Top Issue- 02-05 Ford Thunderbird Ignition Coils COP

fuchsaudio · Aug 21, 2018

tbird said:
2002-2005 Ford Thunderbird and Lincoln LS have a widely known issue with Ignition coils going bad and also fouling out spark plugs causing misfires
. Just by replacing these components you may be able to bring new life to your engine!

At the time of this post, 46.99 for an entire set of Ignition Coils! Can't beat that! If you have a 2002-2005 Ford Thunderbird I would buy these just to have on hand because of the history of these going bad! Don't forget to order 8 spark plugs too because the coils foul them out!

Here is the link http://amzn.to/2ilnIo3

There is a post here on how to replace or here.

Important- You may also have a problem with your cowl seal, wiper seal etc, which is causing the coils to fail! You can read more about that in this post.

View attachment 673
View attachment 1351

Bought these (and a spare set) and am very pleased !! Thanks for the recommendation !

30Blackbird · Aug 27, 2018

Blackbird on the road again! Seen with 8 new NKG Platinum spark plugs. Had to use Permatex around the covers due to the slight height difference. Packing a spare 8 pack of coils in the trunk for Insurance. Thanks for all the information and help from Thunderbird forum.

JW in Dixie · Nov 13, 2018

My #6 COP went bad so I just installed a new one from the 8 that I bought in 2017 and have been riding in the trunk.
#6 is on the driver's side - more difficult than the right side due to one screw jammed under the power brake . Fortunately, the Ford house left that one out on the last visit there, so it was about a one-hour job, plus a few minutes to recover tools around the motor and under the car, of course. Recommend a mag pan. FYI, the coil location from driver's seat:
L -- R
5 -- 1
6 -- 2
7 -- 3
8 -- 4

Stans'03 · Nov 21, 2018

Update:
Coils purchased above, installed tonight - The difference is remarkable. Beyond expectations. OEM original coils had 44K on them. I'm very pleased with the results and just hope they last awhile. Time will tell .......

Idaho Highboy · Nov 23, 2018

Just joined and wished I knew about this option. I replaced all of mine last year myself, using FoMoCo parts and I spent 20x the amount listed on Amazon 😡 Curious how these hold up / compare to the Motorcrafts I put in...
p.s. If anyone is intimidated by the work, it's a real piece of cake. I didn't even have to replace the coil cover gaskets.

Elsie · Nov 23, 2018

Idaho Hhighboy said:
Just joined and wished I knew about this option. I replaced all of mine last year myself, using FoMoCo parts and I spent 20x the amount listed on Amazon 😡 Curious how these hold up / compare to the Motorcrafts I put in...
p.s. If anyone is intimidated by the work, it's a real piece of cake. I didn't even have to replace the coil cover gaskets.

Idaho - my car went into limp mode in front of a local Ford dealer that had worked on the car 9 months earlier, so I pulled in there - thinking the problem might be the same thing and the work could be covered by warranty. They keep car a week and finally said it was COPs and they wanted $1400-$1500?? I said I could replace the COPs myself, they weren't happy about that so to throw them a bone I purchased my new COPs through them - Motorcraft COPs - I think they hit me up for around $375. Then a few months later I find this site and find out you can buy em off Ebay or Amazon for $50. Yeah I wasn't too happy either.

Docsouce · Jan 7, 2019

Just finished changing the coils and spark plugs. Started at around 10am and just finished 2pm. Pretty straight forward job. I think I used every socket extension combination possible. All looked good except that there saw about 1/4 teaspoon (maybe less) of oil in the #6 spark plug tube. I used the barrel swabs and connecting rod from my rifle cleaning kit to soak/clean up the oil. I did the drivers side first. Figured I'd get the interesting ones done right off. I am disappointed that the coils are about 1/8th inch longer. Didn't really like sealing the access cover with ultra black. Makes for a sloppy finish to an otherwise smooth job. Anyway thank for all the posts. Made me feel like the job was done before I started!!!!

Mach5 · Jul 18, 2019

I had no problem with the extra 1/8" on my 2004. When you reinstall the covers, you just need to go around and tighten them down evenly. (If you screw one end in, all the way down, it will pitch-up the far side making it nearly impossible to seal - if you are even able to get the screw in to start with.)
I set all my screws in around the perimeter, just engaging the threads. Next I took them all to finger tight. Last I screwed them down evenly, similar to the way you would tighten down an intake manifold - side to side, across, inside to out.
I had no problems.
However, I would like to see an aftermarket piece that is raised slightly to eliminate this issue - preferably with a nice Thunderbird logo! (Oh, and a really good watertight gasket to go with it.)

Moderator 2020 Note- This was in reference to the Parts Galaxy Coils. The newer ones are a little shorter.

