Different Coil question :(

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marco93L

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I was wondering if a coil is bad( I know as of today #8 is bad) will it still allow the Ls to run smoothly but be very underpowered?

The reason that I ask is that I scheduled an appointment earlier this week with a muffler shop because I was thinking that I may have had a cat conv. Go bad or plug on me. This whole last week, the car has smelled ( like something rotting, not gas though) and has been running underpowered. It has started normal, never has jerked(like my typical symptoms from past cars when the coils would go out)

should I replace the coils and cancel the appoint with the exhaust shop or does it still like there is something else, maybe a cat, that I still need to have a shop look at?

Thanks
 
How do you know #8 is bad? Usually a rotting smell is the cat, but it is hard to diagnose just a smell. I would still do the appointment to find out. Process of elimination is key. :D
 
This morning, the check engine light came on for the first time. I ran the codes and it was a misfire on cyl #8.

It is still running the same as it has for the last week, not jerking, ect.

I was just susprised that the heck engine light came on today and it showed a misfire on #8 for the first time this whole week, since I noticed the car acting up.
This last week (Monday) was the frist time that I started to drive the LS again, it has been parked for the last 2 weeks since I was driving my truck around. That is when the car has been underpowered
 
It is surprising how smoothly a V8 can run on seven cylinders. It can be easier to detect if the coil fires sometimes or most times than if it won't fire at all.

Whether you have a catalytic converter problem now or not, you will have one soon.
 
What I've noticed when coils have "gone out" is that they don't necessarily quit working all together, at least not right away. My car would run good most of the time until I would get up to a higher RPM or accelerate quickly and then I would really be able to feel it. So if you normally drive in a way that doesn't put too much stress on the coil you may not have noticed it right away. I also usually got the kind of rotten egg smell when a coil wasn't working properly. Take care of it ASAP or you will have a cat problem soon enough and hopefully you don't already.

Hope this helps.
 
Mine was just the opposite, It would miss at low RPMs and smooth out at higher, especially if I let the car warm up for quite a while, they must have got heat soaked.

If you drive on a bad coil for a while the unburned fuel will get into your cat and burn there and ruin them, then you will get a CEL for the aftercat 02's. I think (but could be wrong) if you get an SCT scanner it can disable the aftercat 02 sensors allowing you to just take them out if they are bad. (If it is legal enough in your area) Mine that have gone bad didnt get plugged but just broke apart and rattled and sounded awful.
 
Thanks, I went ahead and replaced the coils and the plugs today and the car runs great again!!!!!!!

I am going to go ahead and still take it to the exhaust shop and see what they say. I havent had this car very long and I would like to know where I sit as far as things that are going to need attention right now.
 
Do you have a CEL for the cats? Or bad MPGs? More exhaust coming from one side compared to the other?

If all of those are no, you can probably skip the cats..
 
When #8 goes, its because of either oil or water. Make sure water isnt dripping down into the coil from where the window wiper motor is. Also make sure the bolt on the inside of the VC-the one closet to #8, is tight. The car runs "ok" but its so annoying not having that full power.
 
00Linc'LSv8 said:
When #8 goes, its because of either oil or water. Make sure water isnt dripping down into the coil from where the window wiper motor is. Also make sure the bolt on the inside of the VC-the one closet to #8, is tight. The car runs "ok" but its so annoying not having that full power.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but that it not the least bit true.
Oil or water can cause coil failure, but those are not the only causes. They are, in fact, not even the most common causes.
The most common cause is breakdown of the high voltage insulation inside the coil due to failure of epoxy adhesion. It took Ford a while to admit to this, but they now do.
 
^
Don't mind LJ.. He's stuck on the damn water leaking in.. I have only seen like 2 problems of that on here and they were both V6s..
 
/\ WOW you girls are hilarious, anyways glad to be a help..#8 coil is a common that gets fried because of the bolt in the valve cover gasket. The people that made these cars got lazy when it came to hard to reach bolts. A little more torque and the coils last longer.;)
 
00Linc'LSv8 said:
/\ WOW you girls are hilarious, anyways glad to be a help..#8 coil is a common that gets fried because of the bolt in the valve cover gasket. The people that made these cars got lazy when it came to hard to reach bolts. A little more torque and the coils last longer.;)
Click to expand...

What is the deal with te bolt and the gasket? (not putting it back in and oil messing up the coil?).

I was very susprised when I got into mine. It still had motorcraft plugs and all coils were the same, all bolts where in place and there was absolutly no oil in the holes. I was planning on changing the gaskets but didn't even had to think about it!
 
"The people that made these cars got lazy when it came to hard to reach bolts. A little more torque and the coils last longer"


I would have thought that the valve cover bolts would be in place well before the engine was installed at the Wixom plant, or at the Jaguar plant on a roling chassis, and therefore fairly easy to reach....just sayin'.
 
00Linc'LSv8 said:
/\ WOW you girls are hilarious, anyways glad to be a help..#8 coil is a common that gets fried because of the bolt in the valve cover gasket. The people that made these cars got lazy when it came to hard to reach bolts. A little more torque and the coils last longer.;)
Click to expand...

actually, when "the people that made these cars" made them, there where no "hard to reach" bolts, as the motor was completely assembled well before it was placed into the car.

most of the time the coils do break down, as mentioned above, because of internal failure, there is a 1 in 8 chance of the #8 coil failing.

when VC leak oil, it usually effects more than one cylinder.
 
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