Did I just buy a money pit?

[ElGatoBlanco]

Talked to a service tech at the shop near my house, he says code P0430 is a cat code for LH side, he knew that without even looking it up. He also said vibration on cold start issue is most likely a vacuum leak as some others on this thread have mentioned. But, either way it is likely he'll be taking apart the IM to get to the usual culprits of a vacuum leak and so it makes sense to change the coils in the process anyway since I will definitely need them at some point. (This is what he said). I have ordered 6 ignition coils from Rock Auto - Motorcraft. I know I need plugs too but I will get those locally. He recommended replacing the upper intake gasket which he says is also is what seals the plugs/coils....That's the first I've heard of this.

 

[chocolat1701]

yup that's the code for the cats. and that's a good price for the cat and the labor. it is a good choice to do the coils now since you don't know if the previous owner did it but the cats was sooo damaged that it needed replacement. if it has oil in the boots then about 3 hours worth of work its a easy job with the right tools. but the mechanic will quote you according to the ALLDATA database.

 

[ElGatoBlanco]

The quote is 1300 - that includes replacing coils and plugs, upper intake gasket, and the IMRC gasket which is where he thinks he will find the vacuum leak. But that quote included a price of 605 for the coils which I ordered myself, so with coils in hand, estimate is 700. He forgot to add in replacing the O-rings for IMT valve which I did ask about. Don't know how much that would be, and I also don't know what it will run if it turns out that I do need a valve cover gasket. Just from looking at the diagram he showed me, it seems like just to get to the coils, you are damn near already at the valve covers.

 

[Telco]

If you are going to be your own mechanic, with no previous experience, the most important advice you need here is patience, and never force anything unless force is actually called for. If you can't remove a part after removing all the fasteners, look for the fastener you missed because there will be one. The worst you should expect is a sticking gasket, which should take no more than a tap with a rubber mallet to remove. Grabbing a crowbar will be very expensive. If you can't figure it out, stop and ask for help either here or from a local gearhead friend.

A box of baggies, some paper tape and a largish box is also a huge help. When you remove bolts from something, put those bolts in a bag, label it with where they came from, then put them in a box. This will make reassembly easier. It may also help to write down the order you remove things in, to make it easier to remember how it came apart for when you reassemble.

Oh, and little bitty flathead screwdrivers can help get electrical connectors off. Those little buggers can be pretty hard to remove without something to wedge into the release sometimes. This doesn't mean use the driver as a crowbar, you just want to pry just enough to release the catch that holds the connector on. And, as these connectors are often brittle from repeated heat cycles some little nylon wire ties can be used to hold the connector on the plug when the catch breaks.

 

[Upstairs Chris]

The quote for replacing coils and plugs was $1000. that was the cheapest - dealer wanted 1300. Sounds like a lot for an "easy job". Of course they are charging me $125 per coil pack.

:runaway:


I was in a police academy when my coils failed. I was driving 150 miles on Sunday, and living at the academy until Friday evening. Then I'd drive all the way back for a Saturday.

I ordered the coils, bought some plugs, and got a 300 peice craftsman mechanics set from sears all for about $500 (killer deal on the tools) and did this in about 2.5 hours with never turning a wrench on my LS before. It's not too hard, and you have 2 less coils and plugs. Don't be intimidated, and don't pay $1000.

 

[LS4me]

:runaway:


I was in a police academy when my coils failed. I was driving 150 miles on Sunday, and living at the academy until Friday evening. Then I'd drive all the way back for a Saturday.

I ordered the coils, bought some plugs, and got a 300 peice craftsman mechanics set from sears all for about $500 (killer deal on the tools) and did this in about 2.5 hours with never turning a wrench on my LS before. It's not too hard, and you have 2 less coils and plugs. Don't be intimidated, and don't pay $1000.

The V6 is actually quite a bit more difficult. My best time is 3 hours. It's much more complicated as the intake plenum, shock tower brace, EGR tube and a bunch of stuff off the rear of the plenum must be removed. That said, patience, proceeding slowly and problem solving makes this job doable. IIRC, the first time took me the better part of a day.

 

[Upstairs Chris]

The V6 is actually quite a bit more difficult. My best time is 3 hours. It's much more complicated as the intake plenum, shock tower brace, EGR tube and a bunch of stuff off the rear of the plenum must be removed. That said, patience, proceeding slowly and problem solving makes this job doable. IIRC, the first time took me the better part of a day.

