Coils and plugs, I know... but

Dacket

Dacket

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Ok,I have a 2000 LS V8 sport, I know I need to replace my coils and plugs... but I need to make sure that these other problems aren't something different or unrelated...

Today when starting my car to warm up before I leave work I noticed a lot more exhaust coming out of the driver side rather than equally out of both. Also some times when I stop my car I see smoke coming out from under my hood, I'm guessing that is oil leaking out of the gaskets, which probably shorted one of my COP etc... But also for the first time since I had this car, my check engine light came on as well later on after I had gotten home and then left again.

Another thing... When using SST, when I shift into 3rd, it seems to hesitate about 3 or 4 times really fast. Every other gear is smooth as silk.

One more think... would a misfiring coil cause my interior lights to flicker? (not on and off, but kind of dim) Or would this be my alternator going out? (battery is brand spankin new.)
 
I would say you just listed symptoms of failing coils for sure.

The lights flicker makes sense due to the engine running rough and probably choking itself out and causing the alternator to malfunction in sync (engine speed).

The shifting rough also makes sense as many others reported shifting problems due to coils.

I would say change ASAP before damage is done (or accumulated).

But this you already know
 
It could possibly just be your plugs. It takes about 20 mins to check your plugs, remove the cover with a 7mm (I think) socket un screw the coils and pull them out. Look to see if the plugs are rusty, the back passenger side especially. If you see rust or white / brown powder in the area where the plugs are, you're getting moisture in there. I had 3 failing plugs when I changed my passenger side. All pretty much dead unless I hammered it in about a week, only like 35 miles driven.

Also, if you;re going to do coils, check your local NAPA, about as cheap as they come and you get a great warranty.
 
lol....yes, your misfire and rough shifts sound exactly like coils, but the coils, and/or missing engine will have NOTHING to do with your interior lights dimming.
 
Dacket said:
Ok,I have a 2000 LS V8 sport, I know I need to replace my coils and plugs... but I need to make sure that these other problems aren't something different or unrelated...

Today when starting my car to warm up before I leave work I noticed a lot more exhaust coming out of the driver side rather than equally out of both. Also some times when I stop my car I see smoke coming out from under my hood, I'm guessing that is oil leaking out of the gaskets, which probably shorted one of my COP etc... But also for the first time since I had this car, my check engine light came on as well later on after I had gotten home and then left again.

Another thing... When using SST, when I shift into 3rd, it seems to hesitate about 3 or 4 times really fast. Every other gear is smooth as silk.

One more think... would a misfiring coil cause my interior lights to flicker? (not on and off, but kind of dim) Or would this be my alternator going out? (battery is brand spankin new.)
Click to expand...

I think that you are describing multiple problems.
1. You probably do have valve cover leaks and failing coil(s). I would fix these issues first.
2. Your Cats are probably getting clogged because of the misfire. After you fix the misfire, you may need to replace one or both converters.
3. When was the transmission last flushed? You probably have a failing solenoid.
4. How old is your battery? It may be time for a new one. It's also possible that your alternator is starting to fail. Alternately, it could be a loose wire.
 
Awesome, thanks for the responses guys. Also, my battery is new, as stated in my first post (the very last 5 words of the post) :P

Luckily I do in fact have a NAPA close by, I will check them for pricing. I also forgot to mention I have 126k miles on it.

I haven't had the trans flushed since I've had the car. I've only had it for 9 months so far. Then again, I don't know if the dealer had done this or even the previous owner. So I should probably do that next time I get an oil change. I hope I haven't done any permanent damage.

Any ideas on how much this whole project should cost, replacing everything? (coils, plugs, gaskets, both cats) ?
 
You'll save a lot if you do the work yourself. The dealer wanted to charge me about 850 to change all 8 coils. I saved 400 by just buying the coils and putting them in myself. Motorcraft plugs are pretty expensive compared to other brands. They cost 11 dollars each at the dealer. At autozone I got all 8 for about 15.Just I thought in case you want to go with a different brand to save.If you know how to weld do cats youself but installling cats is fairly cheap. I dont know how much they run. I had a shop charge me 15 bucks a year ago to put in a muffler. He cut,made the inlet wider with the machine and welded the muffler.
 
