My '05 F-150, 5.4 with 160,436 on the clock and ticking from the cam phasers. The damned thing keeps eating various COPS. My mechanic brother has the right code reader to let me know which COP has a problem and needs replaced.
China made, American made, doesn't make a difference, they all fail at an alarmingly rapid rate. Frankly, I'm getting tired of having to spend money to replace something that should last more than just a few months, should last years, right?
Any suggestions?

 

Replace your plugs, you probably have excessive gap which puts a strain on the cop. Motorcraft SP546.

Make sure this isn't the ticking!

 

Nah, my brother put his code reader on my engine, #5 cylinder has a vacuum leak nothing related to the coils.

 

How does a code reader tell you that a specific cylinder has a vacuum leak? Not possible. What was the numeric P-code?

 

WTF? Your brother is a mechanic with a code reader?

 

Wow, wonder how that works to point to a vacuum leak at just one cylinder? There are no individual cylinder vacuum sensors to generate a code so there is no such code to read.

Just for curiosity sake, what code was or is it?