Ok so i have a intermittent rough idle. almost sounds like a random misfire.. does it once in a while after idling for a while or sitting at a light.. and only last like 6 seconds than back to normal idle.

- i have had this for like 8 months.

- i looked in the coolant resavoir today and noticed its just about empty.. so it was making me think blown head gasket.. but would that cause it to be intermittent?.. would it take 8 months to drain the the coolant? ( oil looks fine no milkyness was a quart low but that could b from beating it, exhaust smokes alittle but its 20 degrees out )

mayb its a tiny leak in the manifold gasket?

mayb i have a small coolent leak somewhere and the intermittent rough idle is a bad coil?

What do you guys think!?

 

haha wow. Same EXACT problem. Every once in a while, I'll roll up to a light, clutch disengaged, and the engine will rev itself up to 1700 rpms or so and slooooooooooooowly come back down to normal (~900) and sometimes it will be really rough idling like shaking around rpms dropping to dangerous levels then coming back up. maybe once per day it does either of those things. I also just noticed today (actually my mom did, lol. go figure) that my coolant was low. I didn't tie the two together until I read this. Anyways, I'm of no help to you, just letting you know that I'm having the same problems.

 

First thing to do is to pull codes from the computer.

 

You guys have older cars and it's probably time to look at plugs, wires, coil (distributor), etc. The coolant is probably just a leak somewhere, like a loose hose or something. Blown head gasket would feel pretty rough and be constant.

 

Im a pretty big noob to cars, but I'm trying to get more into it. I did my own CAI a week or so ago, and before that, I didn't know anything I was like WTF intake? throttle body? Anyways, I'm getting better, doing research online and whatnot. Anyways, how would I access the spark plugs in an 01 and how would I tell if they're bad or not? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

I don't know if the 01 has regular distributor and plugs, which would mean all you do is follow the distributor wires and at the end you will find the plugs. Or if the 01 has coil on plug, which means the plugs are hidden under a plastic cover. If so, then you have to start removing plastic covers on top of the motor and hunt down the plugs. As for condition, do a search here and you will find many threads telling you about rating conditions. Generally if it's all gunked up, it's time to go. A safe way to do it is to change them anywhere above 30K and put a new set in. That doesn't mean that they will be fully worn out, its just cheap preventative maintenance. If the 01 has platinums you may seek other opinions since I haven't had experience with those.

 

Bold=

 

OK, if you are really unfamiliar with the goings on of stuff under the hood, it is really hard to get a crash course over a forum. All I can say is you best friend is a Haynes manual. Go to any auto parts and you can get a Haynes manual for $20. It has very good descriptions and pictures and you will become much better acquainted with the inner workings of your ride.

 

Awesome, I'll be picking up one of those today. I really appreciate all your help and hopefully I can take care of this problem myself instead of paying upwards of $100/hr. Thanks again!