Rough idle + fuel smell

[jonny-5 10]

Hi all, I have a '97 Golf VR6 (OBD2) and recently the idle has become a little rough, it is most noticable in the cabin, although it revs freely. Also it has a slight smell of fuel which I can't seem to pin point, although I am pretty sure that it is not coming from the engine bay and I have also checked most of the lines under the car.

Anyone give me a good place to start? Gunna check the plugs and basic stuff later this evening hopefully.

Thanks in advance

[VR6Nat 9]

try uplugging your maf and see how it runs without it, it maybe that just needs a clean, if not check your plugs and leads and also check your coilpack for cracks etc... should be one of those, if not let us know

[VR6Nat 9]

Oh, could be your lambda, if none of them fix it, it may be worth stickin it on vag com seeing what it throws up.

[jonny-5 10]

I messed about with it at work earlier and vag-com'd it, it said there were no DTCs. I un plugged the MAF too but made no difference, this was only a idle though. I cleaned out the throttle body also, made no difference either.

Gave it a bit on the way home and it's now running fine *-)

[jonny-5 10]

Had a look at the spark plugs this afternoon, 1 and 6 were knackered! I wire brushed them and the electrode shroud pretty much fell apart! A quick trip to the local motor factors and a set of NGKs later and it's smoother than ever! Clearly it's always best to check the classic simple stuff before assuming something more compicated.

I over looked the plugs it as I though would have messed up the mixture readings at the lambda and Vag-com would pick it up?

[bungy 2]

Glad you got a result.