The everything Aviator thread.

[Micahdogg]

Read in this thread about the TSB. They basically extend the warranty to 10 years, 100K miles. If you are out of warranty due to mileage, I would play dumb and go to the dealer armed with the TSB # and ask if they can look at it. If they say they won't honor the warranty since you are past 100K miles (assuming you are) I would then ask if they could at least stress test it for free and have you buy the coil.

On one hand, it is kind of nice they extended the warranty since they know this is an issue. On the other hand, it's kind of bullsh*t that it can misfire so badly without at least telling the EEC which bank it is.

Only other option is since coils are so easy to get to, you could buy one and swap it one bank at a time until you find out which one it is. Good luck - it can be quite frustrating. Ours had a misfire on bank #2 that got so bad the truck would stall out sometimes. Never once gave us a check engine light.

 

[Albino 94LTD]

I'm a relatively new owner of a 2004 Aviator, and starting to have the tell-tale signs of bad coils. Any option to taking it to the dealer to trouble shoot which coil is bad? I can do the replacement, but knowing which one (or 2 or 3) to replace is the issue. Dealer wants $88 to test for which ones to replace, and I guess it could be a lot worse, but a cheaper way to go would be nice.

It's actually very easy to get a new COP and swap/run/swap/run until you find the bad one, just time consuming. I would start with the rear COP's first.

I've replaced 2 and used this method to trouble shoot. My 'miss' was very minor but I still found it just fine.

 

[Micahdogg]

Ours was so intermittent that I would have probably needed a week to drive around and make sure we got the right coil. If the bad one is the last one you test - that's a 2 month ordeal But that is worst case.

FWIW, pulling the plugs and trying to identify the "more fouled" looking plug didn't work for me either. They all looked super clean.

 

[Sully56]

Thanks for all the great feedback everyone. I will post back to share how I ultimately dealt with this.

Now for the next thing... what is the fix for the visor vanity mirror covers! Whatever mechanism was in there to keep them in the up position (some kind of spring I am assuming) is broken, and the cover won't stay open!!! Hope someone has an easy fix for that.

AND, I haven't seen anyone talk about the back-door windows NOT going down, but I had that problem, and I was told by the dealer service department that it was common. They told me to beat on the door panel as I am pushing on the down switch, but that is a little impractical and dangerous - especially since those door panels protrude so much, and the shock that the motor needs is not easy to transmit without hitting the panel too hard - so I came up with a better solution - and it works. As you are pressing on the down button, have someone close the door a little hard, and this will jolt the window into action. And if it doesn't work, you might have to close it even harder - it should work.

 

[Micahdogg]

We have a broken pass side visor and I never bothered messing with it. I did once have the driver rear window stop working, so I slammed the door and that got the motor freed up. It's obviously a motor problem and quite frankly, most of these modern motor/regulator cable type systems are crap and will break in due time. Be happy it's not as bad as the pontiacs.

 

[Sully56]

Well, it did it again, but slightly differently.
On this morning, the coil issue seemed to be absent, and I had normal performance and acceleration - hallelujah. Then - all of a sudden - complete momentary power loss (as if I completely let off the gas), then power returned. No engine light, NO battery light, No "dong" from the system, No message in the message center, nothing - when always before when this happened (several times now), I would get at least one of more of these indicators (never from the message center though).
Can this symptom be blamed on the "bad" coil, or does this indicate something else? Doesn't make sense to me that one (or even multiple) bad coils could cause this, but with today's sophistication, who knows what's connected to what. Also, gauge lights did NOT blink out, nor did the radio, so it was not a system-wide electrical loss.
And also, never had ANY of these problems when the weather was warm!? And I'm in Oklahoma, so we get very warm in the summer, but can still be pretty cold in winter.
Just fishin here guys - any help is appreciated.

 

[Micahdogg]

It's a coil. Ours had one bad coil (#2) as confirmed by a dealer stress test. We told the dealer that on 3 occasions - all while merging with traffic on the interstate - the vehicle completely died and was coasting. Wife had to turn the key and refire while rolling at 50+ mph. The dealer said that was impossible. We never got a light either.

