VR6 misfiring problem - all cylinders firing, but down on power

[Reverend Frog]

Hi chaps, i know this isn't the Raddo forum (have asked over there as well), but I'm sure some of my fellow Corrado-ers might be able to help me.

My VR6 has started running badly as of yesterday:

• Down on power
• slightly lumpy idle, like you can feel the car sort of jump slightly every couple of seconds.
• lumpy sound and ragged response when throttle floored, not smooth

Today I checked all the cylinders by pulling the HT leads off one by one. That makes the idle even worse for each, but this suggests that the issue is not as simple as a total misfire on one cylinder.

Another issue that I've noticed in recent times is oil smoke from the exhaust, suggesting valve stem seals are going. Is it likely that some of the spark plugs are getting oily and this is what's causing the issue?

To further complicate things, since this problem reared its head yesterday the oil burning seems to have stopped!

Only other thought is the coil pack - hopefully not though.

I know I could just go and check the spark plugs but haven't got much of an opportunity to work on the car, and it needs serviced anyway.

cheers

[james butler]

similer problem ive seen before was a crack in the block between cylinders.
head gasket could also be going/gone depending on where its gone can give you misfiring and generally poor performance.

a lad i know has had lots of vr6 in the past and nearly every one of them needed headgasket and/or heater matrix which is usually the cause of headgasket failure due to lack of coolant.
these engines are usually pretty bulletproof so hopefully its a minor problem.
best of luck

[jonGTX]

Sounds very much like the coilpack has gone, had similar symptoms when it went on my VR

[ThomasD]

If it's the coil pack, it might be worse when it's wet / humid. You could even try lightly misting it with a water bottle to see if that makes it worse. Mine cracked and I noticed it first in heavy rain when the engine started to run very poorly. It ran better when it dried out. Some people epoxy them, but I decided to just replace it. Easy, if not inexpensive, job.