ChairMan · Aug 17, 2019

Enjoying a nice country drive on a beautiful Saturday morning a few weeks ago when the dreaded check engine light followed by the wrench light illuminated. Car went into limp mode and I drove the remaining 5 miles home at about 30mph with flashers going. Car coded with P2110 & P2107, Throttle Actuator control System & Throttle Actuator Control Module Control Processor. After much research on this great forum, I highly doubted this was the problem. Took the car to my local mechanic shop (great trustworthy guys) twice I left it for several days. They took it for several test drives and couldn’t get it to code! The good news is they didn’t charge me anything but recommend a dealer that certainly would know the idiosyncrasies of a T-Bird. (NOT)

Long story short my neighbor and I replaced the COPS with the set I bought (Parts Galaxy) shortly after buying this car and reading the forum. Also installed new Autolite Iridium spark plugs. This was a one owner vehicle with 33k on the odometer when I purchased it a couple years ago. It now has 35k! The really interesting part of this job was that the passenger side had 4 different brand spark plugs!! The COPS appeared to be 4 different generations as well! Ya Think there may have been some previous COP opportunities! Took the car on a beautiful 1 1/2 hour country ride this morning and the car runs better that when I bought it!! No check engine light!! . BTW, already ordered another set of COPS from Amazon!

biddle · Apr 4, 2020

I just posted a link to an updated part that reviews say fits with the valve cover like OEM https://amzn.to/2RaLkj2

FANZ · Apr 4, 2020

I had 8 of these Coils put in my 05 three months ago and My Bird is running fine! My mechanic didn’t have any problem. Thx!

cedarbird2 · Apr 5, 2020

Which are the best ones that really fit off of Amazon they have a couple of them?

biddle · Apr 5, 2020

cedarbird2 said:
Which are the best ones that really fit off of Amazon they have a couple of them?

See post #1

Here is the link for the updated part as of 04/2020 that fits better https://amzn.to/2Rfp5Zd

cedarbird2 · Apr 5, 2020

Thanks just order for back up car is running Great

Vic · Jun 14, 2020

Bough my 2003 Tbird a little over a year ago. Ran perfectly until about a month ago when it began misfiring. No warning lights. Based on what I read here, bought the coil set from Amazon and NGK Iridium plugs. Found a mechanic I trust to remove the old and install the new. There were two types of old coils, neither the originals (69K miles). No signs of moisture or oil. Just started going bad, I guess. Running great right now. Perfect fit coils from Amazon just under $60 for the set. Beats Motorcraft for $75 each! If the coils go bad as often as suggested here, spend the lesser amount for what hopefully will be the same lifetime.

biddle · Jul 16, 2020

AMX said:
I get a random short misfire sometimes. I think it is most likely a coil, but which one. I do not get a check light. Does anyone know how to find that culprit that is starting to go bad. I hate to replace all if I only have one that is bad

You get all 8 coils for less than 60 bucks----->https://amzn.to/2Rfp5Zd
Change them all while you are in there, and your spark plugs, so you don't have to keep doing it. Also, make sure your cowl seal isn't a problem or valve cover gasket. Read more about that in this post- https://forums.fordthunderbirdforum...ird-ignition-coils-cop.5040/page-5#post-38169

04tbirdjerry · Jul 20, 2020

tbird said:
2002-2005 Ford Thunderbird and Lincoln LS have a widely known issue with Ignition coils going bad and also fouling out spark plugs causing misfires
. Just by replacing these components, you may be able to bring new life to your engine!

At the time of this post, 59.30 for an entire set of Ignition Coils! Can't beat that! If you have a 2002-2005 Ford Thunderbird I would buy these just to have on hand because of the history of these going bad! Don't forget to order 8 spark plugs too because the coils foul them out!

UPDATE April 2020
Here is the link for the updated part as of 04/2020 that fits better with the valve cover- https://amzn.to/2RaLkj2 previously everyone was ordering parts galaxy which works, but is a tight fit. https://amzn.to/31CezPd

There is a post here on how to replace or here.

Important- You may also have a problem with your cowl seal, wiper seal etc, which is causing the coils to fail! You can read more about that in this post. If you have coils problems after a few days/weeks/months it's likely not the coil, but an additional problem.

View attachment 10794

View attachment 673

If i may add a word of advice, i bought and installed this same set of COPs and Plugs in my 2004 and although it improved performance, i was still pulling a code that said "missfire cylinder 4". Turned out that the intake manifold gasket above cylinder 4 had failed and it was sucking air in right there. A good mechanic down the street sorted that out in 30 minutes, after i replaced the #4 cylinder sets twice. My advice is while you are in there replacing, check all around the seals to see if you see any premature wear. You may find a problem getting ready to happen.

biddle · Jul 20, 2020

04tbirdjerry said:
Turned out that the intake manifold gasket above cylinder 4 had failed and it was sucking air in right there.

Yes, this is mentioned in post #1 you quoted as Valve Cover Gaskets -