Rubber Tube Taped to Coil?

[Elemino]

Can someone tell me what this tube stuck to my coil is for?

Just bought this car two weeks ago. I replaced the spark plugs today, and this is one of the several interesting things I've found.

 

[joegr]

That's not factory, so there's no telling what happened, or why it's there.

 

[centason]

That's not factory, so there's no telling what happened, or why it's there.

Agreed. That is a hack job at best. Take it off and see what it looks like underneath. Then put the COP back in and start the car.

 

[Mr.Howie]

Without looking under the rubber piece, it is either a factory opps surprise or a rigged up something to keep the coil connector connected. Check the coil connector & pigtail. You can still buy them if the latch is broken.

 

[myfirstlincoln]

Is the bolt that holds the coil down broken? If it is, that is on top to hold the coil down. When I changed my plugs/coils a while ago, the previous owner had broken the bolt off that holds the coil down to the valve cover. since there was no way to keep the coil in place, he put a piece of rubber on top of a coil to basically pinch it between the coil covers and hold it down. If that piece of rubber isn't there, theres a small gap between the coil and coil cover and the coil isn't secure then and could "walk" and then there wouldn't be a good connection on the plug. Hope that makes sense. Although my previous owner used the trick, he at least cut the rubber and siliconed it to the top of the coil so it didn't look nearly as bad as that.

 

[Elemino]

Is the bolt that holds the coil down broken? If it is, that is on top to hold the coil down. When I changed my plugs/coils a while ago, the previous owner had broken the bolt off that holds the coil down to the valve cover. since there was no way to keep the coil in place, he put a piece of rubber on top of a coil to basically pinch it between the coil covers and hold it down. If that piece of rubber isn't there, theres a small gap between the coil and coil cover and the coil isn't secure then and could "walk" and then there wouldn't be a good connection on the plug. Hope that makes sense. Although my previous owner used the trick, he at least cut the rubber and siliconed it to the top of the coil so it didn't look nearly as bad as that.

That actually makes sense. The bolt for this coil took some convincing to make it go in all the way. When I took the cover off, one of the things I noticed was the bolt wasn't all the way in.

Thanks!

BTW... on the Passenger side of the vehicle, I have 4 coils that don't belong to the LS... I'm not sure what they typically fit, but not this car. Look at this pic.

 

[Elemino]

I wonder if this would explain the strange 2nd to 3rd gear shift.

 

[BlackLS06]

Wow...grab yourself a set of visteon coils.

Thats one hell of a hack job.

 

[myfirstlincoln]

The 2-3 shift in these cars is pretty odd unless you get a tune but the first thing I would do if I were you is replace the coils and plugs and clean up that mess. Also, check the rest of the car for repairs like this - if it was done once, I would bet (unfortunately) that there are a couple other repairs that are hack jobs. Rather find it now than when you're out on the road...

 

[Elemino]

Wow...grab yourself a set of visteon coils.

Thats one hell of a hack job.

Are the visteon coils better than the Motorcraft coils?

 

[Elemino]

The 2-3 shift in these cars is pretty odd unless you get a tune but the first thing I would do if I were you is replace the coils and plugs and clean up that mess. Also, check the rest of the car for repairs like this - if it was done once, I would bet (unfortunately) that there are a couple other repairs that are hack jobs. Rather find it now than when you're out on the road...

What kind of tune would you have to get? It's pretty odd. Half way through the shift, it seems to lose power for a split second and then it abruptly drops into third.

There are a lot of repairs on my list. A lot of small stuff I didn't notice when I first bought the car. (The power locks are driving me crazy!) I replaced the plugs yesterday when I took these pics. The plugs I pulled were fairly new Autolites... The cheap ones like they sell at WalMart. I installed NGK Iridium IX plugs, and it not only got rid of the rough idle, but the car seems to want to pull a lot harder now. I'm very happy with my performance increase, but more importantly it starts and idles as it should.

Now to replace my 4 step coils and get the tranny shifting properly, and I'll be happy.

 

[Elemino]

Just curious, does anyone know where to get the bolts for the coils and coil covers? I'm missing 6 cover bolts, and the 4 step coils don't have bolts.

 

[Elemino]

Oh.. and the Passenger side is missing two of those brass inserts the bolts thread into.

 

[LS4me]

I wonder if this would explain the strange 2nd to 3rd gear shift.

The 2-3 shift is the worst for the transmission to accomplish. Both units (the OD unit and the transmission) are shifting at the same time.

Yes, the LS transmission is a 3-speed unit with an overdrive. Each gear can be "overdriven" as such the trans is really a 6-speed. One of the 6 ratios is so close the other (I don't remember which) it is useless. That's why we have 5 forward gears/ratios.

 

[TooManyToys]

Somebody has been using Farm Technology. It looks like that rubber tube in on the sparkplug end of your boot, guessing it was an attempt to stop oil fouling from leaky valve cover gaskets.

If you are missing the brass inserts, unless you use some woodworking or industrial supply equivalent your stuck getting new or used valve covers. From the dealer will cost you between $150 to $206 each depending on your discount.

These are examples from McMaster, but you need to be careful in working on the valve cover as to not create more of a problem then you are trying to fix.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#steel-tee-nut-inserts/=gm9xcw

The screws for the ignition covers are 5mmx12mm, the ones for the sparkplug COP are 5mmx20mm. These could be available at the dealer if the parts guy wants to bother with you. If you're also buying covers they will.

 

[Shredicus]

Sometimes resetting the saved memory of the ECU can help with the shifts. The car adapts to your driving style an if the previous owner drove too "calmly" it may not respond as well to more aggressive acceleration. Disconnect the battery and let it sit overnight, next time you drive it drive a little more aggressively and it may help it adapt better.

 

[BlackLS06]

Are the visteon coils better than the Motorcraft coils?

I would say they are better. They cost $180 for the set of 8 and seem to last. Everyone on here who has used them has had great results.

 

[Elemino]

Sometimes resetting the saved memory of the ECU can help with the shifts. The car adapts to your driving style an if the previous owner drove too "calmly" it may not respond as well to more aggressive acceleration. Disconnect the battery and let it sit overnight, next time you drive it drive a little more aggressively and it may help it adapt better.

I tried disconnecting it for about an hour. I thought that might have done something. It doesn't struggle as much during light acceleration or heavy... only during regular acceleration. Maybe disconnecting it overnight might do more, but it doesn't seem to be a problem learned by the computer. The 1-2 shift is very rough as well.

I would say they are better. They cost $180 for the set of 8 and seem to last. Everyone on here who has used them has had great results.

Thanks for the info, I may just pick up a full set and replace all 8.

 

[Shredicus]

I would say they are better. They cost $180 for the set of 8 and seem to last. Everyone on here who has used them has had great results.

Im getting ready to pop a set of 8 visteons in tonight and I've heard nothing but good things about them. Just out of curiosity has anyone reported their visteons failing like the motorcraft coils do?