OIL LEAK & COIL PROBLEMS-, 2004 lincoln LS 6 CYL. HAVE HAD OIL LEAKS SINCE NEW, DEALER FINALLY FIXED THEM AFTER I POINTED OUT THAT I NOTICED THE PVC VALVE TUBE LEAKING. I WAS THEN ADVISED THAT IT WAS A RECALL ITEM, WHICH I HAD NEVER BEEN ADVISED OF? THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS GONE ON AND THEY NOW THEY SAY I NEED A #4 COIL REPLACED? I BELIEVE THE OIL LEAKS MAY HAVE CAUSED THE COIL TO MALFUNCTION ? 26,OOO MILES ON THE CAR. HARRY

You replace the spark plugs with the factory spec
plugs every 3 years

You replace both upstream O2 sensors every 100,000 miles

The COP ignition coils can last 2 years or 8, but they all fail by then

With no experience & me not writing a book here, on how to diagnose,just replace all the coils

Get them from Rock Auto

The codes you get are not much use as they are not accurate
The coils act up in different ways & set all sorts of codes

I have the same car, I bought new

You don't need a shop to work on that issue

You go to Rock Auto.Com & buy about 6 Wells
COP Ignition Coils for about $50 verse $70 at parts store

You only need a 7mm socket to remove the coil covers &
one screw holding any coil you wish to change

I realize you don't have professional tools as I do,or all the
experience with the LS coil issues

I have replaced coils based on a code, which should be PO 301 thru
PO308, not the 355 & letter stuff, although there the same thing, just not
on an LS

I have used scan tool software in Mode #06 to find bad coils

The third & most time consuming way, is what you do & I have had
to do also & the reason the dealers & shops can't resolve the issues
at times

You start with a new coil in the cyl with the PO Code

If you get codes again or many codes & you will,you replace the old
coil & walk the new one to another cyl

Why--because a really bad coil will act up whenever it wants to,once
ever 3 weeks,2 weeks,at every stop light one day & then gone for weeks

I have seen people on this site spend up to $2500 at a dealer with no fix,
when one 50 dollar coil & half hour of your time was the fix

A bad coil will put you into ETC Failsafe & you can't go over 6 mph,that
is the way the system is designed

Better yet- for another $1200 a dealer installs a new throttle body for
no reason ,other than they don't understand the very product they sell
& service

Your in big trouble when an L/S overheats

I guess a repair shop or dealer & good luck

Could be Coolant Contol Valve

I own a 2004 3.9

You ask what the problem is,even though your dealer
appears to have done something,more than most do

Why would you expect someone else to be able to go
to another level

From my experience, you do have a misfire & not
necessarily on #4

The dealer uses different scan tools, than say a repair shop
I use a software program in Mode #06, that works well,idling
& very well on a road test.

That is one car you can seldom go by a code

I haven't seen injector issues, but they can be tested
many ways,just not at home

Spark Plugs will never be an issue

I will assume the engine is sound mechanically
I would rather see a Leak Down Test, than a scanner
compression or whatever they did

For some reason the dealers have issues with these
cars & cop coils,have no idea why,they have 15 years
experience on those systems, across vehicle models

You can not charge an A/C System without first
repairing the leaks,then using a vacuum pump
to pull a deep vacuum.

Can't just add,won't go in well & will leak out &
polute the atmosphere,not legal to do so in north
america

You need trained professional help

It sounds like you need a coil for # 6 cylinder .LS's have a issue with the valve cover seals leaking oil into the spark plug holes and causing a misfire if this is the case you have to replace all the gaskets for the valve covers clean out the oil and might as well do sparkplugs then too. Its more of a dealer repair then. If no oil in that cylinder try replacing coil and spark plug.

Never go to a dealer
If you don't do your own work, stay with the
local repair shop

Your out of warantee a long time ago

You will loose one or two coils a year
They are $59.00 at the auto parts store
One bolt,10 min ,and your done

If you have a V6 and they go bad on the pass side, you have to
remove the upper intake for coils or plugs

Other fords the same. You know what not to buy next
time, or look over the motor first

I have spent $59.00 on my 2004 V8 and others
on this site are up to $4000.00 at a dealer and nothing
fixed,point made.
You need to know the technology and how it works,test
first,not the dealer way,then replace parts if necessary

Hi, I believe I have an answer. I had the same problem; oil leaking onto the coils and spark plugs. My local Ford dealer is fixing my car for free because this problem falls under a warranty. Your car has to be the year of the recall. I found out about it accidentally on the internet looking for answers about the coils and my car stalling. But anyways it's all about the oil leaking in somehow, and usually it's from the valve covers being made of cheap material. Mine are being replaced along with 2 coils, 6 boot covers and 6 new spark plugs. Talk to a dealer, and be tough. You have every right to this recall if it covers your car.

Your cylinders are most likely misfiring because of faulty coils. Each cylinder has its own seperate coil and the coils get oil on them from leaking valve cover gaskets in these cars.

They are relatively easy to replace however.
I would also change the valve cover gaskets if their is oil on any of the coils.

I hope this helps,
AadoubleA

Please don't forget to give me a fixya rating.

I went thru this on my 2002 LS as well.
I replaced one ignition coil at the dealer - only to get the same misfire code on another cylinder. After a little research found out is actuall a gasket/o-ring problem design of the block. Spark plugs are deep in the block - under the oil - which is why they are supposed to last 100,000 miles. But the o-rings start to leak some where between 65k-85k miles. Coils go bad because of oil contamination. If you don't solve leaking oil problem will have to replace coils again - but sooner - because leaking oil will be progressively worse.
Cost - 8 ignition coils
set of spark plugs (who knew they were that expensive
and a ton of cash for the labor to tear down the top of the motor