coil over plug- replace plugs - ignition problems

[Reb]

I've replaced 2 Ignition coils and all spark plugs in our 2003 Mazda MPV two months ago, and now the engine check light is on again - you can feel the misfiring so I'm pretty sure it's the same code. I'm going to replace the remaining 4 coils together - cheaper on my time and the labor, but first I'll call Ford and see if my car is covered in this warranty extension, which they should know from the VIN number. If so, I'll be asking for reimbursement on the other two coils.
I'm driving with my toddler in the car, and I never got a letter when this could have caused me to get into an accident on the highway or anything!

[Ninette]

brittanyblake wrote:

<quoted text>
I am having the same problems with my 2002. Yesterday another coil went out. This will be my 3rd replacement in 4 months. I'm going to attempt to change my own out today. The guy at the auto part store said it wouldn't be too difficult and a new coil would only be around $50. I'll let you know how it goes!

I'm waiting to hear about your experience. I Have a 2002 Ford T-bird 122,000 miles and the ignition coils are going bad 2 by 2. The cost of replacing 2 earlier this year was almost $900. I want to replace the others myself if I can. What was your experience?

[Ninette]

Doug Chaney wrote:

My 2002 Tbird is having the same troubles. Since Ford is not covering I would like to fix it myself if it is not too complex. I saw new coils on Ebay for $26 and it looked simple TO CONNECT them but that does not mean it is simple to GET TO THEM, that is what I want to find out .. I could just start wrenching but you can hardly see anything with how much clutter under this hood! Anyone here done it their selves? I have done repairs on various cars that were so simple and cheap and yet I see online people having paid hundreds even thousands for things not hard at all! Often aftermarket parts can be at a fraction of OEM and often they are fine, maybe even better in some instances!

Did you change them out yourself? Any difficulties?

[rrstevens]

I have a 2002 T-bird and replaced coils last year in two cylinders. The problem resurfaced again two weeks later and I replaced another, then another two weeks, one more. Rainy season ended, now that it has started again, my engine light is on. I like the suggestion of the Foam Gasket for Windshield Washer Motor, thx Art and Jimmy. That's sounds like a very plausible root cause.

[Ninette]

Just replace the spark plugs, not the ignition coils, unless one is bad. Don't wait for the ignition coils to give you problems. Suppose to change the spark plugs at 100,000 miles, mine lasted (123,000 miles), then 2 ignition coils needed to be replaced, now another one. Change any ignition wiring at the same time, this may slow down the ignition coil problem. Didn't know about this wet gasket thing; I'll have to wait until I have an extra $800 to replace that.

[Louis]

My T bird had this problem ford replaced the coils and I still have this problem. There must be some high performance part to replace the overpriced ford garbage. Looking into MSD and other companies that sell high performance street products. Does anyone else have an answer?

[Rob Conley]

2002 Ford Thunderbird with 37000 miles misfires. After Check engine light and OBD #1 and #2 cylinder misfire message I had all plugs and wires replaced.
Engine still missing. There was some corrosion from moisture and #1 cracked rubber plug wire boot. After reading this post it looks like I can add my name to the victims list. I will be following up on the customer satisfaction route and the other suggested fixes. Good luck to all my other Tbird owners. Count me in on any suggestions or collective efforts. [e-mail]

[Donn Olson]

I also have a 2002 T-Bird that I purchased Aut 09. I live in MN and stored it for this winter. Early Jan 10 I started it and let it warm up. After 15 - 20 min of idle I got in and reved it up. Started missing like crazy. Idles fine. I have been told it is the COPs and it is a lot of money to have replaced. Has anyone done their own replacments? Is there a simple way for me to find out what cylinders need replacing? I have only driven the car 300 miles since purchasing it. I love the car but reading about this cronic problem makes me think we need to find out who at Ford to write to and swamp them.

[brittanyblake]

I'm once again having a misfire problem and it brought me back to this site.:)

I was successful at replacing the coil! It did take a little bit of maneuvering to get the cover off but after that it was no problem. An extended socket definitely helps!

I've just got to wait for my engine light to come on once again to see which number coil it is this time!

[Vlad]

I have T-Bird 2004. A month ago 3 (three) coils were replaced, milage was 103K but dealership did work under warranty (I thought it was good deed).
In a couple of weeks it started to misfire again, I called dealership and they said last repair should be paid, warranty goes up to 100K. And new problem with misfiring should be investigated and repaired.
I was looking into $300 to replace just one coil.
So, plugged my OBD tester, started engine, went to "Non-continues" tests and checked which cylinder registered misfiring. Found it was cylinder #3. Bought new coil for $49, also a socket for 7mm to took plugs cover and replaced it, took about 3 hours total.(two trips to auto store, one for coil, another for 7mm socket :))

It's outrageous that dealership charges $160 just to investigate the problem (took me 20min)
and their parts cost double of what you get at parts store.

