1997 Towncar 4.6L P301 Error on long trips ONLY

Hi Folks, I have a 1997 Lincoln Towncar with 148k miles on it. This car is totally MINT, looks show room inside and out. I bought it off an old retired military man that had it since it was new and always took it to the dealer for everything (even oil changes). Anyway, After driving it for a few months I started getting a "check engine" light and the car would lose power "Spits & Sputters" but only on long trips. I hooked up an OBD-II reader and got P301 error (#1 cylinder misfire). I cleared the code and the car ran fine. here is the strange part, The car runs GREAT in town but whenever I take it on a trip (lets say on the hwy more than 2 hours) I get the check engine light and the car starts losing power again. It will get so bad that the check engine light will start to blink, when that happens the car is running VERY rough. If I let the car set over night it runs just fine the next day but the check engine light is still there untill I clear it with the OBD-II reader. I have owned 4 Towncars so far and really know a lot of their Quirks but I'm not sure where to start on this one. Spark plug? Fuel Injector? Plug Wire? Coil? Intake Manifold? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! :grinyes:

I'm going to guess a coil goes out after a length of time.. I had a Camry with the coil inside the distributor that did what you describe, mine heated up after some driving and arched to ground, inside the distributor where you can't see it.

There are other fault codes, related specifically to coils.. Hmmm.

Hello

Try swaping your coil to the other side. They are the same part for both sides. If the coil is the problem your mis fire shoulf move to another cylinder. Just for kicks I looked up the interchange info. In Hollander on the coil. Good info to have if you need to find another coil pack. Good luck.

You might even be able to use the earlier coil packs 91-93 the center part number is the same. I am going to check that out.

COUGAR 94-97 8-280 (4.6L)
CROWN VICTORIA 94-97
EXPEDITION 97-99 8-280 (4.6L)
EXPLORER 01 4 Dr, exc. Sport Trac; 8-302 (5.0L)
EXPLORER 96-00 8-302 (5.0L)
FORD F150 PICKUP 97-99 8-280 (4.6L)
FORD F250 PICKUP 97 under 8500 GVW, 8-280 (4.6L)
FORD F250 PICKUP 98-99 (under 8500 GVW), 8-280 (4.6L)
FORD VAN 97-99 8-280 (4.6L)
GRAND MARQUIS 94-97
LINCOLN & TOWN CAR 94-97
LINCOLN MARK SERIES 94-96
MOUNTAINEER 97 (8-302, 5.0L)
MOUNTAINEER 98-01 8-302 (5.0L)
MUSTANG 96-98 8-280 (4.6L)
THUNDERBIRD 94-97 8-280 (4.6L)

Thanks guys, I will swap the coils and see if I can get a P305 error. Will post here and let you know how it turned out.

Thanks Again!

One more quick question, if it does indeed end up being the coil have you guys had any luck with the non OEM after markets? I checked both Autozone & rockauto and the prices range from $37.89 to $98.99. Or is this one of those things that your better off buying from the dealer. Just want your :2cents:. Thanks!

A Jag has eight ,I just replaced all 8 of Them.
The BONNET(HOOD) leaks water on the electrical bus line,and the
Sparkplug seals will leak oil.:banghead:
These coils are not very forgiven,the water + oil will short them out.:disappoin
I think FORD Lincoln LS uses Spark-plug coils.
I bought 8 NEW sparkplug coils on EBAY for 180/8 = $20 a COIL:naughty:

A BAD COIL will act-up when They get HOT- Misfiring

In your case it could be a bad spark-plug,or wire.:uhoh:
Check life of spark plug wires,how old and how many miles are on car?

SILICONE wires do break down internal,even though they might look like new.
I think Lincoln service is $400-$500 for spark plug + wire.
Check sevice Schedule - This is one the owners seem to forget about.:nono:

I got a TC from a woman who said it would just run on Prem Fuel.
I bought new spare-plug wires at PEPBOYS for $40 and put a full tank of Unlead.:naughty:
The car took off like a rocket. GOOD FLIP:popcorn:

INFORMATION: MCGIVER

I just recently just had that error code. It was coming from cylinder #7. My problem was the boot of the spark plug wire was split in half. I took some electrical tape and the problem was fixed. What I did to see if spark was getting to the spark plug, I took the spark plug out, turned the car on, and watched to see if there was a spark. The spark was going through the split of the spark plug wire, and not to the plug. So check all wires and plugs

Thats cool when you can Isolate problem like that.

OLD school:Techs wounld lift-up hood in the dark and would watch the Fire-works.

If you replace all plugs + wires you are probably good for another 80K miles.
This CAR loves to drive,Please take care of her.

PLEASE LEAVE FEED BACK KACY!,we will try to help you,

* * A HOT PLUG WIRE or copper wire, the resistance will change thus giving problems when HOT.
If you want to hit on all 8 cylinders - THE RESISTANCE should stay the same.



MCGIVER

Hello,

I have a 1999 town car that is having the same issue...

Service Engine Soon light came on, Checked the code and got a P0301(Misfire cylinder 1) so I swapped the coil with cylinder 2 and cleared the check engine code. I then drove the car again until it came back on and I got a P0302 (misfire cylinder 2) So that tells me that the Coil is bad. I replaced the coil and boot plug and all the spark plugs but I am still having a misfire. I would assume it was a fuel injector but why would it change from cylinder one to cylinder two misfire when I move the coil?
:runaround:

Does anyone know what now? :confused:

Also had the stuttering under acceleration issue and P0302 error. Started about 50K miles after last ignition rebuild. Changed BOTH coils, 8 plugs and 8 wires. Runs like a scalded DAWG now. Maybe better than new, ran about 200 bucks in parts and about 2 hours my time and lotsa lost skin on my hands for those back plugs but well worth it.

Mike

Hi Folks,

Shortly after I opened this thread I blew my intake manifold. I guess this is very common on this engine. The neck where the upper radiator hose connects is plastic and it just snaps under pressure after time. I bought an after market intake manifold from autozone for $299 (you know there's a prob when autozone has a few of the intake manifolds you need IN STOCK :shakehead) the new after market had replaced the plastic with aluminum, I looked at the OEM intake manifold at the dealer and the neck was still plastic (and it was almost $700 :runaround:). While I had it all apart I replaced the spark plugs and cleaned the fuel injectors. After that never had any more trouble, have put another 25k miles on her and she runs like a dream, have done 800 miles in a day without a hiccup.