Ignition leads and things

[robdeville]

My S3 has 23000 miles on the clock,I'm pretty sure the ignition leads,rotor arm and distributor cap are all original...think it's time they went !

Without costing the earth,does anyone have any recommendations for replacements ?

[phillpot]

robdeville said:

My S3 has 23000 miles on the clock,I'm pretty sure the ignition leads,rotor arm and distributor cap are all original...think it's time they went !

Without costing the earth,does anyone have any recommendations for replacements ?

WHY ????

They're barely run-in ! Think mine are original,70k miles, 20 years old and still going strong.

[tozerman]

Here here, if it aint broke then don't fix it
Cheers.....Tony..

[Barkychoc]

I have never ever had a car that hasn't run better and smoother with new ignition bits, leads, rotor, cap etc.
I'll eat my spark plugs if you can't tell the difference (and there's 8 of them !)

[phillpot]

Its all in the mind ! ! !

But,no seriously, I agree these items can wear out / fail. But would be very wary of replacing good quality genuine Ford / Motorcraft items with dodgey after market items, particularly HT leads. there are good'uns to be had but also lots of "cheap stuff" . IMHO



And how would Sir like his Spark Plugs cooked ?

Edited by phillpot on Monday 14th December 19:53

[robdeville]

OK...Point Made,it was just that I heard that the leads do break down after a number of years.

Very grateful for your comments...think I'll leave them alone !!

[ketvrin]

one test would be to lift your bonnet and start the car in the dark... if its like a fireworks display down there then the leads are goosed. You could also buy a spark tester (around £2.00 ) and see if there is a strong spark from each, check the connectors for any corrosion too. Good new leads are not that expensive so IMHO I agree with Chris and would replace replace them...

I would'nt offer to eat my plugs though as I need mine

K

[jimed]

As a minimum I'd take the dissy cap off and give it a good clean as there is almost certainly some muck on it which when slightly damp can cause tracking then I'd definitely replace the leads, they do go with time and if they are the originals they are way past their sell-by date - as mentioned above I can almost guarantee you will notice the difference.(I replaced the leads on my S3C some years ago and then replaced them again after about 6 years and the difference was noticeable in terms of response and smoothness)
Jim

[ketvrin]

jimed said:

As a minimum I'd take the dissy cap off and give it a good clean as there is almost certainly some muck on it which when slightly damp can cause tracking then I'd definitely replace the leads, they do go with time and if they are the originals they are way past their sell-by date - as mentioned above I can almost guarantee you will notice the difference.(I replaced the leads on my S3C some years ago and then replaced them again after about 6 years and the difference was noticeable in terms of response and smoothness)
Jim

And you'll have to buy two more next time Jim

K