Wtf is going on??

Brandonparrish1987

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Hey what's up all I use to be on here back in the day with my 02 LS and now I bought the wife a 2000 lS V8. We picked up the car for $2000 and they weren't mechanics and it has a misfire. So took it to autozone and pulled a misfire on cylinder 8 and cylinder 2 along with a o2 sensor problem. So I swapped all the plugs and coils around to try and see if it's the coils or the plugs when the CEL pops back on and I just replaced the O2 sensor. So sure enough the light came back on after resetting it and had it checked out. Same cylinder 8 had a misfire and the same O2 sensor read bad.... I did notice the cat on the pass side is smashed up due to hitting a rock or something but I'm at my wits end on why it still shakes on idle, has a horrible exhaust leak sound that's inconsistent, and the car vibrates around 45-55 mph. Does anyone have an idea what could cause this? I figured swapping coil packs and plugs around would cause it to miss on a different cylinder.
 
Was any oil on the boots of the coils you took? Replace the plugs as they may have also gone bad due to bad coils. Also check your wiring harness for any rips or snags. I'd use a volt meter or a test light to check for correct voltage. As far as the o2 sensor, if its the passenger side o2 thats throwing the code I'd replace the cat. It may have restricted flow causing it to throw a code.
 
No oil on anything and the plugs looked pretty new. I put the coil from cyl 8 on cyl 1 (hoping it would miss on cyl 1 now) and the plug out of that cyl in #4. But it still shows a misfire on #8... :/ and I'm thinking the cat has a lot to do with the o2 sensor but an messed up cat shouldn't cause it to misfire that bad should it?
 
You will need to replace ALL the coils (Motorcraft, NOT the auto parts store cheapies) and ALL the plugs as a start. Who knows how old those parts are........
 
It won't be the coils. Like you said, if it were, it would've triggered the code on the other cylinder, not 8. Since it remained there, I would swap fuel injectors and see what happens. Same theory. If it triggers the code on a different cylinder, then it's probably an injector. If it remains on 8, then there's a mechanical problem with that cylinder.
 
It won't be the coils. Like you said, if it were, it would've triggered the code on the other cylinder, not 8. Since it remained there, I would swap fuel injectors and see what happens. Same theory. If it triggers the code on a different cylinder, then it's probably an injector. If it remains on 8, then there's a mechanical problem with that cylinder.


Injectors RARELY fail; and the symptoms are different. Failing/marginal coils RARELY throw a code. It has been documented here time and time again that the codes cane (and usually are) misleading.

But..... I'm kinda new here......
 
well if you have a misfire, the first thing you should do is replace ALL of the coils and plugs...(anything less and you might as well be jacking off with a hand full of sand) then go from there, a couple of this to note, if the car was driven too long with a misfire, the cats could also be damaged (you are getting a "o2 sensor" code). also if you drive too long on a bad coil, it can damage the PCM.
 
I didn't even think about injectors. Ya I'm throwing a code for the O2 sensor on pass side after the cat I think it's bank 1 sensor 2. That's the same cat that is smashed nearly flat which I'm probably just gonna straight pipe them both anyways. I also got bank 2 is running lean. Someone told me that the MAF could be damaged and doing this but I'll have to unplug it and see how it runs with it unplugged. It's really strange the car runs great and has plenty of power but on idle it shakes and has a very strange noise coming from it but can't pinpoint it and when I take off the noise comes and goes. It's not a ticking like the timing chain or anything just sounds like a bad exhaust leak or something. And I'm thinking the PCM could be damaged. Anyone have an idea on the cost of those and how hard they are to replace?
 
What are the symptoms of a failing injector? Misfire? Lean condition? Rich condition? An injector doesn't have to fail to cause problems. If it's somewhat clogged, it can cause a lean condition. All the injectors are the same so switch two of them and see what happens.

