engine stutter

[bill6639]

when im sitting at a stop light idling or in park every so often
id say less than 30 sec. to a min apart ill feel my engine sytutter and the rpms will drop slightly

its a noticable stutter and sound

once im movine at all it dosent do it at all and i havent noticed any loss in preformance

idk if the cam weld had anything to do with this bc it did start after the weld but i doubt it is involved

lmk asap im really worried

 

[Ian Macoomb]

That's a classic case of a bad coil. They like to go after being touched.

 

[bill6639]

i checked the front 4 and they were all firing fine

but the problem is intermittent so i guess once it gets worse ill be able to pin point it easier

 

[naval-avi8or]

i checked the front 4 and they were all firing fine

but the problem is intermittent so i guess once it gets worse ill be able to pin point it easier

I have the Same/simular problem and at times mine gets pretty bad and I still haven't found the bad coil. Mine started after changing plugs and checking all the coils. Found one with a small crack just below the spark plug well cover on the boot. Replaced it and moved all the coils from back to front. After that I developed a miss that has progressivly got worse at times. I have tried every troubleshooting tip that I know to find the bad coil inclding swapping coils from front to back (again). As soon as I can get the free time I'm gonna get another coil and swap it out one at a time in hopes of finding the bad coil.

 

[bill6639]

wow it seems like this is gonna be a fun problem lol

keep me informed what you figure out

 

[Ian Macoomb]

I still haven't found a good one to find a bad coil. I've pulled bad coils that look perfect. There's no good way to test them other than with a Power Balance Test on Ford's WDS machine. And I don't think swapping them is a good way either. Too much work and you put stress on the other coils by moving them.

 

[Funmart6]

Sounds like these coils are like eggs or something. I had this same problem. I found hairline cracks in all my coils but the cracks were not in the rubber boot but were in the plastic part of the coil where the round part and the long square part come together. I used some locktight glue and sealed all the cracks and changed my spark plugs and the engine miss is gone, as a matter of fact, it is running great! Probably bought myself some time before I replace the coils altogether.

 

[SHOZ123]

There is a high dielectric epoxy you can get.

 

[chrome_rust]

i ahd the same problem, still having it in fact, but after installing the NGK iridums, it isnt as pronounced. but i have not had a misfire code yet... Welcome to the "stutter at idle club"!

 

[bill6639]

wow!!!

its a great honor to be accepted into this elite club!!
hahaha
oh yeah its gettin worse day after day lol
now itll stutter 3-4 times quickly then idle fine...UGH

 

[SHOZ123]

Buy 4 new coils and put them in the back. Then either play guess what's good and bad up front with the remaining ones or get four more for the front too.

FWIW the new coils seem to be better than the OEM stuff.

 

[wymjym]

I replaced all 8 coils and installed 8 new plugs and although the car idles a little smoother and does pull a little harder I still have a miss on my 97.
I am now out of the replace and see if it works mode.
I'll either get the stress test done or (last preferred option) purchase this interface....
http://obddiagnostics.com/

.....assuming it can read enough codes to tell me how many times a certain cylinder missfires.
Has anyone on this forum ever purchased/used this interface?
wj

 

[SHOZ123]

How were the wires on the rear valve cover? They will melt to the bare aluminum if not further protected.

 

[Funmart6]

Buy 4 new coils and put them in the back. Then either play guess what's good and bad up front with the remaining ones or get four more for the front too.

FWIW the new coils seem to be better than the OEM stuff.

When you say "the new coils" are you refering to other than Ford or has Ford redesigned the coil for our car?

 

[SHOZ123]

yes and yes.

 

[wymjym]

Hi,
Not trying to hijack the thread…if you are asking me about the wires;
They looked fine when I got the car a year ago. I looked pretty carefully but now I’m starting to doubt myself. I saw no damage or repairs to the original wires but the loom was getting ratty…so I rewrapped it. I’m just buttoning it back together today, looked one more time for something obvious or even semi obvious.
This is the current appearance/condition


the miss is so similar to all descriptions that I believe it is ignition or fuel injection and the difference from time to time has to do with the computer trying to handle the situation. If I add a can of red line fuel cleaner I can set a code….bank one rich…so either the ignition isn’t up to ***** or maybe an injector is clogged open just a bit (you would think the 5 cans of red line would have handled that) …maybe the pintle or whatever is inside is damaged.
wj

 

[SHOZ123]

Need to monitor the O2s and see how they are reading. Got an Xcal2 or 3?

 

[Funmart6]

What specific brand of coil is in that engine? I don't see the familiar Motorcraft label.
Paul, if you were to replace coils on your car what brand of coil would you choose?

 

[bacernate]

Do You Have Access To A Friend With A Scanner? Snap On Preferably. If So Pm Me And I Can Tell You How To Get Into Mode 6 Data So You Can Read Live Misfires And Isolate Which Cylinder It Is. It's Saved Me Hours Of Work Swapping Coils On Triton Trucks And Vans.

 

[Silvapain]

What specific brand of coil is in that engine? I don't see the familiar Motorcraft label.
Paul, if you were to replace coils on your car what brand of coil would you choose?

Wells coils.