I got a 98 5.4 lariat with a butt load of miles. I used to have a 77 but a little tough on the gas milage. Are those individual coil packs on each cylinger? Is there any way I am able to install like an offroad MSD ignition without too much hassle...I'm not very good with these new motors and all this computer stuff....anyone wanna help me out? much appreciated

 

the easiest way to tell if u have cop on each cylinder is pop the hood and look. if there are lil black boxes above each spark plug ( by the fuel rails) then you have them. also if you dont have spark plug wires the you would have them. i dont kno about msd tho you have to wait for someone else... sorry

 

u have two coil packs on urs only mods MSD makes is MSD coil packs which help minimal and MSD DIS 4 systems. which work well

 

Hmmmmmmm I don't like'em. I think im gonna invest in the MSD packs though. ever put a body lift on a ford? holy chit....that sucked! thats the worst mod ive ever put on anything!

 

yeh lol i dont see point... doesnt enable u to go through anything deeper all it is is a body lift ... doesnt increasse ground clearance

 

The 5.4 has always used individual coil packs over each plug...
You have 8 coil packs.

Maybe you should look just to make sure

 

Ya I do have coil packs. The body lift gave me clearance for my 33s. I wish i woulda just saved money for the suspension, makes more sense. What are my main concerns with the coilpacks? anything in perticular i should worry about?

 

Hi.

I believe Mike Troyer (www.troyerperformance.com) can supply a distributor ignition retrofit kit for the COP motors ( both 5.4 ,which has always used COP's, and the 4.6, which used COP's from 2000 + ).

It is not cheap, but will provide the best ignition setup for this mill, and avoid the almost inevitable coil pack problems due to design ( crappy coils and the heat soak they receive due to their location).

You will not be able to avoid the computer control / PCM involvement for the rest of the engine - injectors, MAF, IAC, etc.

Cheers

 

if u cant afford mike troyer stuff heres some ebay listings.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WDVW

but dont pay anymore then 250 for a DIS 4 system. which is what u need for the V8

 

So what should I do about the computer? what are some things I'm most likely going to have a problem with? These maybe dumb questions but hey. Thanks for all the help guys

 

I got a couple more questions. I got maybe 120,000 mi on the driveline and my tranny's tired. What's the best rebuild kit? or should I just buy a new one. I'd rather rebuild but I don't know much about the newer stuff. I shoulda kept my '77

 

u could get a factory tech that likely will never die lol but their not cheap... but id have it rebuilt..

 

I suspect the major reason for COP failure is from the boot alllowing the spark to ark. Most people neglect changing the boot, including the spring wire. Coil on plug ignition is the slickest thing since sliced bread. Just don't neglect it. Ford maintains that you need not change the plug for 100,000 miles but they do not mention the plug wires, or in this case the boot and spring. I have close to 90,000 miles on my coils. No problems yet. I power wash the engine too.

JMC

 

Yeah, this is his idea of "powerwashing" the engine!



Indeed, the majority of the problems come from the boots, not the coils themselves.

I have no idea why you'd want to change out to a distributor with wires. Wires are no less prone to failure than the COP system IMHO.

-Joe

 

i'm sorry to jump into the conversation, but i have a question that i know is probably very very dumb, but i'm still confused after reading your questions and answers...

i have the 4.6 97' V8 with 86000 miles. do i need to get these "cops" or coil packs replaced? what exactly do they do? and would i want to get my spark plugs/boot housing replaced at the same time? would any of these upgrades increase peformance somehow?

im sorry for not knowing exactly whats goin on...still have so much to learn from all you guys!!

thanks for the help,
John