Grrrr

NYC LS8

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Carpentersville, IL
I wish this thing would throw a CEL already so I can bring it in and get the one or two coils changed that are obviously acting up. For the last week the car's idle and cruising has gotten worse and worse - choppy, sputtering and just generally annoying. Even checked it with my XCAL and nothing.

:mad:

And for those of you looking for 38mm offset wheels with 245/45-18 tires and lowered, either get lower profile tires or get different offset wheels. I'm going to have to roll the top part my fenders because the tires are hitting it over dips. At least the 38 offset looks right on the front and good while sitting still.

Arrrrrgh.

That is all. :(
 
Just drive like an ass and they'll get thrown. I did that with mine.
 
I wish this thing would throw a CEL already so I can bring it in and get the one or two coils changed that are obviously acting up. For the last week the car's idle and cruising has gotten worse and worse - choppy, sputtering and just generally annoying. Even checked it with my XCAL and nothing.

That sucks, is it still covered under warranty? I would get them to keep it over night if it is and have them drive it a bit. Even if you dont get a code they will still hopefully be able to duplicate the problem.

As far as the wheels, I say its in the tires. I know its in the tires well that and NYC. When ever I'm up that way I take the Highlander.

I tell people that they should do a roll with the fenders when lowering anyways. In allot of cases even with what they say is proper offset and tire size you will get some rub on dips and what not, it all depends on what kind of dips. It can be inevitable in most cases from what I see.

I mean think of sports cars, stock they have proper offset and all but they have lower ride height and you know what people say about owning a true sports car in a place like NYC. You would be nuts to drive it daily and think you could get away without rubbing.


Good luck.
 
Just drive like an ass and they'll get thrown. I did that with mine.

I've been. The last time I had this miss/stumble/stutter I slammed on the gas to pass someone and it came on. This time it's being far more stubborn which is pissing me off.

Yes, the coils & valve cover gaskets are covered through Ford's extended 10/100k warranty (the program I posted about last year around this time when I got the letter from Ford). That's why I want the light to come on this way there's no question about what the problem was. If it wasn't for that I'd buy all new ones and change them myself.

Funny thing is the car smelled like burning plastic for months....now it doesn't and the idle/driveability is worse. Go figure.
 
It was a pain figuring mine out. But I let them have it for a few days. They put a few good miles on it but we finally got down to the problem.


Untill I signed up here for my battery trouble I never knew it was a problem.
 
Id suggest running 87 octane and driving like an ass but that would be dangerous. Perhaps reset the pcm by disconnecting the battery and either touching the terminals together or letting it sit for a half hour. Maybe the pcm is stuck on something and can't throw the code.
 
Do you need the XCal to set it back to stock tune? Or can you just reset the pcm and do it?
 
Do you need the XCal to set it back to stock tune? Or can you just reset the pcm and do it?
If you have an XCal tune, you need the XCal to reset it back to stock. The only other way is to have the dealer re flash to stock, but then your XCal will be locked out and be useless until you get it unlocked.
 
Sounds like the same sh!te i'm going through... but it's illuminated my check engine light since it's ran this poor this long.

So the wheels w/ that offset rub after all eh? Think smaller or narrower rubber will do the trick? I'm liking those offsets and more than likely going w/ the same.

You have the Eibachs or Intrax?
 
I'd rather not go narrower with the tires, they look too narrow already. And I'd rather not go to a smaller diameter tire due to the gaping potholes around here. I'll just do something about the lip of the fender and hopefully that'll be the end of it. I have the Eibach Pro-Kit.
 
It has been over three years since I changed the wheels on my LSE. But IIRC 45MM offset was pushing it on clearances for the 18" wheels I was interested in using. I ended up using 47MM offset and 245/40x18 tires to be safe.
 
I've been. The last time I had this miss/stumble/stutter I slammed on the gas to pass someone and it came on. This time it's being far more stubborn which is pissing me off.

Yes, the coils & valve cover gaskets are covered through Ford's extended 10/100k warranty (the program I posted about last year around this time when I got the letter from Ford). That's why I want the light to come on this way there's no question about what the problem was. If it wasn't for that I'd buy all new ones and change them myself.

Funny thing is the car smelled like burning plastic for months....now it doesn't and the idle/driveability is worse. Go figure.

Wow, my car is doing the exact same thing and still has not thrown a CEL. I had my Lincoln guy drive it today and he basically said 1 or more coils of mine is out and with less than 30,000 miles on the clock--awesome.
 
