How much plug well oil is too much?

[owlman]

Still no extended warranty for VCGs on the 2006 eh? :shifty:

Mine developed some stumbling soon after passing 51K recently, but didn't throw any codes. I figured $200 for new coils and plugs is a reasonably cheap thing to try and a likely culprit. Passenger side looked pristine. i was so proud of my car. Then I took off the driver's side cover and saw a little oil in three cylinder wells. The photo is the one with the most.

I guess the coil(s) failed on their own, because that's a really small amount of oil, right?

I'm tempted just to clean those few drops, and check again in a year or so. What do you think?

Also, what's this yellow rustlike powder all in the coil area (only on this side)... coil cover needs a better seal?

 

[centason]

I would go ahead and replace the VCGs before it creates a bigger problem. A kit should come with the gaskets for the plug galley covers. If it really starts to spew oil in the galleys then it will mess up the coils.

 

[owlman]

What would that cost me appx, or how many hours of labor is it? Changing the VCG is way beyond my expertise level.

 

[hite337]

If you can change the COPs its not that much more work to change the VCGs. The hardest part is separating the fuel line on the drivers side. VGCs are about $50-60 but it will probly cost hundreds in labor. Its truly not a hard job, 1/4" socket set with some extentions and a swivel, and a fuel line tool (few dollars) is about all you need

 

[2002_lincolnLS]

It took me about 4 hours to do it, both sides. I also recommend getting some gasket sealer to spread in the slot that the gasket goes in to hold in place while re-installing. I didn't the first try and half of it came off and it was not a good time.

there are a couple threads with detailed instructions and tools lists, I believe I put them in my sticky for easy finding

 

[JMT03LSV8]

I don't really have any solid numbers as far as price to replace the VCGs goes because mine were done under warranty and they didn't give me a breakdown on the costs for what they did but the service manager did tell me that the warranty stuff added up to almost $800. They did the VCGs, 6 plugs, 2 coils and 2 boots. Judging by what they charged me for the other 2 plugs and hearing what coils cost at a dealership, I would say the VCGs and labor was probably in the $550 to $600 range. I would most likely attempt to change on my own knowing that.

 

[G-RELL]

just the VC R&R was quoted at 450 (P&L) for me... it just depends what you think you can handle / afford.

 

[hite337]

just the VC R&R was quoted at 450 (P&L) for me... it just depends what you think you can handle / afford.

I'll still help you do yours like we talked about of you are still interested. Let me know when you're ready. I can do them in about 2hrs

 

[G-RELL]

I'll still help you do yours like we talked about of you are still interested. Let me know when you're ready. I can do them in about 2hrs

Yep, Still planning on it! I'm chasing down a rattle right now! somewhere it the back end i think, but well see... I'll be ordering VCG, Coils and Plugs soon... I'll hit you up and see when u got available ...

I suppose someone could post a link to a good set of VCG with rings since Maxx is gone... for the OP of course :shifty:

 

[owlman]

OK, thanks for the info, guys.

For those interested, I only had time to change the RH side plugs before going to work this morning, but I did experiment and reinstall the RH coils to the LH side, so I had:
RH: new coils, new plugs
LH: old coils from RH side, old plugs

Car runs great! Totally smooth. Bad coil(s) must have been on the LH side.
I'll finish putting in the new coils&plugs on the LH side tomorrow, and I guess keep these four old RH coils around as backups since they seem to be good still.

Thanks LVC for saving me time and money

 

[owlman]

False alarm, lol, turns out that wasn't oil at all (yay) just some dust and crud that had collected. Some shots of compressed air and vacuuming cleared it out. I put some new sealant on the coil cover plate to help prevent that in the future.

One of the LH plugs had some serious corrosion... I guess that was the misfiring cylinder?

 

[joegr]

Looks like that one was getting some water in. I would expect it to be #4 or #8.