I would have never guessed that a smaller engine in the same size bay somehow is a more difficult job.

 

[LS4me]

I would have never guessed that a smaller engine in the same size bay somehow is a more difficult job.

All because the plenum lays over the passenger side valve cover. I had the same issue with our old '86, '88, '91 and '96 Sables.

 

[ElGatoBlanco]

The V6 is actually quite a bit more difficult. My best time is 3 hours. It's much more complicated as the intake plenum, shock tower brace, EGR tube and a bunch of stuff off the rear of the plenum must be removed. That said, patience, proceeding slowly and problem solving makes this job doable. IIRC, the first time took me the better part of a day.

The quote from the shop was for 3 hours to change the spark plugs, with 40 minutes labor added to change the coils and another 40 minutes labor added to change the IMRC O-rings. Changing the intake plenum gasket was included in the invoice but with no extra labor charge (presumably because he would have to take that off anyway). I also ordered the intake plenum gasket from autopartswarehouse. I actually have no idea why I would need that, but since the plenum is coming off anyway, I am just going to replace it. $47 online compared with $78 from the shop.

In other news, tires plus who was going to replace the cat for $700 screwed up and didn't have the part in yesterday like they said they would. I was actually kind of glad, because I went home and ordered the direct fit Eastern cat for $237, as opposed to the $597 Tires plus was going to charge me for one.

I've been digging through the various repair threads trying to figure out what else might be wise to replace during this repair, not that it is necessarily needed at this time but because it likely will be at some time soon. And whether I ultimately decide to attempt this myself, or pay the shop to do the labor, either way, I don't want to have to go back into the engine again for a while for some other stupid little thing that could have been taken care of the first time.

All parts I ordered will be in by next Thursday so I have until then to decide. Meanwhile my ol' lady is using the car to commute to and from work (less than a mile away) and aside from that it's staying parked until I get everything right with this car.

 

[ElGatoBlanco]

Was looking at manufacturers maintenance schedule and saw that PCV valve is supposed to be replaced at 100k. So I will want to do that as well. But when searching for the part I noticed there are two different variations of this part with vastly different prices. The expensive one is about $150. The cheaper one, about $15 bucks notes that it is "Without Electric Heated Positive Crankcase Ventilation". How do I determine which one I need?

 

[goodpeople]

Hey everyone,

ElgatoBlanco, sounds like you had somewhat of the same issue when i first bought my LS. I bought it from a dealership in 07 and about. 6 months later i needed to replace all the coils and spark plugs, also the gasket valve cover which costs me around 1300+. This had me turned off from the LS bc i thought it was just going to costs me money annually. Not to mention my powertrain warranty didnt help much because of the subsequent damage from the gasket leaking. Now that i know alot of the issues, i started fixing everything myself thanks to this site and other helpful ppl.

 

[perpetualchange]

My dad handed me down his 2004 lincoln LS v.6 (83k) when I graduated college, as a gift. I got it in September, replaced the rear brakes in November ($400), drove through the "cold start" problem in the winter months, and just shelled out for four new tires ($500), with new front brakes ($400) and a bunch of other misceallnous issues on the horizon (probably plugs and hoses).

The cold start idling is what it is. I noticed that if I let the car sit until the idling stopped before driving off, the check engine light would never come on. Dealers and repair guys seem to love getting you to spend a ton of money trying to figure out what that problem is, but I've seen few cases of people convincingly solving it. Once things warm up around you it should end.

Ultimately, I realize that the Lincoln costs a bit more to repair than what most of my friends are driving. But, I don't really mind. For a ten year old car, you're going to have to pay some money on repairs. $1000 +/- a year on repairs is not a lot, considering what what a car payment (and then general repairs/maintenance) would cost. And plus, the Lincoln is my first real car. Not only am I driving around something better than what all my friends have, but I'm also learning the ropes of how to take care of a car with all the crap my Lincoln throws at me. By the time I really shell out for something of my own, I'll have gone through a full cycle of vehicle repairs.

 

[tireman]

Yes you did, but you get something in return. A great car. Really tho, do the work yourself, all the answers are right here on this forum. It's not a difficult car to repair, most of the problems are fairly straight forward. Transmission and hydra fan are costly to fix. Had both on mine. But after 12 years, it still runs like new. 01V6 153k miles