E350 ignition coils

[jillhop]

I have a fairly new-to-me 1998 Coachman motorhome on a 1997 E350 chassis. At the time I purchased it this past July, it was not running well (check engine light on) and had two bad coils, which were replaced (then ran great!). My mechanic commented (sort of joking, but also sort of not) that I should keep a spare in the vehicle, as more were likely to go. Well, last week it started running rough, poor power on the freeway, and the check engine light is on--another bad coil!

My question is, should I just bite the bullet and have them ALL replaced at this point? Seems like it might be cheaper/more dependable in the long run--no pesky labor charges to figure out which coil has gone bad! My main concern is to have a reliable vehicle. While I'm not doing any trips over the winter, I am planning a long (10 days, 800 miles in each direction) trip in the early spring.

[rtz549]

On these new vehicles with aluminum heads and the plug so far down into the head; I like to get the factory plugs out soon and reinstall using anti-seize so after 60-100k miles the plugs haven't seized up from rust/corrosion.

[Harvey51]

I have a 2004 V8 with 90 000 km, running well. I asked the advice of a local mechanic and repair shop owner, who is extremely well thought of, about when to get him to change the spark plugs. He said his experience is the likelihood of breaking a plug or thread failure is the same regardless of mileage, so just wait until the recommended 100k miles. At the rate we are going now, it will be a few years.

[jillhop]

Very interesting, garyhaupt. Mine never made an abnormal noise (except for that brief, 10-15 second soft valve clatter when started cold), just ran a bit rough and had less power than usual. My mechanic has told me that it's not a big deal to run it with a bad coil, "it will just run like crap." If I ever heard an abnormal noise when the check engine light came on, I would pull over right away. When mine went out, I was about 15 minutes into an hour and a half drive (and would be returning at the end of the day) so I just went ahead and finished the trip. I do wonder, though, if the valve clatter noise leading up to the actual failure was a sign that the coil was operating in a less then optimum way, before it completely failed.

[garyhaupt]

For what it's might be worth...when mine went out, I was a day away from home, I was in touch with the mechanic here at home and he said..."drive it till the sound changes and no further, because that is when it is getting over heated and then can melt the spark plug right into the cylinder". So..I got about 2 hours out of it before it went from one kind of noise to an OMG kind of racket. That was when I stopped and called BCAA for a to into Kamloops.


Gary Haupt

[j-d]

This sounds promising, please let us know how it works out! Our boat has a Chevy V8 and one time I left a plug wire off. I was surprised how well it actually ran. Power was off, but it was still smooth. I'd imagine losing one cylinder out of 10 would be even less noticeable.

[jillhop]

Update--the mechanic just replaced the one defective coil (for now) and I'm going to drive it 75 miles round trip to a dog show this weekend to see how it does. Interestingly, about 6 weeks ago I thought it was sounding like there was excessive valve noise for the first 10-15 seconds after I started it cold, and now that sound is gone. The mechanic said that he heard the same sound when he started it up this week, and also noticed that it was now gone. It seems to be running great--I'll have a better idea after I take it on the freeway on Sunday.

[garyhaupt]

I had a coil go out on me this past spring. Had it replaced, although before that there was the mis-diagnosis. I digress. Later, I discussed with a Ford dealer, changing them all out and I was advised that considering the cost, here in Canada, in a shop, make that about $1,500. V-10, 10 coils at about $90.00 a pop plus install, to not do it.

I have subsequently purchased a scanner from O'Rielly and one extra coil at a mid-range US pricing. The scanner will tell me if it is a coil, if there is a next time, not something other...like a fuel pump, for instance.



Gary Haupt

[ol__yeller]

On the V10 the plugs (and coils) all sit down in wells that surrounds the plug and coil. Ford sealed this hole from moisture and dirt with rubber/foam boot to protect the coil. Over time, heat from the engine cracks these boots and they deteriorate. Instead of keeping moisture and dirt out it seals it in around the plug and coil. New coils generally come with new boots. If you are changing plugs, it is a good practice to replace the boots at that time as they are probably past their prime. Use dielectric grease on the boots and they will last/seal much better.

