How long are the coil packs rated for? And, even more importantly, what has been the _actual_ life of these things? And for the true gearheads out there: Are these things better than the tried and true distributer? Having no moving parts can be a good thing but...

At $55 a whack, I sure don't look forward to replacing those coils!

 

HI!... Well my truck is about 3 years old now and I'm pretty hard on it. I've still got all my origanal coil packs. They seem to work pretty well. At least when I do a tune up all I need to do is a oil change and change spark plugs. Not a cap, rotor, and plug wires.

 

i bought my truck used in Jan and in Mar had to replace the #8 coil (rear-most passenger side). Was told it was a fairly common one to replace cuz the condensate from the A/C or some-such drips right on top of that one... but other than that one, no problems w/ the coils. Am doing the plugs now and was wondering if they should be replaced the next time i chg plugs. I so far have not seen anything that speaks of the life expectancy of these gizmos.

 

I just figure this is a part that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I'd suspect that if there is a problem with one, the ol' Check Engine light will come on and give you a code to find and replace the problem coil. I think I saw in a Chilton manual, that they have a code for each cylinder and that would point you right to the defective one. Dunno for sure, but that's my theory.......

Just handle them with care when changing the plugs, and I'd bet these things will last the life of the motor.

 

I have had to replace 2 of these buggers in the last two years. And it wasn't cheap going through Ford. How can you find out the error code without going to Ford? Where do you look the code up once you have it?

 

Quote: " How can you find out the error code without going to Ford? "Where do you look the code up once you have it?

The code that would be pulled is a misfire on Cylinder xxxx. You can cross-reference codes in Chiltons or Haynes manuals. There is a simple test you can do with you VOM or Volt Ohm Meter for the non-techies. Step by step instructions are available in the manuals on performing this test.

I have only had one go out since purchasing in Late 96. Wouldn't you know it. It was the #1 coil buried in the far back.

 

Thanx for the reply Throttle. Hopefully this is the last time it will happen.