If failing/marginal coils rarely throw codes, why are you getting a code for a misfire? I've read on here that changing the coils solves all kinds of random issues. In this case however, the code actually points to the probable cause. The coil. Switching the coils leads to two conclusions in this case. Either all coils are bad, like the others suggest, or it's something else corresponding to that cylinder (injector, intake leak, etc). The reason I question the coils is because if most of them are somehow failing, why is it that it is only recognized when installed on cyl 8? Wouldn't you have a random misfire code or a misfire code on multiple cylinders? Considering the uniqueness of the LS though, the guys could be right and maybe only cyl 8 is "sensitive" enough to recognize a misfire. From what I've read here, the coils fail because the epoxy used in them breaks down or due to oil saturation (valve cover leak). If that's true then even the cheapest brand coils should work for a short time.

As for the o2, bank 1 refers to the side of the engine where cylinder 1 is located. On most ford v8's, cylinder 1 is on the front passenger side. The LS has a jaguar engine so you'd have to verify the location. Bank 2 obviously refers to the other side. Sensor 1 refers to the o2 before the cat. Sensor 2 is the o2 after the cat. If the cat is damaged on that side, it could very well be causing the problem.

About the lean bank, a bad maf would cause an issue on both banks. So I'd look elsewhere.

I'm kinda new here though and I'm finding that experience with other cars doesn't necessarily transfer over to this one. Listen to the vets, as the longer you are on this forum, the more you know about the car.
 
I'm kinda new here though and I'm finding that experience with other cars doesn't necessarily transfer over to this one. Listen to the vets, as the longer you are on this forum, the more you know about the car.

If that was for me I was being sarcastic. Check my join date and post count. I've owned 4 LSes (still have 3) over the last 14 years....... Got the first and last.
 
I'm well aware you were being sarcastic haha. That's why I said he should listen to the veterans, as you guys should know more about the car than me. I've only had my LS for a month and I've encountered solutions that are counterintuitive to what I've learned in the past.
 
Injectors RARELY fail; and the symptoms are different. Failing/marginal coils RARELY throw a code. It has been documented here time and time again that the codes cane (and usually are) misleading.

But..... I'm kinda new here......

<looks at join date>
<Realizes who told him about the coils>
<sarcasm meter finally responds by by blowing out the top of the scale>

;)

Personally I'd start by replacing or straight piping the cat. Could be part of the problem...and if it's as flattened as you say then it should be replaced anyways so...
 
something else to look at will be the pcv elbow. it will cause all that shaking and abnormal rough idling and such. they fail quite often.
 
Thanks for all the input I had the 02 Lincoln before but never had a single mechanical problem with it (owned it for almost two years lol) so I'm finding that the Ls is very unique. I'm gonna get her in the garage today and check everything mentioned and take a small video of the noise and what not.
 
Hey what's up all I use to be on here back in the day with my 02 LS and now I bought the wife a 2000 lS V8. We picked up the car for $2000 and they weren't mechanics and it has a misfire. So took it to autozone and pulled a misfire on cylinder 8 and cylinder 2 along with a o2 sensor problem. So I swapped all the plugs and coils around to try and see if it's the coils or the plugs when the CEL pops back on and I just replaced the O2 sensor. So sure enough the light came back on after resetting it and had it checked out. Same cylinder 8 had a misfire and the same O2 sensor read bad.... I did notice the cat on the pass side is smashed up due to hitting a rock or something but I'm at my wits end on why it still shakes on idle, has a horrible exhaust leak sound that's inconsistent, and the car vibrates around 45-55 mph. Does anyone have an idea what could cause this? I figured swapping coil packs and plugs around would cause it to miss on a different cylinder.

Suggest replace both cats/all COPs/plugs & O2 sensors.
 
First gen check for oil I would pull the valve cover check it and change the gasket just to be on the safe side how is the coolant parts if I got one for 2000 I will do a complete over hall on plastic and coils just because I fell like it
 
Your cat is smashed up pretty good, can't imagine too much flow getting through. I just looked up "bad catalytic noise" on youtube and some sound similar to what your 1st video sounds like. If it was my car I would pull that cat off and see if that noise you got going on is the cat.

Also, it hurt the wallet but after lurking and reading so many posts about coils, I broke down and replaced all mine with motor craft and threw in some PROPERLY gapped plugs, car runs like a dream. Don't waste your time, pull the trigger and replace them all.
 

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