Has anyone else had problems with the 4.6 ignition coils going? I've replaced two now, at a whopping $900 a pop. Now, my Expey is having the same problems as it did with the first two coils...sputtering and missing. I talked with a Ford mechanic who said the 1999-2002 4.6 are notorious for poor ignition coils. He recommended to have all eight replaced, as 70% of the expense I incurred was labor. The coils themselves are somewhere around $150 a piece. My problem is, if Ford knew this was a major problem, why not replace them in a recall? Also, why not recommend to customers up from to replace them all, thereby paying $1400 in one shot rather than $900 each time to replace one coil.

Anyone else having any problems such as this?

 

Talk about price gouging!
Retail on the coils are $110. Labor out of the book with plugs is 2.5hrs.

 

The coils themselves are somewhere around $150 a piece. My problem is, if Ford knew this was a major problem, why not replace them in a recall? Also, why not recommend to customers up from to replace them all, thereby paying $1400 in one shot rather than $900 each time to replace one coil.

Esquire59

I sent you an e-mail. I did not post the name of the vendor I don't know if he is still a supporting(his name is not there anymore) but I got a set sent to my door for $234 for all 8.

 

H.S. and Johnny, I'm pasting my reply on the engine forum for clarification...

I must apologize as this post had some errors in it that you made me realize. I pulled the receipts for both of the coils that I replaced. Both were approximately $900.00 but my wife had agreed to several other service recommendations in the process of approving the deal.

I replaced Coil #2 in July of 2003 for a total of $354.69.

I replaced Coil #4 in June of 2004 for a total of $324.01.

There was quite a bit of fuel filter, air filter, fuel emissions, blah blah blah services included in my originally-stated costs.

The costs of the coils and "assembly" from Ford were $117.55 each. This seems extremely high based on prices of coils that I've seen online (Ebay).

Skillet, you're spot on with the 2.5 hours and the costs of the part. One took 2.5 and the other was 2.8. This seems crazy based on what other people told me with respect to the simplicity of replacing the coils. It makes me wonder if we're talking about something else.

 

This is exactly my argument, Johnny. Why couldn't they have told me to simply replace them all at once. I would have done it rather than spend so much on all eight, eventually. BTW, I didn't get an email. If you'd be kind enough to re-send, try Pacers59@hotmail.com

Many thanks for your time.

 

There's really no reason to replace all the coils at once.
If you get a flat on one tire, do you replace all the tires?

 

For the price and the fact that I had over 150k miles on the original ones I just felt like it was time. I do alot of out of state travel to some remote areas in Louisana. Hell of a place to get stuck.

 

Perfectly understood. I was considering this in the event I elected to have Ford do it for me, get someone in there and replace the remaining six coils. Cut down, significantly, on labor costs. This was recommended to me by a Ford mechanic. He said they'll all eventually go on this particular motor. He said this in May of 2003 when the first went and now I'm on my third replacement coil. Somewhat prophetic...

 

The 4.6 has only 2 coils right.The 5.4 has single coils for each
cylinder.The coils for a 4.6 are only $65 a peice or so.Also if it
is a 5.4 there is a problem of a coolant hose leaking onto a couple
of the plugs on the passenger side and causing it run like crap.

 

Karnage, I don't believe that's the case. I've replaced coils for the #2 and #4 cylinder thus far. I've yet to have the present problem diagnosed but am almost 100% sure its another coil based on exact similarities from the past. I believe the 4.6 has a coil per cylinder as does the 5.4. I'm taking her in on Tuesday so I'll report to y'all. I bought a OEM new-in-the-box COP of ebay for $19.26. Beats the $117.50 the dealer sold me twice.

 

All 5.4 engines have the coil-on-plug design (8 coils).

1997-1999 4.6 engines have two coils, each handling four plugs. These coils are mounted in front of each cylinder head. These engines also use conventional spark plug wires.

2000+ 4.6 engines use a coil-on-plug setup, much like the 5.4.

 

Paul, thanks very much for clearing that up. I wonder why the change was made? If there were only 2 COPs on the entire motor, it'd seem to be much more cost efficient both from the parts and labor standpoint. As stated, I'm taking the Expy in tomorrow so I'll report on the costs.

 

Ended up being the #3 cylinder COP that was bum of my 2001 EB Expy 4.6.

I bought a replacement off OEM, NIB Motorcraft off ebay for a shade under $20.00. Beats the stealership price of $117.50. Since it was a new motorcraft part, my service advisor was kind enough to use it. Labor was $210.

I made the decision to have the dealer do it because I simply don't have the time right now and need some tool upgrades. This is something I'm going to study thoroughly so I'll be prepared the next time to do it myself. I think #8's COP is the only one I won't try because of difficulty getting to and from it.

So I have now replaced COPs #2, 3, and 4. Passenger side of the motor has some issues. I want to sincerely thank everyone for their advice and thoughts!