Funny it was by accident I discovered this. I bought a very basic OBD-II code scanner, for some problem on a different car.
So, because that car wasn't available at that time, I thought I would test the OBD-II scanner on my car. To my surprise actually, I got 2 error codes. They both involved "misfire". But ofcourse, that could be anything. I started by looking for a ruptered hose, or a leak or something like that.
When I got around the inlet manifold, I looked underneath, and saw a quite large mess. Around the fuel rail and injectors, I saw a big leak. A puddle of dirty liquid. So I started to disassemble the inlet manifold, and noticed that the gasket was intact, but you could see that some liquid had seeped through. The fuel rail, which is attached with 2 bolts, showed some tolerance.
After cleaning and securing everything, the 2 error codes were gone. BUT also, the jerky behavior when cold ! Ofcourse, I knew it was a common problem, that when the engine is cold, the car would jerk quite heavily, and the colder the weather, the worse it seemed.
But even in this freezing weather, the improvement is huge ! Seems to me, the problem was that the bolts of the inlet manifold became loose over time, and there was a leakage, and the car reacted to that.
I'm not saying that everyone's jerky/kangarooing behavior is because of this, but maybe it is a common problem, and it might be worth checking this out.
I included some pictures to show you what I mean.
So, because that car wasn't available at that time, I thought I would test the OBD-II scanner on my car. To my surprise actually, I got 2 error codes. They both involved "misfire". But ofcourse, that could be anything. I started by looking for a ruptered hose, or a leak or something like that.
When I got around the inlet manifold, I looked underneath, and saw a quite large mess. Around the fuel rail and injectors, I saw a big leak. A puddle of dirty liquid. So I started to disassemble the inlet manifold, and noticed that the gasket was intact, but you could see that some liquid had seeped through. The fuel rail, which is attached with 2 bolts, showed some tolerance.
After cleaning and securing everything, the 2 error codes were gone. BUT also, the jerky behavior when cold ! Ofcourse, I knew it was a common problem, that when the engine is cold, the car would jerk quite heavily, and the colder the weather, the worse it seemed.
But even in this freezing weather, the improvement is huge ! Seems to me, the problem was that the bolts of the inlet manifold became loose over time, and there was a leakage, and the car reacted to that.
I'm not saying that everyone's jerky/kangarooing behavior is because of this, but maybe it is a common problem, and it might be worth checking this out.
I included some pictures to show you what I mean.
