95 Century Coil problem

Hi All,

Will be picking up a 95 Century v6 3.1 on friday car is in over all great condition with 67.677 miles. 1 coil that seems is causing some type of arching... can I replace just 1 or do you have to replace all 3? has anyone had this type of problem? I'm also going to replace the wires and check the plugs. I bought it for $1200.00 was this a good deal? any help would be great :) Thanks in advance.............

Hi All,

Will be picking up a 95 Century v6 3.1 on friday car is in over all great condition with 67.677 miles. 1 coil that seems is causing some type of arching... can I replace just 1 or do you have to replace all 3? has anyone had this type of problem? I'm also going to replace the wires and check the plugs. I bought it for $1200.00 was this a good deal? any help would be great :) Thanks in advance.............

If you're going to the trouble of taking the plugs out to check them, go ahead and spend the extra $20 or so and replace them too.

Also you can replace one coil pack at a time. I usually don't recommend Autozone for parts but I had a bad coil pack and replaced it with one from Autozone for $20 dollars over a year ago and its still good. I think a coil pack cost around $60 at the dealership.
What type of arcing are you talking about? If the arc color is an orange color thats an indication of a bad coil pack. If its blue, its probably good.

Hi thanks for replying.

It is a blue arc from it seems the bottom of the coil to the screw which secures the coil at the front. it almost sounds like a taser...lol do you think I could just remove the coil clean the connections and put it back in? I'm wondering if it could be a plug wire but they don't look that bad.

Has your check engine light come on for a misfire code? It could be just the spark plug wires. You can use a spray bottle with water and spray around the coil area to see If you see any sparks to make sure.

I can see the spark clear as day. I think i'm just going to replace the coil wires and plugs anyway. I have the 3100 engine what can anyone tell me about it. I know about the LIM no sign of leaking yet, ( may have been replaced I don't know Previous owner has passed) and it is running the green antifreeze in it. but are they good engines overall?

No check engine light on.

First off, being a 95 model it's a changeover year, but it's most likely it's still OBD-I, so there would be no misfire codes. If the spark is jumping from the coil tower to the base of the ignition module, it's obvious the coil is bad and needs to be replaced.

As far as reliability goes, I've seen 3100's with well over 200k still running like new, and others that are boat anchors at 100k. Most has to do with regular maintenance (especially regular oil changes), and catching the notorious intake leak early!!!!! Again your 95 is a changeover year. Early 95's still had the old design 3100 with the ball-and-socket style rocker arms, late 95's have the new design 3100 with roller rocker arms. The intake issues are much less common on the older style engines than the newer. The most common issues on the 3100 engines (either design) are lifter noise and piston slap. The lifter noises are normal due to the no-lash design and are nothing to worry about unless they get really loud. Piston slap is caused by the short skirt pistons and high ring grooves and are also normal, but if it gets really bad, the piston can tip so far in the cylinder that it can hit valves and/or break the oil control rings.

Is there a way to tell if I have the early 3100 or the later? the engine is pretty quiet just a slight tick. other than the coil........