In general, Ford should do a better job on such simple component as coil over plug, it's just a coil.

[Vlad]

Donn Olson wrote:

I also have a 2002 T-Bird that I purchased Aut 09. I live in MN and stored it for this winter. Early Jan 10 I started it and let it warm up. After 15 - 20 min of idle I got in and reved it up. Started missing like crazy. Idles fine. I have been told it is the COPs and it is a lot of money to have replaced. Has anyone done their own replacments? Is there a simple way for me to find out what cylinders need replacing? I have only driven the car 300 miles since purchasing it. I love the car but reading about this cronic problem makes me think we need to find out who at Ford to write to and swamp them.

You get engine service light when car experiencing misfire more then 20%, T-Bird has V8, so if only one cylinder misfires, you do not get service light and nothing is recorded in ODB module.
You should use OBD tester and go to "Non-continuous" tests to see which cylinder registers misfires. You check cylinder one by one until you find it.
Then you can replace it, it's not that difficult, 7mm socket to remove cover, new COP.

[Paul from Richmond]

FORD- Fixed or repaired daily. I thought Ford had made progress from the days this was a common saying but apparantly not.
My 2002 is expressing the COP issues similiar to ever other post.$358.00 to replace 3 and 5 coil and plug 2 weeks ago. Now it is another 2 coils and plugs that need repalcing. They recommend I replace valve cover gaskets and foam gasket for a total of $1,100.
Call 800-392-FORD to complain but they say the 2002 has not been recalled due to too few complaints.
If eveyone expereincing this issue called an complained maybe we could get our problems resolved by Ford through a recall.

[Rick Flores]

I have a 2004 navigator 5.4 engine have been having problems with it.It hesitstes,backfires,and turns off on me when I come to a complete stop....has anyone of you had this or similar problem that can help me out?

[Mark of Palm Bay]

SylviaNV wrote:

I have a 2004 t-bird that has a major issue with overheating. It started last summer and after several trips to Ford, the problem still exist. Infact I cant drive a mile before the car overheats and shuts down. I spent $4000 just 5 weeks ago to insure i would no longer have a problem. Well, last week it started again and I took it back. Ford now claims its the cooling fan hitting the radiator and nothing to do with what had been done. I can fix it for another $945.00. Im pissed. Anybody else having this problem?

We went to N.Y. last year from florida . And I had to replace the cooling fan pump (it's hydrolic)after we were there for a couple of days,ONE THOUSAND BUCKS,I was on the road and away from my tools ,and at the mercy of FORD. My wife told me a few months earlier the temp gauge had started towards the red a couple of times ,but if I turned the car off and restarted it it would start reading normal again.But it finaly went bad.Had it changed and no more heat problems . Until week before last ,,want to guess what it is NOW,,,,,,,,My 2002 premeium package T BIRD is missing on 2 or 3 cylinders so it looks like it is coil and plug time..I've owned Cobras, Mustangs ,Rangers,Granadas,Fair Lanes ,Galaxies,hell I even have a FORD tattoo on my arm , and I HAVE NEVER had this kind of problems !!!!!!

[Dave the Motorhead]

