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Don't know what to do, w/ 97 Mark VIII LSC

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Posted by: DeeeePIMPact

Hello!!!

First off, first time posting anything on this site... BUT I have been going through this site for like a year and a half now

I just never had to post anything because all the information i ever need was here... SO THANK YOU for always being here!
Let me explain me car a little so that you might help me better... it is a 1997 Lincoln Mark VIII LSC 108,000 miles... Black/black...I LOVE MY CAR!! I bought it for approx. $4,000 it does have a rebuilt title so I guess i paid too much

but anyhow after buying the car problems started to present them selfs...
The Air Bags for the suspension started leaking so i went got a new air bag for the front passenger side.. and had them put it in... $450 ...after that the thermostat went out had to replace that and housing $180 then the same air bag went out again

at that point i really wanted to keep the air ride system but getting to pricey to maintain cause the roads around here suck! I went ahead and got the lowered strut and coils from American air (eddie, great look and feel by the way) through reading on here (again thanks!) that was about $450 something like that... and this time i did the conversion myself from instructions i got off of here. (which made it relatively easy) thought i was done with the suspension for a while but nope.. my shocks went out

replace shocks senso trac's and decided from reading on here to do a little preventive maintains and replace the upper shock mounts since i was already there about $150

thought i was done with suspension again but nope every time i would turn the car or go over bumps the car would creak... so i looked at the usual suspects and they were all kinda worn but some of the seals were totally gone on the drivers side ball joint so i replaced that.. Still heard creaking so picked another part that looked really worn and a lot of reading on here decided to replace the sway links.. and then the creaking was gone.. after doing this i was noticing that i lost a lot of vibrating in the stearing wheel was gone.. and was going to try to get more of the vibrating gone.. usually vibrated when i got on it or at high speeds.. so i replaced a engine mount on drivers side.. still have have vibrating but narrowed it down to passenger side ball joint and or engine mount

i couldn't concentrate on this problem now cause my transmission was acting up and i figured it was shimming a little and might as well get it fixed took it to a local shop to be rebuilt for 1,400 worked good for 14 months, 2 months after they would pay for it to be repaired then strated doing the same thing again

so recently took it to AAMCO against a lot people said on here to do but i wanted the lifetime warrenity and didn't want a local shop again... and had to pay for it!! $3,500.. and have had to take it back to them 4 times still not done right they have to order a replacement transmission for me

so now i am bout 9,000 into it and i also bought $600 hydroedge's tires... new rotors drilled and slotted and performance brakes from R1 concepts (from what i read on here

about $300 and put a python car alram $900 after install.. and 2 12" audiobahn with mtx amp and box $450... And ohh yeah 1 other thing i had stuttering when it was idle so i went to replace spark plugs and and found deteriorated rubber connecting coils and spark plugs covered in oil

so replaced all coil rubber things... replaced valve cover gaskets and spark plugs

that was about $200
SO!! close to about $9,000 or 10,000 on repairs and cost... the only problems i know of still is passenger ball joint/engine mount... check engine light is on for incorrect flow to secondary injectors and i have narrowed that to the pump or wiring in the front bumper cause i already replaced PCV valve in front of crankshaft... my tilt telescoping stearing wheel is really beat up and does not like to move... and seats don't like to move neither... sometimes they do sometimes not

also spilled some damp rid in back seat would like to replace ....ohh yeah 10 disc don't work i just us SIRIUS sucks not having CD player...
AFTER all that here is the question my cousin backed into me while i was sleeping and dent the drivers side door and molding... Insurance company is giving me $2,700.. I can probable get it repaired for half that.. i don't know wither to try to keep this car or trade in upgrade to '98 with moon roof and heated seats..and more unknown problems or just get the car repaired and use the extra money to make more repairs and hopefully start running out of things to repair...
Any advice would be appreciated... thank you
~richard

P.s. i just like to thank 1wykdmk8 he has helped me the most reading a lot of information he has put out and been on the money a lot with his advice HE IS LIKE A GOD IN MY MIND !! LOL SO i would die to hear what he thinks...

Posted by: Nitrobasher

holy

.... im only 2k behind you with an IDENTICAL car.... kinda scares me

Posted by: BigBoyBoelts

But nitro did you have a rebuilt title on your car?

