Any idea what issue is here?

L

LincolnLS_2013

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About 10 days ago the car started knocking when stopped at a red light. I think it might be misfiring because every 4th second the car would shake/chug noticeably. The engine would be smooth, smooth, smooth, and then *spazz*. Smooth, smooth, smooth, *spazz*.

This was happening off and on in varying degrees for a couple days. Sometimes it went away altogether.

Now as I pulled up into garage, the "check engine" light went on for the first time.

Any idea what could be causing it?

I did an oil change like 500 km ago, worried if maybe the oil was too cheap.

Or could it be the plugs-and-coils? I still haven't change the coils since I bought the vehicle at 79,000 km, and I'm up to 98,750 km right now.
 
Not really enough to go on there. Why don't you get the OBDII code(s) read and report them?
 
coils...


but thats a wild guess(actually you could probably call that an educated guess...), without knowing what the codes are, no one will be able to tell you whats wrong
 
Hey guys, thanks for the responses. I picked up a bluetooth OBD reader today, and it says "Misfire in cylinder 4." I actually have new coils and plugs waiting, I just need to replace them. So if I replace coils and plugs, that should fix the misfire, right?
 
maybe, you may have other problems causing the misfire/coil failure like oil or water in the plug wells. or if it was driven too long on bad coils, it could have damaged the computer, or exhaust...




SOP on Lincoln LS car repair

step one: replace all the coils and plugs
 
I had a mobile mechanic from craigslist come and help me replace the coils and plugs today. Dude was a genius, lots of experience, and he even works on repairs at a Ford dealership now. The driver side was a P.I.T.A. to get at. At one point he had over two feet of extensions going to get into the deep plug on the driver side. As well the last bolt on the coil cover on the passenger side took forever to unscrew; easily 10 to 15 minutes just trying to get that one out.

To make matters worse we ran out of time and had to be places, so he had to switch into turbo mode to do the passenger side, and then close everything up. He even skipped putting back some of the bolts on the cover since it's just decorative anyway, so next time I can do it myself I'm not wasting hours trying to get those out.

Took 3 hours altogether, but would have been 2.5 or less if it wasn't for the hard bolts.

Results? 61,500 miles and probably the first coil change on the vehicle... 3 coils were completely burnt (came out brown instead of black), 2 to 3 others had marks that there's been oil in the cylinder. And the iridium plugs I had installed only 9,000 miles ago were all burnt to a crisp and some were covered in oil.

The good news is that today when I was going up a hill, the vehicle would usually be struggling and working extra hard, but today it was smooth, smooth, smooth. Definitely good to hear.
 
1LoudLS said:
maybe, you may have other problems causing the misfire/coil failure like oil or water in the plug wells. or if it was driven too long on bad coils, it could have damaged the computer, or exhaust...




SOP on Lincoln LS car repair

step one: replace all the coils and plugs
Click to expand...


LOL ... step 2: repeat step 1
 
LincolnLS_2013 said:
I had a mobile mechanic from craigslist come and help me replace the coils and plugs today. Dude was a genius, lots of experience, and he even works on repairs at a Ford dealership now. The driver side was a P.I.T.A. to get at. At one point he had over two feet of extensions going to get into the deep plug on the driver side. As well the last bolt on the coil cover on the passenger side took forever to unscrew; easily 10 to 15 minutes just trying to get that one out.

To make matters worse we ran out of time and had to be places, so he had to switch into turbo mode to do the passenger side, and then close everything up. He even skipped putting back some of the bolts on the cover since it's just decorative anyway, so next time I can do it myself I'm not wasting hours trying to get those out.

Took 3 hours altogether, but would have been 2.5 or less if it wasn't for the hard bolts.

Results? 61,500 miles and probably the first coil change on the vehicle... 3 coils were completely burnt (came out brown instead of black), 2 to 3 others had marks that there's been oil in the cylinder. And the iridium plugs I had installed only 9,000 miles ago were all burnt to a crisp and some were covered in oil.

The good news is that today when I was going up a hill, the vehicle would usually be struggling and working extra hard, but today it was smooth, smooth, smooth. Definitely good to hear.
Click to expand...

Those covers aren't decorative. They keep water out (notice the gasket on the bottom and [per Ford] the instruction to replace the 'seal' at the opening in the rear, where the wiring harness exits the cover). A simple search on replacing the coils would have revealed that the key to successfully and efficiently removing the cover is a 7mm swivel socket. A Ford mechanic should have one of those. With that socket I cut my time to under 2 hours; and that's with normal "skylarking".
 
LincolnLS_2013 said:
... At one point he had over two feet of extensions going to get into the deep plug on the driver side. As well the last bolt on the coil cover on the passenger side took forever to unscrew; easily 10 to 15 minutes just trying to get that one out....
Click to expand...

He didn't know what he was doing, and or he had the wrong tools for the job.
 
LS4me said:
With that socket I cut my time to under 2 hours; and that's with normal "skylarking".
Click to expand...

yep, as an LS owner, there are going to be a couple of key small tools you will want to get that make some of these jobs a lot easier to get done..

a special 7mm wrench for coil changes is definitely one of them. (I also like to tie a small piece of string to the wrench and my wrist so when i drop it, I'm not spending a lot of time trying to find where it landed and fishing it out...)
 
One of the most neglected service items came to mind when you described the initial problem.Apparently it wasn't this,but so many people don't change their fuel filters when they should,and it makes it really hard on the pump and hard to maintain pressure. Just a thought. don-ohio :)^)
 
LincolnLS_2013 said:
I had a mobile mechanic from craigslist come and help me replace the coils and plugs today. Dude was a genius, lots of experience, and he even works on repairs at a Ford dealership now. The driver side was a P.I.T.A. to get at. At one point he had over two feet of extensions going to get into the deep plug on the driver side. As well the last bolt on the coil cover on the passenger side took forever to unscrew; easily 10 to 15 minutes just trying to get that one out.

To make matters worse we ran out of time and had to be places, so he had to switch into turbo mode to do the passenger side, and then close everything up. He even skipped putting back some of the bolts on the cover since it's just decorative anyway, so next time I can do it myself I'm not wasting hours trying to get those out.

Took 3 hours altogether, but would have been 2.5 or less if it wasn't for the hard bolts.

Results? 61,500 miles and probably the first coil change on the vehicle... 3 coils were completely burnt (came out brown instead of black), 2 to 3 others had marks that there's been oil in the cylinder. And the iridium plugs I had installed only 9,000 miles ago were all burnt to a crisp and some were covered in oil.

The good news is that today when I was going up a hill, the vehicle would usually be struggling and working extra hard, but today it was smooth, smooth, smooth. Definitely good to hear.
Click to expand...


Let me tell you right now..I had a side-tree mechanic attempt to change my plugs and coils..he gave up on the driver side because his hands were to huge for the small area..he did lose screws that hold the plastic covers over the coils...this is a big mistake because ever since then when it rains, water indeed runs into the coil area. I have to then remove the coil and plug and dry the well out completely in order to clear the code and run properly. Do not take these little items for granted..that cover has a gasket seal on it that needs all screws to be intact to perform as it was designed.
 
and as I have posted before check the wiper motor to transmission to see if it leaks.mine did and had left bank plugs holes full of clear water
 
no, a shade tree mechanic actually gets something right every once in a while! hahaha J/K
 
Well..he would have been better off sitting his ass on the side of a tree, I think that would have been a less confusing task for him..it irks me to the fullest to have people claim to be good wrench certified..but then they have a horror movie look on their face when my hood opens up and confusion sets in their face..
 
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