I think my problem is a failing COP. It's a random miss, only after longer drives 12+ miles. My normal trips to work and round are only 2-5 miles, so that might be the reason it seems random.

So with no MIL, how can I check my coils? I am going to put an ohm meter on them tomorrow, and any that are out of range, must need replacement. Is there a resistance I am looking for?

 

Getting a little upset here, I went out today and looked at the coils. Coolant was under the mark, and I just topped it off Friday. It may have been uneven, so it is not that relative. Coils are a little dusty towards the back, but no water, rust or coolant.

So here's the delima. If I do change the coils out, I will do them all. Motorcrafts are middle of the road price wise, I can pick up MSD $50 cheaper. I will check on Granatelli's tomorrow but I expect they will be $50 more than motorcraft, but they will have thier boots. If the granatellis are available and at the price mark I expect, I think I will go ahead with them and do Denso plugs at the same time.

It looks like a pain to get the rear plugs, any suggestions? I need to get it running right by the middle of next month.

 

You're on a path to spending a lot of money, far more than is required to repair the fault.

Resistance checks will be worthless. If you are indeed experiencing a misfire, the most common reason is an arcing plug boot.

If you're inclined to jump on in and be proactive, I'd recommend that you pick up a set of new Motorcraft plugs ($4 each), a set of plug boots with springs ($5 each), and a BIG tube of dielectric grease. Replace the plugs and the boot kits and use a liberal amount of grease in each boot.

There are several detailed threads with instructions on how to replace the plugs. Locate them and follow their hints.

Steve

 

Summit racing sells the accel brand of cops , for the 2v motors under $30.00 , Craig.

 

$5 each? from where? my stealership charged me over $11 each....WITHOUT springs.

 

My Autozone sells the boots with springs for just under $5.

 

Do you have a part number? Is it made by standard?

 

The part number I am finding online is CP003. It states that it is a Duralast part, but I remember seeing the Wells brand name.

 

I bit the bullet, 8 new motorcraft cops and denso plugs.

One boot/plug was bright orange and pilled full of gunk. It still missed until I plugged my laptop in and remembered that injector #4 was still disconnected. It turned out to be much easier than I expected.

On a side note, the stock platnum plugs are not 100K mile plugs, my 8 came out with 0.060-0.072 gap. More side notes, I torqued one comming out, cyl #5 took 23ft/lbs to remove. I put them all back in (with a health dose of neverseaze) and torqued to 11.2-3 foot pounds.

 

I hope those Denso's work out. Most brands don't run good long in these engines for some reason.

 

The mustang people swear by them, I'll now what I think about them eventually. Any case the job is easy enough, I can swap them out later.