ThaiCobra

So, I love my O7GT, its my pride and joy, and I follow all the schedule maintenance. Well 2 days ago I started having some engine trouble.

1) the engine is rattling at startup and feels like its going to die if i don't keep pumping the gas
2) It gets stuck around 2,000rpm, where I'm putting the pedal down and the engine doesn't produce any power, except after a few seconds it finally kicks in, also it is lunging

So.... I take it to a new dealership I've never been to, cause it's closer to my new place (Malcolm Cunningham in Atlanta)

So after an hour in the shop, the woman says that (1) the ignition coil on #5 is out (2) The Variable Camshaft Timing Solenoid is also broken (3) The sparkplugs need to be replaced and (4) it needs a tuneup.

The first 2 things I believe, but I'm unsure about the rest, the woman said, lowest possible repair cost will be $1,200 to fix the neccesary issues, which I don't have. I think I could spend around $1,000 max. I'm just unsure about the prices this woman is quoting me. Also a couple of things tripped my alarms, They charged me $125 just to do a diagnostic (which they say gets applied towards the repair) and also they want to do a new fuel filter and throttle body clean, and I'm positive that my fuel filter is fine, and I just cleaned my throttle body, so it doesn't need service.

So what do you guys think? Should I take my car somewhere else? I usually go to Cherokee Ford in Alpharetta, who I know and trust.

THANKS!

tbar

Those are all reasonable easy to do yourself unless you break off plugs. Could save yourself some cash if you don't mind doing a little wrenching. Did it throw a code? I would expect a couple of those to throw a engine code.

daredevil95

Those are easy tasks to perform yourself if....you have a place/tools to work on the car and if not, yea, that's way to much money.

1 coil pack $28 bucks at summit and at a local parts store probably around $40 to $60 bucks;
8 spark plugs....anywhere from $50 buck to a $100 bucks
Variable Camshaft Timing Solenoid is around $60 bucks and I never changed this part but, look it up on the forums, I know it's on/in the valve cover so, the valve cover may or may not have to be removed....idk but, either way it shouldn't be difficult.

So, it's under $200 bucks for parts and shouldn't be more then 3 hours labor....at most.

Goldenpony

I agree with tbar. How many miles on the car? Basically, if you put new plugs in it, that is a tune up. Not much else to do. I'd be interested to see if it is throwing codes. That should tell you if the timing sensor is really broken. The coil should be a plug & play fix. If, and I say if all those things are wrong, $1200 probably isn't too far out of line, but as tbar said, you could do some or all of these repairs yourself.

ThaiCobra

Thanks for the information guys. I don't mind getting dirty, I just don't want to mess up the car, if this stuff is really technical. But if you guys say that it's not that complicated I'll give it a shot.

Can I get everything at an Autozone/Advance, or do I need to order stuff?

Can you guys recommend some guides for doing this stuff? I wouldn't even know where to begin.

ThaiCobra

62,000

daredevil95

The spark plugs are straight forward but, read the sticky about pulling the plugs, they could break in half if those are the original plugs, the bottom line with pulling the plugs is heat the engine but, under 180 degrees, then spray throttle body cleaner into the plug holes and put a lot in there and that will help remove some of the carbon. if you get a super tight plug, spin it left and right and eventually it should come without breaking. I did a few Mustangs like this and never had a problem but, read the sticky. As far as the coil pack goes that is pretty much a straight forward job, unplug and plug in, the only issue you may have is if you got to advanced and buy 1 coil pack and it will most likely not be a ford brand and you would have mismatch coil that isn't really a problem but, it bothers me personally to do that....kinda like having goodyear tires on front and BF Goodrich on the back, it drives fine but, i don't like it. As far as the VCT solenoid, I never changed one bit, it looks pretty easy to change but, I'm not sure if it's just unplug and then plug in the new solenoid and everything is good, sometimes the ECM needs help to recognize the new part and I'm not sure about this so, read up on this and make sure it's a plug in only part. Goggle it or use the search feature here on the forum.

ThaiCobra

Thanks a lot man! I will keep you guys updated, I'm going to buy the parts at advance tomorrow.

If anyone comes across some guides, or has tips, please let me know!

Roy_R

rockauto.com

ThaiCobra

So, thought I'd keep you guys updated.

I went by Advance today to buy the parts, talked to a guy that had been a mechanic for years. He said to just do the bad ignition coil and the spark plugs and that would likely fix the problem. He said the VTC solenoid is prob just the dealership doing overkill.

So I bought the necessary parts ($170 total) and am going to replace everything on tuesday. Hell of a lot less than $1,200. What was this dealership smoking?

Thanks again guys, if I could buy yall a beer I would.