lincoln ls misfiring issues

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jrdpf17

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hello, just bought a used 2001 ls with 159k on it. I've been really stressed out about it running really rough which it started doing a couple days after I purchased it from a private party.

The check engine light alternates between staying on and flashing. According to the computer it misfires on cylinder 1 and 3. It also says there is a malfunction with the 2nd O2 sensor closest to the catalytic converter. And that there is a lack of bank 1 transistions - lean explanation, ECM detected bank 1 02 at its lean limits.

Alright here is what I am really worried about. The car definately has a funny smell. I am really concerned that this could be a head gasket issue. Im not sure that I can give a really great description on exactly what the smell is.

There has not been any real white smoke coming out the tailpipe though. it just has an odd smell. maybe its oil. It does seem to be losing coolant.

I have taken it to a mechanic and he seemed to think it was a head gasket issue. But I am not sure that he's right.

So, my question to anyone who may want to help me out is, could this just be a coil issue? Would a problem with the coils cause it to smell funny? I guess when the guy went in there he said that water was in there. I am going to call him on monday and try and get a better description maybe.

Hope someone responds. hope i am detailed in some way, probably lacking. let me know. thanks.
 
first off... you should search.... There are ALOT of threads about this stuff.

Might as well replace all your coils. It needs to be done.

Replace 02 sensor.

You might have to replace VC (valve cover) gaskets if there is oil on the coils.

Cat might be going out.

-- Replace coils and O2's and then go from there.
 
thanks for the response. I will look into this first. hopefully it may just be this problem. any other opinions would be appreciated. I will continue to read through the previous threads until I have read them all.
 
i would replace your coils, plugs, and gaskets on the side that 1 and 3 are on and probably replace your rear 02 sensors as well. Then see what happens from there. You would benefit from replacing all your coils and plugs though seeing the milage on the car.
 
I dont think it actually is losing coolant it just seems to expand when i drive and then settles to a lower level. not completely certain yet.

also the guy that told me it was a blown head gasket filled the overflow tank to completely full (to the cap). I think i should empty it some so that it doesn't explode under expansion.

it skips a lot. i may just do those coils tomorrow. i'm just a bit nervous though because i dont want to replace them and find out its the head thats bad.

the engine is a v8 and i really notice the engine skipping at idle, (sometimes a lot, sometimes barely noticeable) and especially at 45 50 mph.

will call that guy who took a look at the plugs tomorrow to get a good description of what he saw. hopefully he's mistaken. thanks for the replies.
 
went to get it looked at again by the guy who looked at it on friday (diagnosed a head gasket problem), and he said that their was no oil in the spark plug wells. just a little bit of water.

anyway so it was running poorly and smelling a bit until he reset the computer. now it runs fine. i drove it around to try and get it to throw some codes again, so he could see exactly what the problem was, and it never did. it's running fine. it's not perfect it still stutters around 50 and its not completely seemless like a brand new car, but it's not bad at all.

Also, it was getting different codes each time it was read, sometimes it would say misfire on cylinder 1 and 3, sometimes just one, and sometimes just 3. On this particular morning (before it was reset) it was misfiring on 1 and it also said the catalytic converter was at its limits or something. When I checked it at auto zone earlier last week i got misfire on 1 and 3. And when he checked it on friday, it was just 3.

Maybe it will be fine from here on? Very annoying. The service records indicate it has been having this problem throughout its life. misfires with various solutions ranging from replacing coils to the spark plugs and also at one point the air intake managed air assembly was cracked and letting unmetered air through. A valve cover gasket was replaced at 118k.
 
also, an 02 sensor was replaced at 123k. it doesn't say which one.
 
I really had no idea what i was talking about when I started this thread, as anyone who may have read the previous posts would see. Didn't help taking it to someone who didn't know or care about what my problem was.

Thinking it was a blown head gasket he put block sealer in the coolant. do i need to do a coolant flush. he said it wasn't that much and it was special stuff only available to radiator techs. yeah right? said the company was gando. i couldn't find it. anyway...

After replacing the 1 and 3 coil, i don't have any misfires and rarely get the stutter i was experiencing. Although I am now getting the 0420 code each time the engine light comes on. I just replaced the gas cap today as it was damaged.

When I changed the coils i noticed that the plastic cover piece thats held on by the hex bolts is only really being held on by 1. all of the other bolts come out with the piece that is supposed to be holding it on. also it seemed to be somewhat rusty in where the coils and plugs are. I guess I need to clean this area. what might i clean it with? are there any dangers to avoid or damage that could be caused in cleaning it? how might i re anchor these bolts that are no longer serving any purpose since the are not attached to the engine anymore? super glue?

I wonder what the drivers side looks like.
 
