Coil Pac replacemnts

[ywlbird]

I am the original owner of a yellow 02. Since I have owned the car, I have had to replace eight coil pacs on 6 different occasions. The first ones were at 18,000 miles and the latest 2 were at 62,000. The early ones were warranty but not the latter. I questioned Ford about the quality of the coil pacs and whether or not this would fall under the lemon law. Their response was lame regarding the quality and as for the lemmon law, they said it was not since it was not the same coil pac at the each time.
Has anyone else had this problem, it sounds chronic.

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[George]

ywlbird Welcome!!! 😎 Hopefully some of this data that was passed on to me will help:

08/19/02

DRIVEABILITY - ENGINE RUNS ROUGH OR
HESITATES WITH POSSIBLE MIS-FIRE DIAGNOSTIC
TROUBLE CODES (DTC) P0301-P0308 - WATER
CONTAMINATION IN SPARK PLUG WELL - 3.9L
ENGINE ONLY

FORD:
2002 THUNDERBIRD
ISSUE

Some vehicles may exhibit an engine misfire or rough running condition. The Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) may be illuminated with one or more mis-fire Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) stored. This could be caused by water entering the spark plug well area of the engine. This may occur after the front of the vehicle or engine compartment is exposed to an abnormal amount of water. During this condition, water could pass through the protective convolute on the engine wire harness and eventually drain into the spark plug wells.

ACTION

Remove a small section of convolute from the effected Ignition Coil wire harness allowing any water that may accumulate to drain away from the spark plug wells in the engine. Refer to the following Service Procedure for details.

WARRANTY STATUS: Eligible Under The Provisions Of Bumper To Bumper Warranty Coverage And Emissions Warranty Coverage

OPERATION DESCRIPTION TIME

021602A Seal Ignition Coil Wires At 1.5 Hrs.
Right Hand Coil Cover

021602B Seal Ignition Coil Wires At 1.4 Hrs.
Left Hand Coil Cover

DEALER CODING
CONDITION
BASIC PART NO. CODE
12B637 95

OASIS CODES: 608000, 608400, 608500, 608600, 609000, 609400, 609500, 609600, 698298

Copyright © 2005 ALLDATA LLC
Terms of Use

 

[George]

More information, from others that have had this same issue:

Parts and labor to replace one bank (4 Coil on Plugs with diag) was $407.55
A lot has to do with the miles on the vehicle. 70/75k, change them all out since they're due for replacement at 100,000 miles anyway.

Note, cylinders two & four are on the same bank. One persons got changed because when the technican removed the cover he found it half full with water causing the "Cop" to short out. Upon futher inspection he saw that the other had or may have also gotten wet.

The mechanic said that the seal that keeps the water out was not good.
Good luck

 

[Quickdraw]

This seems pretty unusual... do you wash or steam the engine?

 

[ywlbird]

reply to quickdraw

I never wash or spray the engine and it is always garaged.

 

[George]

So ywlbird, any of the info researched helpful to you?????? 😕

 

[stemmlerd]

Question about your

George,
I was just reading your post from 2005 concerning the coil problem with the new birds.
I have just purchased a low mileage 2002 and would like to start touring in it this summer, but this coil problem is starting to worry.

Your post looks like something official from ford. What is the source of your document and are the Ford dealers aware of it?
I still have the full coverage warranty. Your message implies that the coil problem would be covered by Ford.

After reading the posts by other owners, it seems that some of them are paying big bucks for the repairs.
I downloaded the TSB that another forum member posted. I don't want to obsess about this problem. I just do not want to end up stranded somewhere while on vacation.

I guess my question is, have the dealers been following the information in the document that you posted. Do they even know about it.

ywlbird Welcome!!! 😎 Hopefully some of this data that was passed on to me will help:

08/19/02

DRIVEABILITY - ENGINE RUNS ROUGH OR
HESITATES WITH POSSIBLE MIS-FIRE DIAGNOSTIC
TROUBLE CODES (DTC) P0301-P0308 - WATER
CONTAMINATION IN SPARK PLUG WELL - 3.9L
ENGINE ONLY

FORD:
2002 THUNDERBIRD
ISSUE

Some vehicles may exhibit an engine misfire or rough running condition. The Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) may be illuminated with one or more mis-fire Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) stored. This could be caused by water entering the spark plug well area of the engine. This may occur after the front of the vehicle or engine compartment is exposed to an abnormal amount of water. During this condition, water could pass through the protective convolute on the engine wire harness and eventually drain into the spark plug wells.

ACTION

Remove a small section of convolute from the effected Ignition Coil wire harness allowing any water that may accumulate to drain away from the spark plug wells in the engine. Refer to the following Service Procedure for details.

WARRANTY STATUS: Eligible Under The Provisions Of Bumper To Bumper Warranty Coverage And Emissions Warranty Coverage

OPERATION DESCRIPTION TIME

021602A Seal Ignition Coil Wires At 1.5 Hrs.
Right Hand Coil Cover

021602B Seal Ignition Coil Wires At 1.4 Hrs.
Left Hand Coil Cover

DEALER CODING
CONDITION
BASIC PART NO. CODE
12B637 95

OASIS CODES: 608000, 608400, 608500, 608600, 609000, 609400, 609500, 609600, 698298

Copyright © 2005 ALLDATA LLC
Terms of Use

 

[George]

stemmlerd:
Welcome, it's good to see you posting. I too have a 2002 with 13,000 miles and no issues. Please do not worry about the coils. Drive it while the warranty is in effect and you'll really enjoy it and the comments you'll get. I'll try to resond in the same order as you asked.
Ford has recently issued a memo that extends the warranty on coils for the 2003 Birds up to 100,000 miles. Anyone who has issues should get the car repaired and is encouraged to contact Customer Service at Ford (not the dealer) to complain. Only this way will they hear about and hoefully they may extend the same extention to 2002, 2004 & 2005's. After warranty, if you have issues, keep your paperwork from dealers. The 2003 people did get reimbursed.
Ford has the same issues with Lincoln LS, so they know, but are slow to deal with it. It appears that some cars that have these issues and others do not.
I believe that servicing with a Lincoln dealer may be better than a Ford dealer. Why? They have more knowledge of issues like this due to the Lincoln experience (same engine) whereas the Ford dealers have only the Thunderbirds. Only 68,000 of those were made from 2002 to 2005.
Note: If you read other posts, I have been communicating with a fellow who is curently testing heavy duty coils for the Lincoln V6 and then TBird will be next
Use the search function above for almost any TBird info you want.
BTW, I have no ties to Ford. Just an interested owner that really likes the car and wants to pass on as much info as possible to keep others informed.
Hope this helps and please stay with us and tuned in!!😎