do coil packs ever go bad?

[uno]

my car has 100,000 miles on it
think i need to replace them?

[Justin96Bird]

yes coil packs do go bad, i just replaced mine at 98,000 so you should probably replace them now, expecially if you are having problems with the ignition system.

[uno]

where can i buy some?

[Noahs40]

Good ol' Auto Zone, I think I paid like $33 bucks for one coil pack. Mine went bad and caused misfires really bad with 2 of the cylinders (each pack fires 2 cylinders). So you'll be looking at like $100 bucks total - aftermarket coil packs aren't too much more I don't think - are they?

[defrag]

any local auto parts store should have them, I think i got mine at Discoutn Auto Parts for like $25. I had to replace one at 65K. Cylinders were misfiring

[cboney2000]

If you want to, for like $7 extra per coil pack you can order the new MSD coil packs for our cars. $39.95 each, part number MSD-8224 on summitracing.com (they are on backorder but they are still availiable)

[Dan90RS]

You can test your coils. Take the 2 plug wires off one coil and start the engine. The coil should be able to arc from 1 post to the other. If it doesn't, it is weak. Do this for all 3 coils. BUT DO NOT RUN IT LONG WHILE PERFORMING THESE TESTS. Also, DO NOT touch the spark. DIS will bite you MUCH HARDER than a standard ignition coil.

[strange_trp]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Dan90RS:
You can test your coils. Take the 2 plug wires off one coil and start the engine. The coil should be able to arc from 1 post to the other. If it doesn't, it is weak. Do this for all 3 coils. BUT DO NOT RUN IT LONG WHILE PERFORMING THESE TESTS. Also, DO NOT touch the spark. DIS will bite you MUCH HARDER than a standard ignition coil.<hr></blockquote>

DO NOT DO THIS!!!

you may damage the coil and/or the ignition module. when dynamically testing an ignition component, use either an inductive pickup to see peak firing kv, or use a spark tester available for like $2 at autozone.

[zlightning]

Not to mention you can damage your engine by forcing knock.

[strange_trp]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by zlightning:
Not to mention you can damage your engine by forcing knock.<hr></blockquote>

how so?

you'd have misfire on both cylinders but i dont see how you'd have spark knock.
spark knock is when the spark happens too early when the piston is on its way up (compression stroke.) it is due to overly advanced ignition timing, excessive compression, or excessive heat in combustion chamber. killing ignition to 2 cylinders by shorting the coil won't cause this.
spark knock (aka detonation) will cause different adverse effects on the engine components than an ignition misfire.

[ May 12, 2002: Message edited by: strange_trp ]</p>