How much did this cost you? I hope it's a coil over plug and not the transmission. I did tow a travel trailer once with the 07, but that was in 2008. Most of the towing was done in our previous 2003 Expy. I'm not sure if I want to invest in a scan tool at this time.
Assuming it's the COP, anyone know how much this would cost at the dealer to replace?

 

This is actually beginning to sound bit like a fuel problem to me now. Does it feel like it's starving for fuel? Does the engine begin to stall?

 

BigBadBob, Dealer charged me $89.95 to perform "Multi Point Inspection" and diagnose, $97.21 for the COP and $105 for the labor. With tax and all the other charges for "supplies" it came to $320.82. Cheaper than a new transmission, but expensive to read a code and replace a COP. My local Advance Auto Parts will scan codes and diagnose for free. Just found that out a few weeks ago. Also the COP was on cylinder #1, right in the front. Would have been an easy repair.

 

Did your check engine light ever come on?

 

Nope. Never had a check engine light, which was working, when I had the COP start failing.

 

I wonder if the the typical code checker would have picked this up. I am not sure if the light comes on when all codes are thrown or how that works. COPs are really easy to replace.

 

Tim,
My check engine light has never came on. It doesn't feel like it's starving for fuel. In fact, I changed the fuel filter and had the injectors cleaned when it had around 70,000 miles. When driving it on the interstate the other day, it never actually stalled on me, rpms never dropped. Gas mileage according to the insturment cluster is about the same, no major drop there.

Rgilbert,
That is expensive, but that's expected from the dealer. At times I want to take it to a one of those "hole in the wall" mechanic shops, but I really don't trust them. I wasn't aware that Advance Auto Parts would scan it for free. I'll give them a call.

I wanted to point out that it's actually jerking and NOT slipping. It could also be described as bucking, as someone else mentioned earlier in the thread.

 

I finally brought it in to the dealer this morning. I waited for about an hour and a half at which time the service advisor said, "We found the problem and it's NOT your transmission". Just as I suspected. He said the COP on cylinder #1 and #6 was going bad. He also said that the check engine light should have came on and said it was odd. The multi point inspection was $84.95, however, he gave me a 10% discount, so I ended up paying around $74. Now for the bad news. The cost to replace the COP's including labor is a whopping $416.00, not including tax! I made a few phone calls to friends and family members to find a reputable mechanic that would do this for a lot less. My brother in law recommended this one guy who's been in business for over 20 years. I brought it in and told him what the dealer found. The guy gave me a quote of $165.00 including parts and labor. You will not believe what I witnessed next. The mechanic ordered the parts from Autozone, a driver dropped off the parts within 5 minutes. The mechanic then changed the COP's in 5 minutes! That was it, I could've done this myself. Anyway, I'm happy it was fixed. So far, I drove the Expy for 30 miles. No bucking, No jerking whatsoever. Hoepfully it will runs smoothly for many miles to come. Anyone having similar problems, I recommend you look into a multi point inspection. Maybe the COP's are to blame, maybe it'll turn out to be something else.

 

Here's to celebrating your good fortune! $165.00 isn't outrageous as the COP's are about $45.00 - $50.00 each at Autozone (our price).

I've made this mistake so many times in the past but the moral of the story here is that it could be cheaper to pay for a diagnostic and fix the problem only one time.

A fuel related issue may not throw a normal engine code either, that's why I mentioned a potential fuel issue. Likewise, when the #2 COP on my BIL's Superduty failed, his cheap little autozone code scanner showed that the #2 cylinder was misfiring. Apparently yours weren't bad enough yet.

Again, here's to another smooth running truck!

 

Glad it was only bad COPs and not a transmission. As far as COP replacement cost, I saw a complete set of 8 on EBAY from a dealer for $250 just after my #1 was replaced for $380.92. Multi-Point-Inspection and then go from there is going to be in my future as well. Have good week.

 

My Expy has 82K on her now. I'm going to start buying 2 COP's a payday till I have all 8 of them. It may seem like a waste but I intend to replace all the COP's when I replace the plugs.

 

Link for a "compatible set":
8 Ignition Coils 1997-2004 Ford Expedition 5.4L V8 5.4 | eBay

Link for a Ford set:
8 NEW OEM MOTORCRAFT COILS DG508 FORD 4.6L TO 5.4L | eBay

Save some money...

 

how would you change the COP's

 

how do you know if they are bad. I am having the same exact problem as bigbadbob did with no check engine light on

 

You need a diagnostic tool that can perform live-data operations, like checking power balance. Once you've identified which cylinder is the problem, then you can start looking at the coil, plug, injector, wiring, etc. to track down the problem. Performing a coil stress test can identify a failing coil.

Or, you can just guess and start replacing parts.