Leaking coolant / wet coil pack?

[Beckweed]

Hi there,
Took my car to the shop this morning b/c I noticed coolant on my garage floor this morning from the drivers side and the tank was empty. No warning signs or red temp sensor flashing. Anyway, I looked under the hood and thought it was coming from the coolant flange. Hubby is too busy right now to bug with car issues so I went to my occasional mechanic.
Mechanic said it was the coolant flange and to do the job right he wanted to replace the coolant flange and the water pipe. I said ok. Once finished he called and said it was bucking real bad when he took it for a test drive once it was warmed up. Asked me if it had ever done this before. I said no, didn't do it this morning either on my drive to the shop. It's never done this to me. He scanned and said no codes. He said maybe the coil pack got wet from the coolant and it will dry out.

One thing my husband did last weekend was add a can of "tune up in a can" to a 1/2 tank of gas and then I went and filled up. It was running fine. I've added STP to the gas w/o any issues so I don't think this is a contributing factor...just thought I'd mention it.

I have to drive 35 miles one way to work tomorrow. Do you think it is feasible that the coil pack is just wet? Anyone with a similar experience who'd like to share? I'm nervous about getting stranded.

[D2Beetle]

2.0 coils have a tendency to crack down the middle and if the coil is cracked the misfires will only get worse. I would suggest that you replace the coil and coil control module.

I believe the owners manual recommends not to use gas additives. If you want to "clean" the fuel system, three tanks of 93 Octane will do that.

[Beckweed]

Thanks D2B. The coilpack was replaced with one I brought from the dealership almost 3 years ago. At the same time DH changed spark plugs and wires at the same time. I've put about 30k on the car since then.
I didn't know not added gas additives. I did it a few times before. I don't think this is the cause of the problem, but I wont use it anymore. It drove fine this morning. I added distilled water to the coolant tank and drove 5 miles to the mechanic. If I hadn't seen the coolant on the ground, I wouldn't have known there was anything wrong. I think he probably did get it wet because the coolant flang and pipe that runs along the front of the engine is right above that area.
I just hope it didn't do any permanent damage to my coil pack. It was like $100 bucks if I remember correctly. Is it possible it could be something else since it didn't throw any codes?

[D2Beetle]

Technically the coil cannot get wet, unless it is cracked or damaged in some way. I am not certain if the coil control module connection to the coil could get wet or not; if it did, it would cause a problem.

If it drives OK, I would leave it be until it starts to act up again; then check the coil and its control module.

[Beckweed]

thanks again. I'm picking it up tonight when DH gets home. Hope it drive fine for me. If not, I'll replace the stuff again. Probably wouldn't hurt to replace the plugs and wires again. Why does this stuff always happen in the winter time?

[D2Beetle]

Originally Posted by Beckweed

... Why does this stuff always happen in the winter time?

I wish I knew; here is what mine did to me one cold and frosty morning.

[Beckweed]

Eeeek. That's scary D2B. I'd freak out if I saw something like that.

I picked my car up and it runs fine just like usual. When I spoke to the mechanic on the phone he said the coil pack might have gotten wet and caused the bucking. When I picked the car up he said it might be the MAF. It is still the original MAF.Can you believe it?

Since I just spent $380 on buggles today, it might be awhile before I have another $200 to throw at her. As long as she is running fine for me, I'll wait.