Missing w/ Engine Codes

[jayson]

Hello everyone!

I have a 2004 LS8 with 152k. I have been letting my wife drive it for the last 3 months because I drive 120 round trip a day to work and don't want to put any more miles on it.

This past week she said it was running really bad and the engine light was on and she said something about a low coolant message.

I check the coolant and it is indeed empty. Filled it up and took it to AutoZone for a code check. Here is a list of the codes:

P0303 - "Cylinder misfire detected-cylinder number 3"
P0316 - "Crank sensor condition"
P0357 - "Ignition coil primary circuit condition coil number 7"
P0430 - "Catalyst efficiency low-bank 2"
P1299 - "Cylinder head over-temperature protection active"

It drives ok, but it defiantly has a miss in it.

Before I go spending a lot of money and buying parts to stick on it, I figured I would ask the "experts" on here for guidance.

Any idea where I should start?

 

[hite337]

Change all your COPs (coil on plug's) and if you find any oil in the plug wells change your VGC's (valve cover gaskets) too. If you just change the COP's that are bad you will find the rest of the COP's going bad soon. If you want to remain OEM use the Visteon COP's. After you do this then have your codes read again to see where you are at from there. Sounds like you may also need to replace some cooling system parts as well, degas bottle is a good place to start if you have seen coolant puddles behind your drivers front tire.. Are you in Chillicothe KS?

 

[1LoudLS]

Any idea where I should start?

only this
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/search.php?

 

[jayson]

OMG! LMFAO! You are so funny.

Yeah. I have searched around.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Hello+everyone...for+guidance.+ Any+idea+where+I+should+start?

Awesome... Really awesome...

 

[1LoudLS]

OMG! LMFAO! You are so funny.

really, that weird, i wasn't trying to be, just trying to help

Yeah. I have searched around.

well i guess your searching need practice, this is the first paragraph from one of the first few stickied threads that are at the top of every LS page

FEEL FREE TO ADD TO THIS IF I LEFT SOMETHING OUT PEOPLE....PLEASE STICKY...

1. Coils!!!!
The lincoln ls eats coils for breakfast lunch and dinner. Even through regular maintenance you might have coils and plugs go bad on you. Symptoms are check engine lights, misfires, dead cats and other problems if not taken care of properly. When changing these you might as well change the valve cover gaskets to prevent oil getting in the wells which probably damaged the coils in the first place. You should also change the spark pluhs while you are at it, and remember to use good quality coils and plus otherwise you will have problems soon after you replace these. Be away that any jerking, stuttering, or shaking can also be symptoms of a vacuum leak or bad pcv on top of the coils.

misfires are almost always caused by failing coils, driving too much with misfires will destroy your cats. if drivin too long on bad coils it can damage your PCM.

 

[jayson]

Some Pictures too

Change all your COPs (coil on plug's) and if you find any oil in the plug wells change your VGC's (valve cover gaskets) too. If you just change the COP's that are bad you will find the rest of the COP's going bad soon. If you want to remain OEM use the Visteon COP's. After you do this then have your codes read again to see where you are at from there. Sounds like you may also need to replace some cooling system parts as well, degas bottle is a good place to start if you have seen coolant puddles behind your drivers front tire.. Are you in Chillicothe KS?

Will one of the COPs being bad cause any of these other error codes? I will certainly look into buying them all. Is there a cheap alternative for buying the OEM COPs instead of buying directly from dealership?

As far as the coolant issue. I noticed on the top of the engine that their is some indication of liquid being sprayed on the top of the motor, on the bottom of the engine cover and also on the fender, see pictures.

I noticed under the thermostat housing cap there is a notch cut out where the coolant can escape. Could this possibly be where the liquid is coming from?

I ordered the thermostat housing from Autozone. It actually comes with the thermostat as well. I have not noticed any puddles of coolant anywhere. Which has me really stumped.

I'm in Chillicothe, Ohio.