Vauxhall Zafira juddering/cutting out.

is the oil leaking onto the top of the spark plugs?would check out the cause of oil leak as this could be related to misfire,check visually for leaks from camcover gasket and cam carrier housing,check your oil level and keep an eye on it

It is possible the oil could be leaking onto the plugs because there is traces of oil on and around the top dished area of the 2 centre plug ports and also splashes of oil down the front of the engine block, no oil was present on or around the top of the coil pack block, just down the plug ports and connecting part. (does that make sense at all) Thanks.

As suggested by " 2145simon " find and eliminate oil leak , as this could cause ignition spark to track giving the fault you describe . Likewise , your mechanic is correct with the coil pack which is another common fault .

What would be the best method of checking to see if the coil pack is working ok before i go and purchase a new one.

you need to check that each spark plug is sparking,sometimes the coil will breakdown under load,get oil leak sorted first though

From VX forum ,


Can A Coil Pack Be Tested?
I Am About To Take My Coil Pack Of My Car To Replace It. Is It Possible To Test It For Failure With A Multimeter Before I Buy A New One? If So Does Anyone Know How?

Thanks In Advance



Posts 76
you can check primary and secondary resistance..(remember turn ignition OFF)

checking primary: remove the input plug and measure resistance between terminals 1 & 4 (0,45 ohm - 0,65 ohm), 2 & 4 (same), and 3 & 4 (same)
pins are from left to right when you look at coil pack from the angle on the pic


checking secondary : measure resistance between high tension outputs...
1 & 4 (11000-16000 ohm), 2&5 (same), 3 & 6 (same)

Right chaps, try this one, got new coil pack today (£103), took old one out, spark plugs out, cleaned the oil from the plug ports, put cleaned off plugs back in, cleaned away any visible oil from the area, put new coil pack on, connected everything up again and went for a 20 minute drive, sat for 10 minutes with the car ticking over and the problem still remains, juddering every so often and wanting to cut out, exactly the same as before, so its not the plugs and its not the coil pack, at least now with the clean off i might be able to locate the oil leak. Any ideas on what to try next mechanics. Thanks.

Has anyone got any suggestions at all. Please.

Are the mechanics stumped for anymore ideas...?
The silence is deafening.

Found some breather pipes gunked up quite badly so cleaned them out and put some more new plugs in, car ran like new for about a week, sounded fine and felt fine, got in it on thursday and it wouldnt start, tried a few things but ended up calling the rac, he said it could be the crank sensor, got a new 1 and put it on, nothing, nowt, P0201 P0202 P0203 and P0204 codes are still showing, £230 later and still the same, any ideas mechanics...?

hi,iv had the same oil leak (leaking into spark plug area) and immediately changed the rocker cover gasket which has solved the problem...very cheap and easy to do. As for the juddering mine does the same and i cant work out why,im in the process of changing the coil pack as it was also covered in oil but judging by other comments am not sure if it will work...if youve found a solution i would be greatful if someone could let me know.