Major Problem?

[Sim North East]

I was driving back from Scotland when the car started palying up. It was kind of juddering, with a rythmic knocking and judder. The engine was not overheating and as I slowed down it stopped. I thought I was going to have to get Green Flag out. It has since done this twice!

HGF? I have checked the oil cap and there is a light brown residue around the cap - is this normal? Not had time to check if there is oil in the water.

Any advice?

[adrianr]

"My car feels a bit funny - what could be wrong? I've read that some suffer from <insert exagerrated malady here>, could that be it?"

Yes, almost certainly your car is about to self destruct and will require a complete rebuild by Lotus. The best thing you can do is get shot of it now - if you don't want the hassle, I'll take it off your hands for £500.

AdrianR
p.s. Sorry to take the p*ss, but you're going to have to come up with a better description of the symptoms if you want any sensible advice

[Sim North East]

Useful thanks

[xxplod]

Battery all connected securely? My Mini had similar symptoms and it was just the battery leads.

[djroadboy]

Hi Mark,

If its driveable you could bring it up at the weekend and I'd have a look at it for you.

Difficult to tell from your description what the problem is. Give me a call to have a chat about it if you want.

Dan

[NJS25]

Water in the spark plugs?

Causes miss fire, engine judder, stalling etc. Get it checked, unburnt fuel can damage the cat.

Regards, Neil

[Sim North East]

Thanks I will check the spark plugs and the battery. The best description I can give is that it lasts a few minutes and makes the car shake. It is rhythmic and therefore seems to be cause by a moving part. I originally wondered whether it was the road because it felt like I was going over a series of small bumps in the road. However, it then reoccurred and became progressively more pronounced during the duration of the second phase. The engine sounds okay but there is a knocking noise with the juddering. It has now occurred three times and the car has gone back to working fine.

[Sim North East]

Dan,

Cheers mate - I am away this weekend (not with the Liz!) but if it continues I may pop up. Thanks for the offer.

How's the new engine going?

Mark

[adrianr]

Does the frequency change with road speed or engine speed (dip clutch, rev engine, allow to settle to idle etc). It could be a misfire (also check distributor cap if your car has one, i.e. not 111s), but for that matter from the description it could be your wheelnuts coming undone or a driveshaft joint giving up.

AdrianR

[Ju.]

If it feels like its something on the road that will be a drive componenet failed wheel bearing driveshaft does it happen worse when doing a particular corner.

or it sounds like it could very well be a wheel out of balance if it stopped when you slowed down

[djroadboy]

The new engine's going great m,ate. I'll take you out for a spin in it next time you come up.

Dan

[Sim North East]

Thanks folks as always. It has only happened 3 times and for short periods so I am not sure of answers to all your questions. If it happens again I will try to add more detail. I will keep you all posted.

(Dan - look forward to it)

[rfoster]

Hi, as NJS25 mentions it's worth checking to see if you have water in the spark plugs wells - common as this section is exposed to the elements. I had this on my Liz, it would run okay then it would stop running on the affected cylinder. Left overnight and fine again in the morning, for the first few minutes, before the same thing happened again. Doesn't cost anything to check this.
Cheers,
Richard.

[Sim North East]

I will have a look, cheers.