Im not to worried about the compression. Between the top and bottom its only 10%. If it was at 80psi, I could see that being the problem. But this isnt my problem.


The car sat for about 3 years before I got it. (I got it as a non runner, the valve stem seals were so bad they would foul the plugs after about 200kms.) But I've driven it for about a year with no problems since then.


The hesitation is so bad its almost like its either cutting fuel to all cylinders or spark to all cylinders. Its the worst when the vehicle is under load. (Reving it at idle doesnt hesitate as bad as when its in drive and I'm asking the motor to move the car.) This isnt a "one cylinder" is causing problems.

I think im gonna start looking at ignition.

Looks like you're somewhat okay on compression, did you check compression with all spark plugs off? Or did you check it with only one spark plug off? I ask because when we checked, the compression changed when the spark plugs were all out, versus with only one spark plug removed. It wasn't a big change, but it was good to know for diagnosis.

However, my numbers were much worse than yours so it looks like you're in better shape.

There is an inline-filter on the FD, inlet opening, if you're concerned about fuel flow and a clogged fuel system. Have you checked this? It's the fitting (I think 17mm) between the fuel inlet hose and the FD itself, if you haven't checked it yet. New at the dealer is around $6 only. P/N 000 074 60 86.

What we did when diagnosing if the FD was causing the misfire, was to loosen each injector hard line at the FD end, and tapping the FD with a rubber mallet to see if it would NOT cause a change in idle speed or sound, indicating something clogging the fuel system. #2 & #4 had this problem, which led to the compression test. All other cylinders had an engine response, except those two.

I removed only one at a time. The only thing I could see changing is that with all the plugs out, the engine would have less resistance to turning over. The starter would only be compression the one cylinder you are testing vs compressing all of them.

I have taken this out. It did not look dirty. It doesnt look like there is a problem with fuel flow.

Interesting. Cracking the the line to each injector one at a time would not allow that injector to open. I could maybe isolate one injector at a time and see if it is only a couple cylinder that are cutting out or not.

Looks like its all sorted out.

I took out the old ignition coil and warmed it up. I checked resistance for both the primary and secondary windings. I then proceed to heat up the coil and I saw the secondary winding change resistance. It wasnt by much but it must of been enough to cause problems.

So I replaced the coil and everything seems good now. Iv never seen an issue with a coil like this before, they usually just work or not.

What really pissed me off is that a few days ago my water pump started leaking while the car wasnt running! Its been parked for so long and just all of a sudden leaks about a liter of coolant over night. (right out of the big plate in the back that is held on by 3 bolts). Also the left rear caliper seized and a parking brake friction material separated from the shoes on the right rear. So yesterday:

-new ignition coil
-new waterpump (6months old, so covered under warranty)
-new left rear caliper
-rear rotors
-rear pads
-rear parking brake shoes
-new exhaust hangers. (were all broken before).


Glad to be driving her again. Thanks for all the help. I learned alot about how the fuel injection system works, thats forsure!

I also noticed the front bushings on the rear sub frame have separated. It looks like they slide about an inch up and down. I havent really noticed anything while driving, but visually I can see that there is a problem. I will replace those eventually, but are they critical to replace ASAP? I also have the rear differential bushings to replace, but I would probably do it all in one shot.