citroen xsara 1.4 2000 - engine and interior vibrating

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Tue 6 Jul 2010 19:56
citroen xsara 1.4 2000 - engine and interior vibrating - rip

Citroen Xsara 1.4 2000MY mark 1, 115k miles on the clock

Im having a strange problem where by when at idle every 10 seconds or so i can feel a small vibration coming through the steering wheel and the car- although no passengers have mentioned anything, also the exhaust sounds like it is missing every few seconds, also the engine is moving ever so slightly, so im guessing the movement in the engine is causing the problem. The car drives perfect and mpg is as expected, although from a standing start it does feel as if its missing slightly. It also passed the mot recently (no probs with emissions) where there was an advisory about small leak in the front exhaust but i cant see/hear anything abnormal. I should say the vibration is more noticeable after revving the engine.

i took the current bosch spark plugs out and fitted the old NGK ones to see if this made any difference- i cant say it has. Also gave the coil extensions a quick clean but still no difference. The unit currently is bougicord, i am thinking of changing the coil unit for a new bougicord unit, woud this be worth it?

So would anyone have any other ideas? thanks

Edited by rip on 06/07/2010 at 19:59

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Tue 6 Jul 2010 22:55
citroen xsara 1.4 2000 - engine and interior vibrating - Andrew Moorey (Tune-Up)

These never were the smoothest of engines but usually reliable. If the O2 sensor in the exhaust is tired and lazy this could give a lean misfire as it cycles between rich and lean. Either needs serial data from a scanner or voltage reading of the sensor output on a voltmeter or oscilloscope.

This could also explain the 'missing' from a standing start. Be worth running a Forte 'Gas.' treatment through the fuel system. Where do you usually buy fuel from?

The coil packs are a known weak spot and can induce spurious fault codes. If its still the original unit recommend replacement with the latest genuine part.

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Wed 7 Jul 2010 13:40
citroen xsara 1.4 2000 - engine and interior vibrating - rip

According to the service history the lambda sensor was changed around 80000miles a few years ago by the main dealer, it has a Delphi sticker on it- also its always passed the emissions on the mot since ive had the car. Maybe at the last mot (it was done for free thanks to Citroen) the tester confused the vibration an exhaust leak- when its more likely something electrical?

Im going along the coil unit route- i have no idea if it’s the original, but this seems the easies/cheapest course to take at the moment. There’s a well-known auction site selling new bougicord ones quite cheap.

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