Those of us who are using HP aftermarket coils have no choice and must just leave the coil covers off. If you use Accel coils and also use the boots that come with them, there's a raised area at the top of the boot that seals the plug hole. A clean-up is always good.
KS
 
you need to be SURE there was no oil in the plug wells or you'll be buying new coils real soon. ask for the old ones to see (and make sure he actually replaced them) if you're still getting "stutter" then you're probably not done replacing coils. if you find oil, replace the valve cover gasket.

did this guy break the coil cover (plastic piece on valve cover) or was it like that already? just get more bolts (bring the good one to make sure you match it right) and bolt that thing on properly. DONT use super glue. your coils rely on that cover to keep moisture out. the soft seal on the backside of the cover does this job.

you need to be patient working on the driver side as theres a lot of stuff in the way. you'll need a ratchet extension that swivels and you should not have to take anything else on the car apart when removing the coil cover.

you may be able to clean off your O2 sensor with some carb cleaner. it probably got fowled by rich condition thanks to your coils not firing.
 
thanks for the replies.

yeah, i wasn't going to super glue the whole cover back on. i'm talking about the little piece that each bolt screws into. they should be joined to what is under the plastic cover. i want to call them the bolt anchors.

I don't know if he broke it or what, but when i took it off only one of the bolts had an anchor that was actually attached to the engine. all the others didn't screw out at all because the anchor was turning also. so, only one bolt is holding the cover on. its the anchors that are broken, probably from taking the stupid cover off so many times. maybe they unscrew with the screw if the engine is hot?

i found both these suggestions helpful.
 
probably what happened to you is what's happening to me: your coils are going, whether by oil leaking from the VCG or just due to long life, and that in turn is causing misfires which in turn is pushing rich fuel to your cats, thus producing the P0420 code. engine shaking / bad acceleration = coils, bad smell / lower mpg = cats running to rich. i would take the advice given here: replace all 8 coils, all 8 spark plugs, both VCGs, clean the coil wells with brake cleaner or equivalent, clear the CEL and drive around for a couple weeks and see if that clears up your other issues related to the cats. 99% chance it will. i am about to start this repair process myself next month when i've got the $$. until it's completely fixed, we're basically throwing money away on each tank of gas.
 
i can relate steagle. thanks for the info. i was coming to this conclusion after reading a bit. im getting a lot better mileage after replacing the two coils but i know there are still problems there with the coils and plugs. im getting around 18 now. i haven't seen the drivers side yet. im going to clean it out in the next couple days, and hopefully over the next few weeks i can replace most of this stuff as needed. let me know how it goes with you.
 
i average 14-15 city. i know some has to do with the 20"s and the stop-and-go nature of LA driving but i know a lot of it has to do with the coils. with gas so expensive out here now (last i checked it was $4.50), it's really in our best interests to keep these cars running healthy.

good luck with your repairs and yeah, some time next month i'll report back with mine. i'm doing everything at once - i don't like to piecemeal this stuff.
 
Im having problems with my 2001 lincoln ls I ve changed almost all the ignition coils and it says theres still a misfire on cylinder 3 which I already changed. Does anyone know what is happening??
 
Here we go again.......

Replace ALL the coils and ALL plugs.....
 
ecr_8 said:
Im having problems with my 2001 lincoln ls I ve changed almost all the ignition coils and it says theres still a misfire on cylinder 3 which I already changed. Does anyone know what is happening??
Click to expand...

Did you change the spark plugs too?
Did you verify the plug gap?
Which coils haven't you changed?
(You really should change all coils and all plugs at the same time.)
Did you check that the #3 fuel injector connector was fully seated?
There are different codes for misfire. What is the exact code that you are getting?
V8 or V6? Do you know for sure which is #3?
 
One other thing to be aware of that happened to me... Do you hear any clacking sounds coming from the front of the valve covers? If so your secondary timing chain tensioner may have gone bad (the original ones were made of plastic) and you may have jumped a tooth or two which will cause it to run rough as well.
 
ecr_8 said:
Yeah its says cylinder 3 misfire. Code p0303. V8.
Click to expand...

P0303 can be triggered for any reason that the cylinder doesn't fire (unlike P0353). It could be secondary fault of the coil, a bad spark plug, a bad fuel injector, bad connector or wiring to the fuel injector, or even a PCM fault. It could also be a valve or other issue. The PCM makes it's best guess about which cylinder is misfiring. If you haven't replaced all the plugs and all the coils (at the same time), it could be coming from another cylinder instead.
#3 is the next one over from the one closest (#4) to the firewall on the passenger side.
 

Like so, as joe explains above.

engine2.jpg

(don't mind #1 being black in color)

engine2.jpg
 
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