Help! Running on 5

[Stu23]

Long story. Had 24 hrs from z4 hell. I'll get to the point eventually but need to vent

Mrs texts me last night with a pic of the z4 with a puncture. Tyre off the rim. No runflats, no spare. Fortunately my son has a 3 series with the same 18s on, so we jacked it up, stole a wheel, chucked it in the boot of the Jag (did I tell you I'd treated myself to an early XF?) and rescued her. This morning I drop the wheel off with local tyre place, take a deep breath, and order 4 F1 Assy 3s. 495 quid. I get two minutes down the road and the phone rings... big crack in the rim. Balls. Round the roundabout, back to shop, pick up wheel, go to alloy resto specialists over the road, get it welded in half an hour, 66 quid. Could be worse. Drop it back off and go to work. Late.

Leave work early to awkward glances. Pick up wheel with new Goodyear, drive 10 miles home, fit to z4, and fire it up. The EML is on and it's running on 5. Lumpy as hell. Drive back to tyre shop, get three more tyres fitted, drive home. On 5 all the way, never chimes back in as far as I noticed. Steers a LOT better, but that's little consolation today.

Could be anything from spark plug through injector to blown mechanical bits, but given that it happened suddenly I'm hoping it's something simple. Mrs says it was ok coming home last night and light not on but I'm not 100% sure I believe her, she can see a cobweb from 100 yards but will drive around happily without worrying about the tyre pressure light on, hence last night's adventure, probably. It could have been running on 5 for a week!

Any obvious suggestions to check first?

 

[mr wilks]

Coil pack

Oh & on the rest

 

[ph001]

Yeh, coil pack or plug for sure.

 

[Stu23]

Thanks, Gents. Will have a look tomorrow. Doesn't sound too painful.

What's the process... 6 new plugs and check it. If no change, find out which one's not firing and swap the one coil or is it a case of if one's gone the others won't be far behind?

 

[Smartbear]

Thanks, Gents. Will have a look tomorrow. Doesn't sound too painful.

Pull them off/on one at a time until you find one that makes no difference
Rob

 

[Stu23]

Yeah, I understand that, but can I replace just the one or will the others be on the way out too?

 

[ben g]

Yeah, I understand that, but can I replace just the one or will the others be on the way out too?

Might aswell replace them, just incase.

I done all 6 of mine. You can get Bosch ones from eurocarparts for less than £130 for the 6.

 

[Lance]

I replaced one coil a few months back and keep a spare in the boot. No more have gone since. IIRC they were £17 each from ECP. 5 mins and very basic tools to change.

 

[Stu23]

Thanks guys. Fun will be finding some on Good Friday, but theres always tomorrow and nice to know it's not likely to be too serious or expensive after yesterday.

May even get the long overdue oil change done at the same time.

Looking forward to bedding in those Assy3s!

 

[MACK]

Even if you cant get any today I'd whip them out to see if any have been replace by a previous owner. If they've been replacing them one at a time you might only need a few new ones.

 

[ph001]

For what they cost I would just replace all 6 and have no worries that another one might go in the near future.

 

[firebobby]

I changed one when I got the car in 2015 and have had no issues with the others since

 

[Stu23]

Ok. Hell now heaven. Found number 5 cylinder dead. Pulled coil out to find it all burned looking and horrible. The other five looked pretty much the same, so it was time.

Bit of digging found Euro car parts in Swindon had 6 Bosch coils on the shelf. And an Easter discount code that saved me about 70 quid... 6 coils and new plugs, £143. Changed them over and she fires up on all 6 and sounds utterly gorgeous.

Out for a spin and it's a totally different car. Super smooth, more power and the handling is transformed by the new tyres. It wasnt going nearly this well before dropping onto 5, I guess the coils have been dodgy for a while. I knew the old Nexen winter tyres she came with weren't helping the handling but the staggered sized Goodyears are a revelation. Couldn't be happier.

Thanks very much for the pointers... great to have the shared inside knowledge of the group point me straight to the problem. And the solution. Again!

 

[ph001]