Any one ever try the discount coil packs I found a set (6) for $75 shipped made by AD Autoparts. Anyone know if there worth it? or a suggestion besides motorcraft.

 

That's pretty cheap. Do they have any warranty?

I'd be afraid to be honest. I bought mine at AutoZone and they've worked great.

 

I have paid that much for one coil. (life time warranty) I would chance it for the three front coils but its a lot of work to change the ones in the back. I would want to make quite sure that I got good quality parts so that I wouldn't have to do it all over again.

 

After some thought, the things that kill coils that I come up with are heat, vibration, chemicals, corrosion, faulty coating of the wires in the winding, bad solder joints and so on. One other thing is electrical in nature. If the plugs are gapped too large by wear or setting, the spark jumps the smallest 'gap' it finds, wherever that may be. I suspect that you can get the internal voltage developed so high that it causes internal arcing in the coil, just as you can with an external mount coil. So, the thing to do is provide well maintained spark plugs, that don't have excessive gap, so the COP doesn't have to work so hard. Oil in the plug well can cause boot deterioration and arcing of the spark through the boot and oil. Once the boot is damaged by oil, you can get arcing even after you remove the oil and clean up and dry the boots. As they say, don't work no more...
So, if the el-cheapo, Hecho in China COP devices are subjected to bad boots, oil leaks or wide gaps, they would likely fail just as much as the OEM. Or, if given decent maintenance, they might last the life of the vehicle.
In my opinion, most COP failures are caused by delaying plug maintenance, or misfire and arcing caused by oily boots. Manufacturers have been making ignition coils for over a century, and wound coils in other applications for a lot longer than that. The process should be dead reliable by now. The windings use coated wire, held immobile, and the whole thing should just last for a long time as there are no moving parts. All that happens is electrical, and the slow chemical process of corrosion which should be held in check by the coating. Keep them dry and don't over work them and they'll last.
Would I buy the non-OEM? Yes, but I would want the option to inspect the product before purchase and installation.
tom
Other opinions, please chime in and refute...
tom

 

Tomw, I agree with your assessment. I bought a set of 6 coils from Amazon for less than $100. Installed them and 5,000 miles later they are working great. The Ford OEM's started going bad at about 90,000 miles. Will I expect these to last that long? No, but I also know that I will not keep this car for another 50,000 miles so if I they work for another 2 or 3 years, it's good for me. Also, they have a lifetime warranty (as long as the company is in business). $100 for 6 coils vs. $120 for a single Motorcraft can buy several more bad coils.

 

Well i ordered some amazon special. Like GonzosXLT said, i dont keep cars for very long either. and even if i have to replace these every two years there worth the price over gettin the motorcraft robbery.