Ford recommends a plug change at 100K miles but I follow the more practical interval of 75,000. If you wait until 100K you have a greater chance of the plug becoming one with the head or other extraction issues. It is cheap insurance to make sure you don't have a problem.

[gotsmart]

http://forums.goodsamclub.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27913129/gotomsg/27935168.cfm#27935168

in the above link I wrote:
When I had all 10 spark plugs replaced at 112,894 (9 May 2013) the mechanic told me that he replaces the plugs and boots. He said that the coil packs, which are about $75 USD each, only need to be replaced when they fail. My coil packs were good and none required replacing. I was out the door for $304.60 USD

[kaz442]

i used to maintain a fleet of E350. I would get 500,000-600,000 miles out of them. Ford had problem with their COPs from 98-2004 I would change them all and be done with it. Changing plugs is not the horror story these guys a portraying. I never sprayed any lube done the hole. Never a problem. I would use compressed air to blow out the hole after the coil is removed. You would be surprised what dust and dirt comes out that you do not want to fall down into cylinder when plug is removed.
Also magnetic spark plug socket that comes attached to a long extension is your best friend for doing plugs. Can be had at auto zone for $12

JKaz

[path1]

(Short story) I do keep a spare injector and COP in a plastic bag in glove box. After changing a few it takes me about 20 min to swap one out after reading the code NOW. I have it down to a science after change them a couple times. Not that short of time in the beginning though!

(long story) New to us X-rental 2001 bought in 2007 with a ton of miles on it. Got it home changed all belts, hoses, filters and fluids and thought it would be a good to clean out the engine, so I put some Seafoam in the gas tank. Did I ever get a lesson. For the next 1,000 miles I was under the hood often. I knew nothing about COP's (coil over plugs) or injectors. I thought the engine was blown up. Dug around the internet and found those things miss up often and how to check. Got a good lesson from a "injector" shop. He charged me something like $80 to clean all of them. Got a "noid" for $30.00 which is a little light thing to check cops.

The injector shop suggested to me that

"the seafoam worked lose some junk that was in gas tank for long time and it pass the fuel filter and plugged up some of your injectors. I would change and carry a spare fuel filter and change it every 3,500 miles for about 10,000 miles".

So not that much of a problem after you know what is going on. You didn't mention what motor you have so, my response is based upon you having a "Triton". In your model year I would be more concerned about the plugs. Read up on those things. After getting it fixed you should have many, many miles of trouble free RVing. I would not "cheap out" on parts other than OEM. To many stories about off brands messing up. In a RV if anything messes up you might not be near any mechanics you know or trust.

Check on-line there are a few Ford places that sell low compared to others. It took me about 7 hours to change all fluids, belts, hoses etc. NOT including plugs. They require lots of reading about first.

Any questions feel free to PM. I know how maddening it can be.

(edited part) Wanted to add not unusual to get 250,000- 350,000 miles on those engines. I didn't believe it either at first.

[Home_Skillet]

I just did the plugs and coils on my 2005 E450. I had a miss that was not severe enough to trigger the MIL.

The plugs on the 2V V10 do not break off like the 3V engines.

[rooney77]

jillhop wrote:
It is a V-10. I have read a bunch of posts on this forum warning about the dangers of changing the plugs on this engine. My mechanic also knew that the plugs were an issue, although he said that he does have the special tool required to remove them if they break. I'll have to do some searching here to find the posts I read about the spark plugs ...

Learn something new everyday. I'm off to research it

edit: Quick google search only yields results about blowing plugs out, not them sticking in. I'll stick with my recommendation for PB Blaster and taking your time. I've got a '42 and a '45 Willys Jeep that I have yet to break a bolt on because of that stuff.

[carringb]

I went ahead and did all my coils last winter, as i had about 365,000 miles at the time and was due for plugs. It restored my lost fuel economy and power, so I'm pretty sure I had some weak coils besides just needing spark plugs (they were worn, but not too bad). I bought Denso coils off RockAuto for about $35 each.