klem kedidelhopper wrote:
I realize that there are other auto related groups to post this to but
with so many talented techs on this one I thought I give this a try as
well. My son bought a 2000 Lincoln. It has the familiar problem (I'm
told) of oil leaks around the ignition coils and then subsequent
failure of some of those coils. He plans to replace all the oil seals
associated with this but first we cleaned all the coils and I checked
them on the bench with an ohm meter and they all look the same. I
realize of course that this is not conclusive though. These read like
a standard three terminal auto transformer type of device, so can I
assume that they function basically like a standard ignition coil? Can
I apply 12V across the primary momentarily to induce the secondary
field? I have a motor driven interrupter of sorts that would
You kind of are over thinking this.
I have a 97 Lincoln with the coil-on-plugs, with the associated ocassional
oil leak, but you are better off getting a OBD2 tester and let the onboard
computer tell you the bad ones.
It'll spit back the exact "cylinder misfire on ...".
Off hand, failure of them I don't think is related to the oil problem. I've
had two of those coils fail so far and the last one was dry as a bone even
though it was drivers side closest to the firewall and the 1st plug closest
to the radiator was completely submerged, that one was fine.
I just sop out the oil with twisted paper towels every once in a while (2 or
3 years) and just keep on going.
Unless you are topping out the oil every time you fill up, it's probably not
worth bothering to fix, if it can be fixed at all. I've seen guys say they
went through the trouble of replacing the valve cover gaskets with the
problem returning in 6 months or so.
Seems to me like it's a few drops a month which eventually fills up the
chamber the plug sits in, but like I said, once in a while just sop out the
excess with a twisted paper towel and it'll be fine.
The replacement made-in-china coils are only around $30 anyway.
Also if you haven't stumbled into it, try this site:
http://www.markviii.org
Although it's for Mark VIII owners (which was stopped in 1998), there are
quite a few discussions about this matter on there that might be helpful.
-bruce