1. Home
  2. Car Maintenance
  3. Escort Judder/Misfire

Escort Judder/Misfire

Hi,

I'm having a problem with my '96 Ford Escort LX (1.6 Zetec, ~100k miles)...

The car always starts fine with no problems, however, after about 10min of driving it will begin to judder/jerk as though it were misfiring. It is possible to ride through this but it can last up to about 15min during which time hard acceleration is not easy or even possible. Once the problem has cleared the car will be fine for the rest of the journey, no matter how long it runs for. If i pull over when it begins to occur, i can see the engine tries to idle at its normal idle speed (~800-900 rpm) but then seems to loose revs and drops suddenly which sometimes leads to stalling.

I've changed the spark plugs and HT leads, even the oil to make sure its the 5w-30 (but not a ford brand though) and i'm beginning to think it could be a problem with the Engine management system. I would dearly welcome any ideas as to how to resolve this! (particularly as i'm reluctant to hand it over to a garage who may waste plenty of hours as the fault only becomes apparent after 10-15min of driving and therefore be difficult to simulate in a garage.) Many thanks, Damian

Reply to
esuoz
Loading thread data ...

top suspects are non genuine plugs and leads, followed by ignition coil pack

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

Seconded. It's a common Focus problem as well and it has much the same symptoms. Motorcraft leads and plugs from Rapidfit are plenty good enough, swap these over and if no improvment fork out for the ignition pack.

Reply to
Chris Street

If the leads are over about 50,000miles old, its time for replacements. Only use the genuine Ford ones.

Also check the plug wells are not full of water.

Tim..

Reply to
Tim..

funnily enough we had one today same faults, turned out to be the coil pack.

Reply to
reg

Many Thanks for all the advice.

The HT leads are by Motorcraft but i'm not sure about the sparks so i'll change them and then if there's no improvement replace the coil pack.

Any good recommendations where on the web to buy the genuine parts?

Damian

Reply to
esuoz

I always buy my Ford parts in person, from a dealer. I have a trade account with one in particular who gives me 33% off, but most dealers will give you at least 10% off if you have the nerve to ask.

Tim..

Reply to
Tim..

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.