LS8 Coil question.

[nick88]

Will the CEL always come on when u have a coil failing? If it always does i think my tranny is slipping because it sometimes jerks but only once in a while. And my CEL has never came on. Thanks for the help.

 

[NYC LS8]

You don't usually get a CEL for a coil until it's completely dead unfortunately. Some here have said you'll get a blinking CEL when accelerating with a bad coil, but I've not experienced that with the two that have gone while I've owned the car - it would come on and stay on.

If you have a CEL, take it to AutoZone and they'll check the code for free.

 

[nick88]

My CEL isn't on. Should take it to the shop to see which coil is failing or just replace them all? $140 on ebay

 

[NYC LS8]

Up to you. I have mine done one at a time since they're covered for 10 years/100k by Ford.

 

[Gus_Mahn]

Up to you. I have mine done one at a time since they're covered for 10 years/100k by Ford.

My dealer told me it's a one time only customer satisfaction warranty whether you get one or all eight. I just lost 2 coils at 83,000 miles on my '03 LS8. I bought them out of pocket because of what I was told. I was planning on waiting 'till I have four dead coils or 99,999 miles before I warranty mine. If it's not one time, I'm just wasting my money.

The car was bucking like crazy with the first coil failure. I did get a ETC failure notification on the message center but no check engine light. While it said ETC failure, the car would only go 40mph. It would get better with a restart. I've read that the coil breakdown on cylinders 3 or 4 can cause the computer to error like the ETC has failed. I changed coil #3. There was still an occasional miss. The miss got really bad on the expressway and the check engine light did come on. It set a code for cylinder #1 misfire. So that one got replaced. It's been fine for the last 500 miles. I'm actually hoping for two more to go bad, so I'll have all new ones on the car. Hopefully the new ones have superceded the '03 coils and improvements in durability have been made.

 

[NYC LS8]

That sucks. I've had the car back twice, each time for a dead coil. They've so far replaced both valve cover gaskets, 2 coils, 3 or 4 coil boots and 2 or 3 plugs.

I guess I'll find out if they turn me away the next time I go back.

 

[glanga]

The recall notice that consumers got was different than the recall notice dealerships received. According to the one consumers received, all 8 coils, valve cover gaskets, and wiper seal are supposed to be replaced one time only. According to the dealership notice, they are only supposed to replace the only the faulty coils, valve cover gaskets, and wiper seal.

A flashing CEL light is a universal OBDII misfire signal. Once a coil is completely dead it will throw a static CEL light for which you can pull the code. If you suspect a faulty coil though, you can try requesting a ride a long with a technician where they monitor real time engine conditions and detect which coils are dead or on their way out without a CEL being on.


The coil quality was never the problem. The problem was faulty valve cover gaskets that leaked oil into them causing failure.

 

[Gus_Mahn]

The coil quality was never the problem. The problem was faulty valve cover gaskets that leaked oil into them causing failure.

I haven't had the driver's side apart yet, but there was no oil on the passenger side where my coils failed. Misfires caused by bad Ford COP are pretty common. I would say the quality of Ford COP's is less than it should be. Problems are worse on LS's because of the valve cover leaks.

 

[lseguy]

I have a 2002 V8. My coil stumbled randomly for about 6 months before it became routine enough for me to investigate. Changed them all with ebay units. Never did get a solid CEL..I did get one flash for 1 second one day. Went home, checked for codes, and sure enough..a code was stored for a failing coil. After changing them all...no more problems

 

[glanga]

Coils have failed in every car I've owned. From Densos to Motorcrafts. The LS only more so because of the oil leakage.

 

[steagle]

My CEL isn't on. Should take it to the shop to see which coil is failing or just replace them all? $140 on ebay

$152 (actual price w/ shipping) is a small price to pay for the peace of mind of not having to deal with recurring coil issues, like many members here have gone through as they replace 1 at a time at their dealerships. sure you may only have one failed coil shown on your CEL, but you probably have other failing coils too. the best thing you can do is get all 8 coils, 8 spark plugs and both left and right VCG's swapped all at once. it's more expensive, but again, you're saving yourself from the headache of having to deal with this problem more times in the immediate future.

get the coils cheap on ebay, get the plugs & VCG's from Max at Five Star Ford (advertisement to the right of this page). if it turns out the VCG's are fine and not leaking, you can send them back to Max for a refund. this is exactly what i'm doing right now to fix the same problem in my LS. already have the coils & plugs, now just waiting on the VCG's.

 

[2000 LS]

What do the valve cover gaskets cost? I think I am going to need to get them, I have noticed that after the car warms up I see smoke coming from under the hood. Opened the hood and it looks like the smoke is coming from below, maybe leaking from the valve cover gasket and leaking onto the exhaust.

I also opened the oil fill after I turned the car off and noticed smoke coming from out of there too, im not sure but is that normal?

 

[gcwimmer]

What do the valve cover gaskets cost? I think I am going to need to get them, I have noticed that after the car warms up I see smoke coming from under the hood. Opened the hood and it looks like the smoke is coming from below, maybe leaking from the valve cover gasket and leaking onto the exhaust.

I also opened the oil fill after I turned the car off and noticed smoke coming from out of there too, im not sure but is that normal?

Call MAXX at Five Star Ford for parts and price =======>