Rough idle, sluggish performance

[AggieGal]

I'm brand new to the forum, and am not very mechanically inclined. Couple that with being a woman and I'm sure I look like an easy mark when I pull up at a garage . . . so I need some advice.

I have a '98 XLT 5.4L with 144k miles. I was doing a major clean-up this week, but didn't intentionally get any water under the hood. That afternoon- out of the blue - it started running rough and sluggish and eventually the check engine light came on. At times I didn't think I would make it down the street and keep my foot on the acelerator at red lights in hopes it wouldn't die.

Got to a dealership who told me the #4 and #6 cylinders weren't working and that it needed a tune-up. (I had one done about 1.5 years ago at 115k) They wanted between $1000 and $2000 to tune it up. I thought that was excessive so I paid the diagnostic fee and took it to a mechanic recommended by a friend.

Second mechanic performed the tune-up, changed the plugs, replaced the air filter and flushed the injectors (along with an oil change). Picked "the beast" up this afternoon and the same problem began on the drive home, complete with the check engine light.

Any guidance on possible causes? I don't want to go back to the mechanic/dealership clueless this time and would like to be a little more up to speed on possible causes.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[JUST4FUN]

what !!! the mechanic didnt road test it, man that is terreable
go to autozone and get it scaned for free then go back to the guy that did your tune up and tell him what is wrong

 

[AggieGal]

Thanks for the reply. I took it back today and he put it on the monitor and it didn't show anything. He drove it and said he could tell there is a problem, but he's not exactly sure what. He thought it was one bad coil, and thankfully didn't want to just change all of them.

I went back to the dealership and asked for the printout of what they found on the diagnostic I paid $86 for. They were a little reluctant, but eventually gave me the printout. It showed a misfire in the #6 cylinder and that they were planning to replace two coils. I'm assuming that the other would have been the #4 since they mentioned the 4 and 6 when I picked it up to take it to the other mechanic.

I left the car overnight with the mechanic so that he can drive it around hooked up to the monitor. He told me that if he drives it some while it's hooked up it will show him which one needs to be changed. Otherwise I just have to wait until the check engine light comes on again and registers something.

I'm pretty leary of the whole situation. With this many miles I don't know how much $$$ I'm willing to part with to fix it. I'm getting close to the point of trading it in on a new one. I just hate to feel "forced" into buying another one. I figure it's only a matter of time before it's really not worth fixing. I was hoping to make it to the summer though.

What's a good price for changing a coil?

 

[Silver Ex]

A couple of years ago, I had the #6 coil pack replaced on my '97 Mark VIII. That cost me $180.00 at my local Lincoln dealership. If you are unsure, take your Ex to another Ford or even Lincoln/Mercury dealership if there's one close. The symptoms you describe sure does sound like at least one coil pack may be bad.

Ask the dealer for a repair quote. They should be able to furnish that before you allow them to fix anything. Since you already had a diagnostic performed, they should be able to give you a pretty accurate estimate. If it is only the coils, I can't imagine that it would cost more than $400.00 to $500.00 to get you back on the road...but I'm basing my figures on average hourly charges in my area.

Also, it seems to me that the other mechanic should have been able to pinpoint the bad coil(s) without driving the vehicle...

Good Luck!