Am I On The Right Lines?

[hungry110]

Citroen C3 2003, automatic petrol 1.4 sx

 

Under load the engine stutters and makes the car jerk.  This is not really an issue at very low revs, when taking it really easy.  It's not noticeable at high revs, so been driving it in sport mode to keep engine revving high until I can get time to sort.  The oil smells a little of fuel and the exhaust can smell a little of petrol as well.

 

I'm thinking it may be a problem with the spark plugs and am going to replace them next week.  If not that then having read the common problems will try the petrol injector.

 

What doo you think, worth trying the spark plugs, or just go straight for the injector?

 

Thanks for you help,

 

Chris.

[coastline taxis]

cheapest 1st

[paul.h]

When the injector failed on our car, the engine management light came on and the car ran with a very bad misfire. If you do a diagnostic check on the injectors, for some reason they are numbered from the gearbox end, so if it indicates a problem with no. 2, do not replace no. 3 by mistake and think you have fitted a faulty injector - I may have read this in Car Mechanics. Have a look at the injectors - there are 2 small holes at either side of the coil on them - this is where the water gets in and they rust - so if you can see rust it may help the diagnosis. I put a bit of sealant in these holes once our car was fixed, as well as stopping the water leaks.

 

Early on in the life of the car, I replaced the accelerator pedal since it would not accelerate smoothly at low revs making setting off difficult. The new one was about £40 and did not take long to fit. I think an injector may be a couple of £100, so as coastline has said, start cheapest first and if the spark plugs have not been changed in the last couple of years (40000 miles service schedule may be a bit much) they needed doing anyway (I also tried this as well as a check on the air filter, throttle body clean, check for any air leaks, a look at the spark plug ignition coil - before it went back to the dealer since it was a weekend).

 

If petrol is going unburnt to the exhaust catalyst, there is a chance it may not do it any good and shorten its life, so better to sort the problem soon.

[hungry110]

Thanks for advice guys.  I checked the injectorsd and they didn't seem to have any rust, also checked to see if the washer seals leaked and they didn't.  This lead me to think that it was the spark plugs.  Changed the plugs and problem solved! Yay.

[paul.h]

Thanks for the feedback and I am pleased it was not an expensive fix. I have now edited the note in the common problems post to include spark plug replacement before condemning the injectors.