Coil packs and plugs

[Beejmac]

Have the tariffs on auto parts kicked in? My '06 5.4 L E250 is nearing 100,000 Miles. I know it needs new plugs per schedule. Are all 8 coil packs exchanged as well? Seems there is a lot about bad coil packs online. Is the recommendation still Motorcraft? What should one expect to pay for coil packs as prices vary widely?
Regards, BJM

 

[BrianW.]

My 1998 5.4 was 22 years old with 117k miles when I sold it in 2020 and never had a coil pack go bad. I did replace the plugs (dealer) at around 90k, probably 2018ish, and it was around $450 IIRC.

 

[carringb]

Motorcraft, Denso, NGK, or NAPA Echlin (but not NAPA Proformer) are all good.

Parts house grade (ProFormer, Duralast etc) work fine but don’t last near as long.

Aftermarket voltage increasing coils (Accel) have the shortest life.

Typically the factory coils are good well longer than 100,000 miles, unless they’ve been damaged by water entering the coil wells due to bad boots (which should be changed at that age).

 

[deserteagle56]

Just don't buy your coil packs and spark plugs on line from Ebay or Amazon if the price is much cheaper than what you would have to pay at the local Ford dealer! The counterfeit ignition parts business on line is huge! These things look genuine and are packaged in what appears to be genuine OEM packaging - but the material they are made of is crap. I wasn't aware of the counterfeit problems and got burned big time..."Genuine OEM Motorcraft spark plugs" I bought on line and installed in my F150 had the center electrodes melted away within 2000 miles.

https://www.fordedgeforum.com/topic/28334-how-to-spot-fake-motorcraft-parts/

 

[86Scotty]

It's expensive to replace all coil packs if not needed. If you are doing plugs then get a tube of dielectric grease and the coil boots only, just a couple bucks each. Google the procedure for testing your coil packs with a multimeter. It's simple. Just test them all and replace the boots and heavily grease both sides of each boot.

I've done this on several vans and never touched them again.

Motorcraft are 3.46/per on RockAuto.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...gnition,spark+plug+/+ignition+coil+boot,10150

 

[Beejmac]

Thanks for the advice.
BJM

 

[moorefc]

Have the tariffs on auto parts kicked in? My '06 5.4 L E250 is nearing 100,000 Miles. I know it needs new plugs per schedule. Are all 8 coil packs exchanged as well? Seems there is a lot about bad coil packs online. Is the recommendation still Motorcraft? What should one expect to pay for coil packs as prices vary widely?
Regards, BJM

Lots of info on ford-trucks, but sticking with motorcraft plugs. Look at the coils and boots. Maybe replace boots with napa or quality if looking aged or tracks, etc. Judicious silicon grease. JWA has a good related tutorial #8 5.4 Cylinder COP/Plug Change - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums
If running fine, coils should be good...buy from dealer, and I've had good luck with Rockauto...Plugs are cheap.
Work very clean in terms of cleaning out the area, then the plug holes after pulling the boots. You shouldn't have issues with fuel rail interference...
Counterfeits are very available on ebay and the jungle...

 

[Steve_382]

I had one coil go bad at about 100,000 miles and just replaced the bad one. Another one went bad about 10,000 miles later so I just had them replace all of them on my V10. It's not just the cost, but the hassle of having them go bad while you are on a trip, etc. Knock on wood, they have been fine since then and I'm almost at 200,000 miles now.

 

[moorefc]

From looking at reports in Ford Trucks forums many times a bad plug is due to the boot, contamination/arcing.....FWIW. Of course an easy path is to shotgun it....Years ago, I found a couple boots that had ingested moisture causing issues...Plug spring corrosion...
Cheers

 

[Beejmac]

Have the tariffs on auto parts kicked in? My '06 5.4 L E250 is nearing 100,000 Miles. I know it needs new plugs per schedule. Are all 8 coil packs exchanged as well? Seems there is a lot about bad coil packs online. Is the recommendation still Motorcraft? What should one expect to pay for coil packs as prices vary widely?
Regards, BJM

Got it back together turned it on developed the hose leak from the fan. Leaking green fluid. It looks like a high-pressure hose. Not sure if it’s coolant or Freon.

 

[moorefc]

What did you replace?

 

[Beejmac]

Plugs, coil boots. Hose got thrashed by fan blades.

 

[86Scotty]

Most likely coolant. Need more info.

 

[Beejmac]

See pic in previous post. Pretty sure it’s radiator coolant. Just never saw fluorescing chartreuse fluid like this stuff. I thought it was Freon dye or something. Now I have to figure out how to get the hose out. Very poor access.

 

[Beejmac]

followed line and I see “A/C hose” printed on it. Just have to find the other end of it.

 

[86Scotty]

That's definitely an AC hose. I'm not sure I understand though. Did you cut a rubber part of the hose? Leak from a fitting? Either way bad news as the system will need to be professionally evacuated and charged.

 

[Beejmac]

Hose came in contact with fan and ruptured. Can I drive to repair shop?

 

[kbeefy]

Yes, you can drive it. The compressor shouldn't come on if your pressure switches are functioning properly. You could unplug the compressor or remove the fuse just to be sure, but I wouldn't bother.

 

[Beejmac]

Well got the compressor out, bit of a struggle. Hope the hose can be replaced. Although any recommendations on replacing the compressor while it is out?

 

[kbeefy]

I figured you would just pull the line.

Not sure about compressor sources, I used to get mine from 1800radiator but I think you need a commercial account.