The coil issues: 2002 Ford Thunderbird
1) I do my own engine work because I want it done right. I also photograph it.
2) Coil issue for the 2002 is the same defective design as the 2003-5 but without the extended warranty. But I may do a class action if others have interest.
3) The problems in a nutshell. Ford valve cover gaskets and o-rings get compressed and fail due to heat. So in my 2002, I ordered the new 2003-5 valve cover gaskets and kit. I have part number if some forum will like me to do an article on this and pay me. Second problem is the coil epoxy gets hot and delaminates so coils fail. But the real secret mess is the coil wires can't take the heat and the connectors fail. This is typical Ford junk. Unlike Toyota that builds harnesses to aircraft mil spec, Ford just slaps them together with little concern for heat. And the heat in the valve covers is intense.
4) To inspect the mess you need to take off the coil covers off the valve covers. This is a simple removal of 6 7mm bolts. I use wobble extensions and a gearhead 7mm wrench and I can get them both off without removing anything including the plastic engine cover. Then pull off the connector plugs carefully and remove the 7mm bolt holding the coils in place. Extract the coils and then look down inside the plug reservoirs and if you see oil then you need to replace the valve cover gaskets. In my bird, with 41K bought from Maroone in Ft. Lauderdale, I a had four reservoirs filled with oil, slopping all over the place. So I ordered the parts from FordParts4Less a great company and got to work.
5)It took me about two hours for the right side and three for the left side. Mostly the problem is removing stuff. My wobble extenders are out of this world. I replaced the gaskets and o-rings with the "ford fix" and put in a set of coils that I got on ebay, and a new set of plugs. Total cost was a few hundred bucks and my labor but it was done right.
6) After I finished, I got an engine light saying the coil in #6 was not working. What I found was interesting and I am still not done with the problem but wanted to report it just the same.
7) I pulled the coil cover off the right valve cover and took out #6 and the plug. To my shock, the plug did not look like it fired. So I put in a new coil. Cleared the codes with my OBDII and the same thing happened. So then I decided to take the plug and coil from #5 and put it in #6 that way I knew the coil and plug were firing normally. Then I tested it again and the same #6 misfire showed up on the OBDII.
8) So what I did was run the engine and pull off the #5 coil connector. The engine idle accelerated trying to compensate for the loss of #5. I then put the connector back and then started the car without the #6 connected. The engine was unaffected this time whether I put the connector on or not. So now I know the problem is in the coil wire or coil wire connector.
9)When I road tested the car with this connector wire problem I would accelerate to 3500 RPMs and then it would coast back to 2000 RPMs and run rough and shimmy. Then the engine light would come one detecting the failure of #6.
10)So in a few days I am going to check the voltages and ground and try to trace the coil wires from #6. I will find the ford FkUP. I do need to check the compression in #6 cylinder for completion but I would doubt an issue there.
11) So I am not done yet. Ford is the gift that keeps on giving. One bit of good advice to everyone... In American cars which are basically disposable junk, 90% of your problems are connectors on the mexican made harnesses not the fancy modules connected tot the connectors. Yet these dealer mechanics will routinely replace modules, compressors, coils etc. without thought of the cost or the fact that only a connector is corroded. It is routine dishonesty. That is why I do my own work. I will post the followup if anyone is interested. If not good luck. The t-bird has style but its cheaply made inside and out.

[James]

I have a 2002. I have replaced all eight coils now. 6 in Aug 2007 at 27k miles and the other two last week. I have also had the valve cover gasket replaced on the right side. The most recent coil replacement appears to have failed and is going back to the dealer tomorrow. I have an oil leak and smoke comes out of the right side of the hood. Is this a problem for Lincoln LX as well, it it the same engine. I am also told this problem is affecting F150 trucks. I have had 14 Fords. This is the first problem I have had like this and the first time Ford couldn't fix their problem. It looks like this is an issue that will require some publicity and perhaps some class action type intervention.The dealer is doing all they can but it seems to be a big design issue. Why aren't the 2002 included in the time extension. I have spent nearly $2000 on this and still have problem.

[cynthia]

James wrote:

I have a 2002. I have replaced all eight coils now. 6 in Aug 2007 at 27k miles and the other two last week. I have also had the valve cover gasket replaced on the right side. The most recent coil replacement appears to have failed and is going back to the dealer tomorrow. I have an oil leak and smoke comes out of the right side of the hood. Is this a problem for Lincoln LX as well, it it the same engine. I am also told this problem is affecting F150 trucks. I have had 14 Fords. This is the first problem I have had like this and the first time Ford couldn't fix their problem. It looks like this is an issue that will require some publicity and perhaps some class action type intervention.The dealer is doing all they can but it seems to be a big design issue. Why aren't the 2002 included in the time extension. I have spent nearly $2000 on this and still have problem.

Count me in on a class action lawsuit for the 2002 Thunderbird coil casualties. I have to keep buying extended warranties to be able to pay for all the coils that need replacing in my car (The problem started at 40,000 and I now have 58,000 miles on the car). I have probably replaced at the very least, 8 - 10 coils. Once, as I left the dealership after replacing two coils, the car misfired at the traffic light just outside the dealership. Upon returning, they said I needed another coil of a different number! Class action seems like the only answer at this point.

[cynthia]

I have replaced 8 - 10 coils on my 2002 Thunderbird. Ford, step up to the plate and make good on your customers. Obviously, there is a problem.

[Joe]

Thanks for all the info. I have an '05 T Bird. Bought it August '10. 13000 miles. What a deal. One month later I have COP experience. I have replaced a few coils, Cleaned encloser. A lot of water and corrosion. #6 is my problem. Pulled the harness apart, left side only, and found that 24v grnd wires were only crimped together and glued. I cut all 4 wires back, trimmed and soldered. Retaped harness. I couldn't believe it. Pitiful. Still working on problem, but at least I know that is taken care of. Figure I may have already damaged the new coil so I'll swap a couple around the verify. I'll post again with update.

[Rose Virginia]

Glad to hear that I am not the only frustrated 2002 T-bird owner with a coil problem. Bought my car used in 2005 with 25K, replaced 2 coils in June of '09 and 1 coil in June of '10. Car is running extremely rough and misfiring, I know what is in the future. I am certainly interested in a class action, when I talked with the dealership they suggested I replace all the coils at one time. Gee that is great for them at about $300 per coil, but oh I would save on the hourly rate since they would already have it torn down. Help!