cylinders some of the time, when you put your foot down, sometimes it is slow to respond, and as I said, feels very 'chuggy' sometimes. When you stop at a stop sign or red light the car sometimes spasms and feels like its about to stall. It is a Holden Viva, not too old, I think its an 08 model. I added injector cleaner to her fuel tank, then proceeded to clean the throttle body. this made the car feel a TINY bit better, but did not stop the idling and chuggy feeling. I then proceeded to remove the 4 spark plugs. Two plugs had oil on the tips, and the other two were dry. So I got 4 brand new plugs and chucked them in and voila, the car ran beautifully... for a week. It has started doing the idling crap again, when I lifted up the bonnet this time, there were miniscule drops of oil on parts of the engine bay, like the filter box etc. I took out the plugs, but this time they were all dry. Anyone know what the issue could be?

Thanks alot.

[SargeRX8]

Shit oil filter? Shit fuel filter? Sounds like there could even be something not tightened. I really don't think you should see oil anywhere... 08 model.... Should have warranty, shouldn't it? Take the dip stick out and see if little droplets of oil spit out of it when the engine is running. Maybe even bad oil type, too thick or too thin for the motor...

Edited September 18, 2011 by SargeRX8

[lincellusion]

Shit oil filter? Shit fuel filter? Sounds like there could even be something not tightened. I really don't think you should see oil anywhere... 08 model.... Should have warranty, shouldn't it? Take the dip stick out and see if little droplets of oil spit out of it when the engine is running. Maybe even bad oil type, too thick or too thin for the motor...

I took out the dipstick, the oil on it looked fine, not black (I know it aint a good idea of the oil, but a start) the oil level was just over the max line but dont think thatll matter. I might do an oil and filter change, thanks, didnt think about that. for all I know it might not be oil, maybe something else, just seems like it.

[mad082]

don't bother changing the oil, probably won't do a thing. if changing the plugs solved the issue then you know that it is spark related. although it may also be fuel related (running rich). i think the viva's have an issue with the TPS which may be causing it to run rich. are you sure that it was oil on the plugs and not fuel mixed with carbon?

[lincellusion]

don't bother changing the oil, probably won't do a thing. if changing the plugs solved the issue then you know that it is spark related. although it may also be fuel related (running rich). i think the viva's have an issue with the TPS which may be causing it to run rich. are you sure that it was oil on the plugs and not fuel mixed with carbon?

When I took the plugs out the first time, it was a brown looking liquid on the tips, then some of it dripped onto paper I had next to the car and it looked like a clean brown liquid, my guess being oil.

[SargeRX8]

That certainly sounds like oil. Too much oil isn't a good thing. This could affect pressure and cause oil to seap out of places it shouldn't be. The problem was not with the sparks by the sound of it, but a deeper problem CAUSING the sparks to fail. If he puts another set in now, sure it will work, but for how much longer?

I had brand new plugs in my car. 1 week later, couldn't get it to idle. New plugs went in, 1 week later same shit. I was running too rich, the plugs were fouling pretty quickly(10.1 on idle lol). Fixed my fueling issue, plugs are now fine. Take these plugs out, do they have oil on them? A cheat way to get the excess oil out of the car to lower the amount is to take the filter off, empty the oil, cycle the engine, check level and repeat if necessary. You get about 50 - 200ml every time depending on filter size.

Wet fuel on plugs looks and feels very different to what he describes, and I know this! It evaporates pretty quickly when out of the cylinder but its just a watery black liquid.

Edited September 20, 2011 by SargeRX8

[lincellusion]

That certainly sounds like oil. Too much oil isn't a good thing. This could affect pressure and cause oil to seap out of places it shouldn't be. The problem was not with the sparks by the sound of it, but a deeper problem CAUSING the sparks to fail. If he puts another set in now, sure it will work, but for how much longer?

I had brand new plugs in my car. 1 week later, couldn't get it to idle. New plugs went in, 1 week later same shit. I was running too rich, the plugs were fouling pretty quickly(10.1 on idle lol). Fixed my fueling issue, plugs are now fine. Take these plugs out, do they have oil on them? A cheat way to get the excess oil out of the car to lower the amount is to take the filter off, empty the oil, cycle the engine, check level and repeat if necessary. You get about 50 - 200ml every time depending on filter size.

Wet fuel on plugs looks and feels very different to what he describes, and I know this! It evaporates pretty quickly when out of the cylinder but its just a watery black liquid.

Ok, will do the filter trick if I can thanks

[SargeRX8]

Ok, will do the filter trick if I can thanks

If you do, make sure you screw the filter back on after you empty the oil from it BEFORE running the engine lol. Obvious enough but just incase.

[lincellusion]

If you do, make sure you screw the filter back on after you empty the oil from it BEFORE running the engine lol. Obvious enough but just incase.

ahha yep, but I can see how someone can easily forget to