Motor Is severly Coughing/missing.....???? Dont know exactly.

[levi1993]

Hey everyone,
My v6 Vp 1993 commodore has just started coughing or missing...
I have just replaced the spark plugs thisarvo and put fuel and injector cleaner in. I have drove about 20 k's and it has sort of stopped, but still has less acceleration and coughs or misses just as bad sometimes...
It could be water in the fuel as it has just poured down yesterday and last night???
It has happened twice.... once about 2 weeks ago when i put the E10 fuel in from a petrol station, i put the E10 again in, from the same petrol station and it has done this again....
Mates have had water in the fuel from that servo before... so i dont know if its water or injectors???

Thanks

[levi1993]

Is there anyway i can drain the tank maybe??? i have looked under the car and looks like there is no drainage plug or bolt.... ????

[delcowizzid]

there is no drain bung

[levi1993]

Welll i need to travel for 4 hours nearly north tomorow...
So what do you think it could bee?

[vps231]

Maybe leads?

[FXST01]

Seems to happen when you use E10. If you suspect water in the fuel, pour in a bottle of metho.

[bobby_wayne]

check the gap of the plugs again. pull of line after the fuel filter located at the back in front of the fuel tank, put bottle on end of hose and turn key over for 5-10 seconds, look in the clear bottle at the fuel sample, you will notice water if you leave bottle on flat surface for 10 minutes if you have water in tank, to drain tank undo the straps you see on the tank (under tank) don't use E10 fuel, wrecks old school injectors. or bridge the fuel pump relay with fuel line off filter

[Pub247]

i use e10 everyday never have any issues with it. i think my car runs better on it not saying i gain 20rwkw but defenitely feels smoother especially now it getting warm

[Brett_jjj]

As mentioned above a cup of metho added to half a tank of fuel will clear any water from the tank(unless theres a couple of litres of water in there!!)Its an old trick.The metho lets the water mix with the petrol so it can then be pumped through to the engine along with the petrol and then consumed in the combustion process along with the fuel/air mix.It wont effect the running of the engine.

[wortus]

You can have issues with E10 especially in an older car which may have sludge and other deposits in the fuel tank as the ethanol is a really good solvent and will loosen these deposits up which then usually get stuck in the fuel filter so I would try replacing the fuel filter as well.

Another thing to be aware of with E10 is that the ethanol mixes with water (the same as metho) to a point, if there is too much water it can suck it through to the injectors but tthe water is not actually mixed with the ethanol and cause obvious problems. Ethanol on it's own or blends with a higher ethanol content don't suffer from this problem. I forget what the actual term for it is off hand.

As mentioned the metho is an old trick so I would be replacing the fuel filter and adding a few cups of metho.

If you want to drain the tank you would need to syphon it or wait until it is almost empty and remove it from the car and take out the fuel pump/sender unit and wash the tank out. You should have on hand replacement rubber hoses as these will probably be stuffed as well unless they have been previously replaced. Also the large breather hose from the top of the tank tot eh filler neck gets hard and it makes re ftting the tank a bit more difficult than it should be. I've done a VN tank twice, the last time replacing all the hoses as they had either hardende up or were leaking fuel on a full tank.
These tanks trap dirt on top especially near the filler neck and this causes rust so it may be a good excuse to give the tank a good inspection and treat any rust on the outside before it turns into a hole.

[levi1993]

Thanks everyone!!
But i found the problem last night, it was the number 1/4 coil pack.... They werent sparking at all.
Could of stopped after i washed the car??? must of got some water in them and stopped them from working, so i replaced that coil pack and its all good now

But Thanks everyone Much appreciated

Levi

[FXST01]

Glad to hear you solved it.