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?

 

Hi,
You are talking about the COP's, correct? They are held on by one little bolt(each)and plugged in to the wiring harness that runs parallel to the fuel rail. I hope you're joking and did not spend over $700 on labor to change these things as it takes all of two minutes to do one, even on a full size Ford van where there is NO ROOM. Trust me, I know, I just did the plugs on the wife's work van which has a V10, and we also have a 02 5.4 Screw which has infinitely more room to work. If you are joking, I guess that makes me a sucker, if you're not than...............

 

"Has anyone else had problems with the 4.6 ignition coils going? I've replaced two now, at a whopping $900 a pop"

I hope that mechanic at least took you to you dinner and a movie before he screwed you like that.

You can buy all 8 quality replacment COPs, from Troyer Performance, for under $300. You can replace them yourself. If feel you can't DON'T PAY a mechanic more than 1 hour labor rate to replace all 8.

Good Luck,
Bill

 

I have a 2000 F150 with the 4.6 engine. I have had no problems with the coils and have 87000 miles on the truck. I pulled the coils when I changed the plugs a couple of months ago. They were not too bad to get off/on. An hour to an hour and a half to change all eight would be about right.

 

Gentlemen, 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). Is this accurate?

Olgzr / Bill, if you don't mind me asking (or anyone else for that matter), how did you pull the coils? A link would be grand! I would like to go ahead and replace the remaining six. My engine is performing pretty poor right now, rough idle and basically skipping during acceleration. This is precisely how it performed before the #s 2 & 4 coils were replaced.

To answer another question, I honestly don't know if I'm talking about "COPs" or not? The Ford Service receipts list "Coil & Boot Asy-Ig" parts #s 1L2Z-12029-AA & 3W7Z-12029-AA. Hope this helps?

I've changed many a sparkplug in my lifetime but really have no clue about checking the coils. Is this something that a novice mechanic could do himself? I'm not going to even pretend to be very skilled in maintenance, but I'm a quick learner and have done a good deal of relatively easy maintenance on my Fords.

A thousand thank you's in advance for your help. I hope to extend the courtesies.

 

Is this something that a novice mechanic could do himself?

Yes. I am not by any means a mechanic. But do to nessecity (sp) and getting tired of being raped to have work done by Ford or other shops, I do all my own work now. I must be doing it right I got 167k on my 99.

To change the coil packs all you need a 10mm swivel socket (might be 8 I forget) and some patients. There are a couple of the coil pack bolts that are not fun. Do the plugs while you are there to save you alot of hassle later.

I also would recomend getting a Haynes Manual. They have real good step by step instructions on any repair you would want to make. The book saved me $400 when I changed my upper control arms.

Good luck and may the force be with you.

 

If it costs 900 dollars to change coils, then I'm in the wrong line of work. That's highway robbery!

 

As Johnny A said, remove the bolt, press in on the lock tab on the connector and pull it off, then the COP can be pulled up and out of the spark plug hole. Both the connector and the COP can be tight so you might have to wiggle as you pull them. Practice on the passenger front one as it is the easiest to get to.

 

Thank you all again, and I am talking about the COPs. Further research taught me that. It seems like they're not that difficult to change which really makes me question why both COPs that were changed took 2.5 hours EACH?

 

He prob took the fuel rails off and had problems with them, then put them back on after each coil pack.

 

Replacement coils can be had at Checker or Autozone for around $58 each.

 

I just ordered 8 COPs from Troyer Performance. UPS says they will be showing up at my door today. They cost me $200 for all of them. They are OEM replacements.

 

Thanks for the info on Troyer, McNab. I just bought one OEM in the box off ebay for $19.20. My service engine light finally came on today so I should be able to get the code now and find out which cylinder it is.

Am I correct that cylinders 1-4 are on the passenger's side of the motor 1 being the front and 4 being the rearmost? 5-8 being on the driver's side?

 

You are correct, Sir. (Ed McMahon)

 

I just installed the ones I got from Troyer today. They are identical to the one I paid $115 for at the Ford dealer a few months ago.