 

[Sully56]

Fascinating... I look forward to the new coil clearing everything up.
Can you say if Ford is making good coils now, or should I go for an after-market manufacturer? Which did you use?
Anyone have any thougts on using synthetic oil? I'm due for an oil change, and am considering it.

 

[Micahdogg]

I don't think the aftermarket makes a better coil - despite the claims. Ford coils have generally been so-so, but the Aviator definitely seems to have the worst of the bunch and I don't know why. It might just be a function of the extra load this vehicle sees. I know there are about 3 different flavors of coils floating around. For instance the ones on my SOHC 5.4L are different part numbers than the Aviator and I don't know if they can be interchanged.

I have been curious about installing two coil packs from the 96-98 Cobras and just running plug wires. That set up seems to be much more reliable and I know these guys have successfully swapped to COP ingitions in order to get a cleaner looking engine bay. I do love the tidiness of the COP ignitions, but would swap to dual coil packs if this continues to be a problem.

How are you ever supposed to supercharge these things if the ignitions can't handle stock?!?

P.S. As far as I know, it's the exact same coil they will replace it with. And yes on synthetic oil - Mobil for sure.

 

[Micahdogg]

By the way, does anyone make an intake for these things? I'm thinking of welding one up if not.

 

[Sully56]

Sorry for the ignorance, but what is COP ignition?
And what exactly do you mean by the "extra load this vehicle sees"?
You mean just payload? GVW?

 

[Micahdogg]

COP = Coil on Plug. We have 8 coils sitting atop each plug and no more plug wires. The DOHC 4.6 has roots back to 1992 or 1993 when it debuted in the Lincoln Mark 8 (with a different upper intake configuration) and stayed pretty much this way through 1998 when it was in the Cobra. IN all of these years, the motor had two coil packs, one driver side, one pass side. Each one fed 4 plug wires to each head. For 1999+ Cobra, 2003 marauder, Mach 1 and Aviator they all have COP ignitions. The valve covers changed to accomidate this too, but it's not rocket science and can be converted back and forth.

As for load, I mean the extra weight of the Aviator placing a higher load on the engine. These COP ignitions act up in the Cobra and Marauder as well....adding 1000lbs places more load on the engines which usually accentuate a spark problem. IF your aviator starts acting up and stuttering, put the gear selector in 2nd gear and hold the brake pedal while forcing it to move forward. You'll place a HIGH demand on that engine and should get it bucking really good. This is usually how I try to differentiate a spark issue from a fuel issue (like a clogged fuel filter).

 

[Sully56]

Thanks for all that excellent feedback and info Micahdogg...

Anyone here know about a privacy cover for the cargo area?
I can see that there seems to be a couple of slots where you would think a retractable privacy cover would sit into, so I was wondering.
I had read somewhere that Lincoln did not make a privacy cover for this model, but that Mercury did make one for the Mountaineer that sould fit, so can anyone here confirm that - or has anyone here done this?

 

[Turdle]

and now for something different.

Look what Josh did to his wife's ride-

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=365704&highlight=aviator+sas

 

[ibayter]

Turdle this looks awsome! He just did tires or also add a lift on her? Please ask him what he did, does he needs to regear it to compensate for those big tires?

 

[Ronin8002]

Turdle this looks awsome! He just did tires or also add a lift on her? Please ask him what he did, does he needs to regear it to compensate for those big tires?

Front and rear SAS. Check out the link under the pic Turdle posted for info on the build.

 

[Sully56]

Ruins the look IMHO... Worng body style to pull that off...

 

[ibayter]

Thanks Ronin, I saw all the hard work Josh did to her and it is really amazing his job.

 

[ponkotsu]

I looking for a good deal on an Aviator. Found an '03 thats really clean but has bad engine. Broken timing chain and rod knock. So engine needs a total overhaul.

Assuming there is nothing really serious with the engine, any idea what it would cost to fix it? Last time I rebuilt an engine it cost me about $1500 to bring it back better than new, but its been a few years...

I think I can get this one dirt cheap, maybe $2k.

 

[ibayter]

I just did repaired mine, I think it cost me around 4K because I bought another engine and ended up doing some extra work because of inexperience with the 4.6 modular engine so I paid the price but I am proud of my Aviator and my self, She is running beautiful so far (knock on wood!) let me see if I can post a pic of her here is the link