Sounds like the same sh!te i'm going through... but it's illuminated my check engine light since it's ran this poor this long.

So the wheels w/ that offset rub after all eh? Think smaller or narrower rubber will do the trick? I'm liking those offsets and more than likely going w/ the same.

You have the Eibachs or Intrax?



A different tire would definitely do it but he has a very good point.

My 19x 8.5 +38 with a 235/35/19 don't look as if it would rub after I lower it at all unless under certain situations to be expected. I think I should have gotten a 40 series even so still looking at the arch of the fender well and the gap in it.

Others can get away with it both ways to but we might be more lucky to live in areas that don't have lots of bumps or potholes.
 
Wow, my car is doing the exact same thing and still has not thrown a CEL. I had my Lincoln guy drive it today and he basically said 1 or more coils of mine is out and with less than 30,000 miles on the clock--awesome.
Just as a general note. While the computers on these cars allow a great deal of self diagnosis, it has been my experience that a knowledgeable mechanic is worth his weight in gold. In the 4 years I have owned my LSE, more than half of the problems I have experienced would not throw codes. Most of the trouble I had over the years was with a random Check Engine light, immediately followed by a Fail Safe light and the engine would die. Finally after three years a code was actually recorded, but the diagnostic software could not determine exactly what the code meant when related to a memory loss. Fortunately for me, the computer Guru at my dealership got on the phone with his buddy at Ford Engineering and learned that the engineer had recently run into a similar problem. They came to the conclusion that it was worth a try to replace the fly by wire throttle body. Problem solved. If he had only gone by the actual thrown code, he would not have fixed the problem. Somehow the actuators in the throttle body can cause the PCM to randomly lose memory, which in turn causes it to go into Failsafe and shutdown.
 
Just as a general note. While the computers on these cars allow a great deal of self diagnosis, it has been my experience that a knowledgeable mechanic is worth his weight in gold. In the 4 years I have owned my LSE, more than half of the problems I have experienced would not throw codes. Most of the trouble I had over the years was with a random Check Engine light, immediately followed by a Fail Safe light and the engine would die. Finally after three years a code was actually recorded, but the diagnostic software could not determine exactly what the code meant when related to a memory loss. Fortunately for me, the computer Guru at my dealership got on the phone with his buddy at Ford Engineering and learned that the engineer had recently run into a similar problem. They came to the conclusion that it was worth a try to replace the fly by wire throttle body. Problem solved. If he had only gone by the actual thrown code, he would not have fixed the problem. Somehow the actuators in the throttle body can cause the PCM to randomly lose memory, which in turn causes it to go into Failsafe and shutdown.

I need to take it in next week and I'll see for sure. It could be a number of things, no telling on this car. MAFS, Throttle Body, Coils...that was just his general opinion by just driving the car for 10 minutes. He's a good mechanic and I trust he'll fix the problem.
 
I think NYC just wants a check engine light to get the fast track to the repair.
 
My car did the same for a while, never threw a code, so I just replaced all 8 coils and have been fine since.

As far as the 38mm offset, I swear by 42mm+ on a 8" wheel and even more offset than that on a 8.5". I knew that if my 42mm 8" wheels rubbed those definitely would.
 
My car did the same for a while, never threw a code, so I just replaced all 8 coils and have been fine since.

Thats exactly what mine was doing 5 months ago. Said screw it, and replaced them all. From what I've read here, it seems they would all sooner or later go out, figured it would be easiest to just start over with a new set. Been good since. I think I might buy one of those cheap sets some people on here have bought off ebay, and just have them waiting around for next time.
 
I know that there are people who have modified Accel coils to work on our LS engines, but I keep hoping that someone will find a HP COP that both works and fits without modifications.
 
Put the stock tune back in it yesterday just to see (actually wanted to data log the cylinders but forgot the USB cable) and the car ran worse but still not bad enough to throw a CEL. Definitely feels like more than 1 coil is failing...more like 2 or 3 because the car won't get out of it's own way. Set up an appointment to drop it off Saturday, so we'll see.
 
When I knew one was failing before the check engine light came on, I would go to the dealership and my mechanic there plugged in a real time scanner in the obd port and we drove around and he could see which cylinders had a misfire. Go there and ask them to do that if you don't feel like waiting for the cel light to come on. Can't the engine also throw codes without the engine light coming on too...storing them? I would do that but if you want to wait then do that too since it's irrefutable.
 

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