Hey gang, I have a question on my daily driver. I figured you guys would know more than anyone.
I got a misfire code on cylinder #2 as I was changing the plugs, the boot came off. I check #4 and the boot came off of that one as well. So, is that normal or do I need to replace both coils?
You can't see it too well, but there is a spring showing on the one on the right. The one on the left is #2. I was able to push it on, but if they aren't supposed to come out like that, I want to replace them. (AT $65 apiece, I would prefer not to.)


I also need to replace the valve cover gasket. Man!
The spark plugs are shot, but they are $2 apiece so that's easy.

 

That one in the middle seems to be different, as far as the boot goes. Maybe it was replaced before you got the car. My 98 has the same type set up, the little spring contacts the output area of the coil. I haven't had one come apart like that yet. Could be you can stuff it back in there and be good to go. Maybe a little RTV to help it stay in there. When you buy these things it's kind of a crapshoot when you opt for the cheap ones. Like condensers they can be bad out of the boChinese). If you have a Haynes manual it will tell you what the values should be when testing the coils. Or do some googling.

 

I think I have it figured out. My brother in law brought over some parts and they do sell the boot off the coil. I will replace those and not the coils.
It could be that I can push it back up and it will be ok. But while I have it all off, I might as well replace the wires and boots. I got the plugs in this evening and need to get the valve cover gasket and another boot.

If all goes well, I will be up and running tomorrow evening. My son just has to figure out how to get to school, since I'm commandeering the truck he usually drives..

There was enough oil in the plug chambers to cause real worry. Now, I should be confident everything is good. I bought this car with 175,000 miles on it and it now has 205,000. The previous owners did a good job of maintaining it.

I'm glad it wasn't something worse. At least on this car I don't have to drop the engine to change the plugs like on some newer cars. I had a van that they moved the engine to get to the 3 plugs on the firewall, crazy.

 

It's common for the boot to stick to the plug over time. What we do to keep from damaging the boots during their next removal is to give them a quick swipe of silicone lube inside before installing. Permatex Brake Caliper Lube does a great job and I find myself using it for many more things than just caliper lube. It doesn't attract dirt like conventional lubes, it doesn't harden (I use it everywhere white lithium used to be called for), doesn't attack rubber or plastic, doesn't conduct electricity, doesn't mix with water and doesn't easily wash away. Comes with a brush on the lid.

 

Good tip CBeav...years ago a friend had a car with similar plug/boot arrangement. He brought it to me to look at since he could not find why the engine would run poorly when it came to temp. I found water in the plug cavity which would vaporize at temp and short out the plug. Had he used some of this lube on the boot the plug would have never shorted.
He later told me that he had power washed the engine which was more than likely the source of the water in the plug cavities.

 

So, a year and a half later and my #2 cylinder is causing problems again.
My boot was very bad, so I replaced it and it is still running rough.

This car has 2 coils for 4 cylinders. Now if I pull the coil over #2 the engine idle changes so it seems #3 is getting spark. If I pull the coil over the other two, the engine dies.

Is it possible for a coil that feeds two cylinders to work for one but not the other? My #2 plug looked great.

 

Is it easy to swap the coils? If you can, that will tell you whether it's a coil or something else.

 

The ford coilover boots ( these are very similar ) are very sensitive to moisture and oil and it appears you have wet boots I would thoroughly clean them as your only issue may be grounding to the block .

 

BJ, I did exactly that this evening and the problem stayed where it was. So the coils are fine.
Ebear, good suggestion. I will look into that the next chance I get. Yes, my #2 coil had deteriorated from oil. I thought I changed the valve cover gasket and its 4 gaskets around the plug holes, but that was over a year ago....

The car is outside and when I was swapping the coils, I thought the hood was going to get ripped off from the wind. I need to move it into the garage for more work.

 

Did you swap the spark plugs. Sometimes a plug looks good but isn’t. If that doesn’t change anything can you swap the plug wire from one to another.