I noticed driving to lunch today a loud tick while driving with my windows down. I figured my lifter tick was getting worse, and I'd check it out when I got home. Then about a mile later, I noticed my idle felt a bit off. The RPM's were solid, but I felt a definite rhythmic hiccup in my seat from the engine. Then it started puttering/miss/backfiring with any throttle at all. The idle also sounds a bit odd with the hood open, like a belt making noise? It's hard to describe. I just limped it the mile back to work then had it towed to a shop with a good amount of DSM experience, but they didn't have time to look at it today. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this happen before? My engine only has 41k on it and I don't live life a quartermile at a time, so I'm not too worried that it's done. Should I be? Are these the symptoms of a coil going out? I did just get gas yesterday, but I'd already put about 40 miles on the tank before all this started, it seems like bad gas would show up sooner.

Mods are TBE, ECU controlled boost tuned @22PSI on 91 octane, cone filter. Plugs are NGK BR8EIX and have about 3k on them and are gapped at .024.

I don't have the car with me now to try/look at anything, I'm just anxious to know what I'm looking at paying/fixing.

 

sounds like a fuel system problem, FUEL PRESSURE?

 

My boost/vacuum gauge is sourced from the fuel pressure regulator line, and it was still working and reading vacuum (I sure didn't boost when it's running like this). The fuel pump is a DW301 a few months old. That's all I can say though without being able to look at anything on the car

I also forgot to mention in the original post, in the mile I limped it and few feet on/off the tow truck with it running like this, it didn't throw any codes.

 

bad tp sensor, probly has a hole in it, scope it and see what it looks like!

 

Turns out a spark plug backed out (I would have immediately noticed this if I'd had a screwdriver with me when I got it towed). The threading on the head is messed up, they're going to try and repair it with the head on the car but aren't certain they'll be able to, and also worry the head could be more damaged than that. The coil is also fried from the combustion gases coming out the spark plug hole. I'm ordering a Sparktech to take care of that.

Anyone have any experience with this happening to them? Was your head jacked up beyond the threading?