Engine misfire yet again

[Sorainzo1]

Hello, I have a Lincoln LS 2001 V8 and I had the engine serviced some months ago for a misfire in the engine. The misfire caused my mileage to go down to like 8 mpg. But I had it repaired and the mpg went back up to the usual 17 mpg.

Now, there a misfire dealing with, I believe, another cylinder.

Does anyone know what causes a misfire (ignition coil/spark plug brand, using regular gas instead of premium, driving long distances, letting the car idle, etc.) ?

And if it's the ignition coil/spark plug causing the problem, what's the best brand to get, or should I let a mechanic replace the problem?

 

[All2kool]

Hello, I have a Lincoln LS 2001 V8 and I had the engine serviced some months ago for a misfire in the engine. The misfire caused my mileage to go down to like 8 mpg. But I had it repaired and the mpg went back up to the usual 17 mpg.

Now, there a misfire dealing with, I believe, another cylinder.

Does anyone know what causes a misfire (ignition coil/spark plug brand, using regular gas instead of premium, driving long distances, letting the car idle, etc.) ?

And if it's the ignition coil/spark plug causing the problem, what's the best brand to get, or should I let a mechanic replace the problem?

Most times, it's the Coil. Cheap Coils don't last.

I had a misfire on my '96 Town Car and Midas wanted to fix it by selling me a 'Fuel System Service', at a cost of $130. Turns out I had a bad Plug Wire, which when I asked Midas how a 'Fuel System Service' would correct that, I got no response.

A good way to determine if it is indeed a Coil, move the Coil to another Cylinder and see if the misfire moves also.

 

[1LoudLS]

Hello, I have a Lincoln LS 2001 V8 and I had the engine serviced some months ago for a misfire in the engine. The misfire caused my mileage to go down to like 8 mpg. But I had it repaired and the mpg went back up to the usual 17 mpg.

if they didn't replace all of the coils and plugs, you probably have another that is failing...

 

[briasmit91]

I've purchased the coils from Autozone. They're like $50 a piece, most stores have them in stock and they have lifetime warranties. You can't go wrong with the warranty. And spark plugs, I stuck with the NGK. So far so good.

 

[FDR]

they have lifetime warranties. You can't go wrong with the warranty.

Yes, you can go wrong. Warranty on part =/= warranty on the whole affected system. Coil goes bad and causes CEL? New coil, some more damage to the cats. LS experiencing tell-tale lugging, chugging, and funkiness we all know to be caused by a bad coil, but not causing a CEL? Old coil stays, problem gets worse, more damage to cats. Convince retailer to replace coil under warranty? Still extra damage to cats.

At $50/ea one would hope they're OEM-quality that lasts just as long, but there's not really that much guarantee behind that warranty

 

[briasmit91]

From my understanding, the OEM coils are just as questionable as any other set of coils that someone can buy. If I can get a lifetime warranty on a part that is commonly known to go out, that's what I want.

Don't get me wrong, the Motorcraft are similarly priced and I would normally go for factory equipment for any of my vehicles. It's all owner's choice. In my eyes it's all a 50/50 chance for all of them when it comes to reliability.

 

[RigsLS]

... well you are wrong! You'll figure it out eventually.

and it's not that they are "commonly known to go out", just that when a vehicle reaches 10yrs + it needs parts. Coils & Plugs are wear items. OEM's outlast other no name brands.

 

[osmoalec]

For coils I bought the cheapest set in Amazon and got all 8 for like $75. And have had no issues since. If you can just replace all of them in one shot your much better off cause others will follow. Check to make sure plugs arnt fouled. I also used NGK plugs. Don't even consider putting regular gas in your car, you are for sure going to get misfires. Also if you've had miss fire issues check your cats. As noted above bad coils kill cats, but even once you've replaced bad coils a bad cat can give similar symptoms as bad coil. Check this by pulling out O² sensor and go for quick spin. Also when pulling plug check to make sure they have no oil on them, if so replace valve cover gasket. As far as idling it may just be my car but when I first turn my car on the rpms are higher then drop lower after about 10 secs. I find if I put it into gear when rpms are higher then car lags, but if I wait till they drop I'm golden. I don't know if that's a coil related issue or just my car. Lastly as far as having a mechanic do it you can, but it's a pretty simple straight forward job. Good luck

 

[Andrizzle]

I am currently 8 months into brand new plugs and coils (motorcraft) and already have failing coil(s). OEM does not mean they are better, it is luck of the draw - but more people have said Motorcraft is your best bet.

I went 6 years with no name coils, and wish I had just spent money on 8 more of those instead of going with the $40+ each motorcrafts. The coils are garbage. for this car, just buy 10-12 new ones and swap them in and out as they fail until you don't have 8 fully working coils. Then rebuy another 10-12 and repeat.

 

[SoulSoak]

You can go whichever route you please. Most, as well as I, will advise you go with Motorcraft OEM cops. Yes, Andrizzle has a point when it comes down to luck of the draw. Sometimes quality parts fail. But I believe that OEM parts are best for replacements. Vehicles go through extensive R&D before production, and often enough even more after production. They used the parts they used for a reason.

 

[1LoudLS]

with LS coils, there is no guarantee that they will last forever, however it is widely agreed upon that OEM with give you the best probability of going longer with out problems.