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MG MGF Technical - Shuddering when accelerating

I have a 96 MGF 1.8i and have recently started having engine problems. The care seems to shudder as I accelerate through the gears more noticeably at the lower reves. I have changed the fuel filter, air filter to no real affect. Slightly worse when the car has warmed up. I cleaned the TB which was pretty dirty and now seem to have another problem. When the car idles, it's at about 8500rpm, but if I touch the accelerator at all, it reves really quickly and takes several seconds to settle back down to normal. I think this may be because I didn't reset the TB after I disconnected it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I will be changing the HT leads and sparks next. Any advice on what is the best for a 1.8i would be great.

Cheers.
Ozz

New HT leads could well sort your 'shudder'...

To reset the throttle, turn the ignition to position 2, fully depress the accelerator 5 times, ignition off, and then start engine.

If your revs are still high after that, check that the throttle cable isn't snagged or the throttle body stuck in 'open' somehow
Ian Matheson

Sounds very much like the distributor cap and rotor arm are passed their best Ozz - see http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/common_problems/distributor/stuttering.htm

Fortunately, there is an easy and cheap fix :o)
Rob Bell

Thats great, I'll give those suggestions a try and let you know. Cheers
Ozz

Ozz, I second what Rob says. Mine's just the same, stuttering when pulling away. Just bought my replacement parts - they came to about £30 for both the rotor arm and the distributor cap, I got mine from my friendly MG Rover dealership but you can get them for a bit cheaper from Rimmer Bros. (http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/stoppress/mgrover.htx )

Emma
Emma Jackman

-If the TB was really dirty it might have affected airflow with a closed throttle. If the airflow is too great the TB could have to be re-calibrated. This can only be done with a testbook. This explains the several-seconds-to-setteling.

-I have also experienced the shuddering. I used contact spray on all connectors regarding engine management and this cured it in my case. It could also be a faulty throttle position sensor.
Sander

I changed the Rotor Arm last night. Easier than I expected. I didn't change the Distributor cap as it looked ok; I just cleaned the contacts.

Turned-over the engine and gave it a few revs, perfect. But again the idle was abit high. So, as was suggested, I adjusted the position of the butterfly, which changed since I cleaned it, and again it worked perfectly.

My car is coming to its' 60,000 mile service, so I'll do the HT leads and sparks then.

Thanks for all the help.
ozz

This thread was discussed between 23/01/2006 and 27/01/2006

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