Dacket said:
... as stated in my first post (the very last 5 words of the post) :P...
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You expected me to read the whole post?

Anyway, since the battery is new, then it is less likely to be the issue. If you have a voltmeter or DMM, then connect it and read the battery voltage while the engine is running. It should be between 13.8 and 14.5 volts, and it should be pretty steady. If it is, then try measuring the voltage at one of the power ports in the cabin. If it varies there, then you have a loose electrical junction somewhere.
 
joegr said:
You expected me to read the whole post?
Click to expand...

Actually, yes.... yes I did. lol :p

Thanks for that info, I'm guessing they sell these voltmeters at my local auto part store?

I would love to do all this work myself, but I don't have a garage or a driveway unfortunately. I have a friend who is a mechanic who could probably help me out though, for a lot cheaper than the dealer, or any other shop for that matter.
 
If his engine is running rough due to misfiring like he describes - would this not make the engine spin all the components roughly, which would entail the alternator being spun roughly as well?

I would say change the coils and see where you stand then.
 
Andrizzle said:
If his engine is running rough due to misfiring like he describes - would this not make the engine spin all the components roughly, which would entail the alternator being spun roughly as well?

I would say change the coils and see where you stand then.
Click to expand...

If the battery and the alternator are working correctly, then rough engine idle would not result in enough voltage variation to be able to see the lights flickering.
That said, your advice about fixing the misfires first is good, and that is what I would do first, too.

The alternator on my 04 is showing it age and sometimes allows the lights to flicker slightly. I figure that I will get more warning before I have to replace it.
 
I changed passenger side coils, plugs, VCG for about $450. Did the work myself, took a little over an hour. That being said, I got a discount on the plugs and coils because my uncle works at NAPA, so your cost should be around $525 ish?

VCG $65
Plugs $3 x4
Coils $45 x4

Also, the plug / coil cover: The back there is a spot where the electrical wires come through to power the coils, this spot is VERY prone to leaking. Make sure you pick up some black silicon or something to give it a good tight seal.
 
Nice, thanks a lot for that info. I might just have to pull codes and see which ones are missing and replace those first, then replace all the others later. Money is to tight to do it all at once for now.
 
Dacket said:
Nice, thanks a lot for that info. I might just have to pull codes and see which ones are missing and replace those first, then replace all the others later. Money is to tight to do it all at once for now.
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Be warned that the mis-fire codes do not always identify the correct coil(s). It's just the computer's best guess at it.
 
joegr said:
Be warned that the mis-fire codes do not always identify the correct coil(s). It's just the computer's best guess at it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's true... hmm. What do you think would be the best way to do this? Check to see which ones have oil in it and start from there? Idk...
 
Dacket said:
Yeah, that's true... hmm. What do you think would be the best way to do this? Check to see which ones have oil in it and start from there? Idk...
Click to expand...

Frankly, replace them all. (I used to be on the side of replacing only the failed ones, but I now think that once you start seeing failures, you should replace them all.) I know that you said that money was tight, so you will just have to do what you can do...
 
Right, I am going to replace them all. I just need to figure out which ones to replace FIRST and then go from there.
 
You will save yourself a lot of trouble if you do them all at once. I thought it was only one for me, turn out to be 3, a few weeks later 2 more went out so got them all done to get it over with.
 
If you really need to know which one it is, wait for the code to come up and replace that one side. Thats what I did. Although I didint choose to wait for the code, it just happened to come up after leaving a car show...

Otherwise, just change ALL of our plugs, the new connection should help out your coils and give them some longer life. My car for example, was mis firing on 4 of the 4 passenger side cylinders, and it was because of the plugs. COils were fine.
 
That's a good idea... But if one of my coils do happen to be bad, would it ruin a new plug? Or would the plug just get dirty from not being able to fire and just require cleaning when I replace the coil?
 
Dacket said:
That's a good idea... But if one of my coils do happen to be bad, would it ruin a new plug? Or would the plug just get dirty from not being able to fire and just require cleaning when I replace the coil?
Click to expand...

Usually, the latter.
 
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