So about 3/4 the way back to pittsburgh, my car started to run on three cylinders. At first it was just under boost, then by the time I got home it would not run well at all. If I give it more than 15% throttle, it drops a cylinder. After checking around I pulled the COP and this is what it looked like...

Is there a way to test these by checking resistance?

 

It seems like it is LSx coil time. You can do a full swap for less then $200.

 

It sure looks shot but you can test it by using a test light. Clamp one end to the body (ground) and probe into the coil secondary with the other end. Have someone startup the car and slowly pull the probe out from the coil pack. You should have a nice blue/purple spark extend about an inch from where the spark plug would attach.

Don't get zapped.

Also, make sure the spark plug is still tight in the bore. IDK why the insulator looks cocked to one side in that pic?

 

It is seperating from the housing, that's what lead me to believe I melted it.

 

push it back together, they come apart there.

 

Link to plug wire info. I've been thinking about doing this because the Lone Star State has an abundance of LS1 coils on the cheap.

 

It seems really really hard to get it to budge, at least by hand. I guess ill try a vice or something.

 

so i put it in a vice and tried to force it back together, and its a no go. I cranked on it until it felt like it was going to explode, and it did not go back in. I ordered a couple off ebay just to be safe..

 

Yup, that's exactly what mine looked like when I popped some. Are your dwell settings correct?

 

Mount them behind the cam cover like stock and use stock wires. Pictures of mine exist on this site somewhere, but unless you know what you're looking for it's passable for stock.

 

Awesome, thanks +1 for you. I am going to run through my tune and re tune the dwell, keeping it as low as possible. I thought I had it as 2.5-3ms but I have not checked it in awhile. Ill have to see how low I can go without misfiring.

 

Fab skill fail.

 

A pair of 90 degree angle brackets and a few inches of allthread or steel rod. The brackets bolt to the back of the cam cover and the coils are sandwiched on the rod. If you can't do it, then you fail at life.