Posted by: poniesviii

Is your '97 a base model? Even tho you say LSC, Just curious....

You've spent alot of money on it! Wowza! Lol, I don't think I've put half that in mine for repairs. Well, I might be surprised if I added it up.

Anyways I'd assume your vibration is coming from the driveshaft, get a solid 1 pc from a '93 mark viii, only year to get the good driveshaft. '94 -'98 got 2 pc junk.

Posted by: Jibit

first thing is that you have to realize that these cars are 10 years old and things do start to go bad. Just normal preventative maintanence. These aren't things that you do because you bought a lemon, the car is getting old, rubber starts to dry out, things just happen. Do you really want to buy another car? Think about this. You know what you've done and that its done right. These things won't have to be messed with for another 10 years (hopefully

) I suppose if your heart is set on another color or options than go for it but I wouldn't. You'll pick up a '98, searching for low miles, and have to do it all over again. Or, you search for one with more miles and hope that all of this has been taken care of. Too much of a risk if you ask me.

Posted by: Frogman

I tried reading that post. I really did....

Posted by: Jibit

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frogman

I tried reading that post. I really did....

Posted by: Frogman

All I could make it out was:

I take it it's not a happy post...

Posted by: DeeeePIMPact

yes, poniesviii it is an LSC... at least I hope because of brake lite says so..

that and when i was pricing the seats in the car to replace.. the seats are different from the LSC and a nonLSC mark viii

And I do agree with Jibit as much as i do want the extra options like heated seats and moon roof, i just don't want to chance getting stuck with a '98 with the same problems i just fix.. but it would be a clean title

so i was thinking take my car now get it fixed at Macco for like $1,000 and put the left over 1,500 back into the car and try to fix the rest of my problems... But still left with rebuilt title and will NEVER get the money i put into it

or maybe i was thinking if i could find a wrecked mark viii LSC for about 1,000 buy that... steal the parts i need (seats,electric pump,disc changer,telescoping stearing assy.) to get my mark vii back up to par and sell the wreaked mark viii . Is there anything i might be missing? somehow that just seems to easy?

Posted by: Frogman

You're missing a spell checker and some good sentence structure software..

Posted by: poniesviii

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frogman

You're missing a spell checker and some good sentence structure software..

Ya know, I think you can only try to be funny for so long before you just look like an

...

It sounds like you have enough into your car that it will pay off to just keep it. You seem to spend alot in repairs tho, you've had major bad luck with the trans the way it sounds. Maybe you should J mod it, and upgrade fluid with a filter change yourself and save alot of cash while having a good dependable tranny out of the deal.

Maybe check into remote start intstead of heated seats, unless it wasn't a '97 option. If it was an option, maybe everything you need is there just to swap out seats

Finding a parts car with everything you need could pay off....... it's feasable, you might be looking for awhile tho. And after it's all said and done, it might be smarter money wise to just buying the used parts individually.

As far as your leaking bag, maybe a selenoid is bad? Call eddie, if you bought parts from him he should be able to shoot you in the right direction. I don't recall and too lazy to re read if you switched to coils.

It sure sounds like you really love the car, you've put enough into it! If you keep at it, you should rise above the problems. I beat the

out of mine all the time.

breaks or wears out, I fix, all is good. But I never seem to replace the same things twice.

If you don't like the color, fix what you can and sell it. Good condition marks can be had for cheap, alot of original owners are still out there........ getting older and looking to upgrade or sell. Sell high, buy low. I do it all the time. I paid 5 thou for mine over 4 years ago, with 69k from the original owner. It had one ding in the chrome strip, and one small slight dime sized stain in the carpet, otherwise it was mint. Now I have 142k on it, and it's still as good as new.

Posted by: Frogman

Quote:

Originally Posted by poniesviii

Ya know, I think you can only try to be funny for so long before you just look like an

...

Eh. Maybe I am one. Either way, idngaf.

Look: I don't mind helping fellow Lincoln owners out if I can, but God damn it, if they can't even take the time to properly structure a sentence and at least make a halfassed attempt at laying out the issue(s) with their car, then you know what? Screw it.

You want people to put in the time to read your, (not your per se, VIII - this is not directed at you), post and take the time to answer it, at least try to make it easy for them to read and understand your damned problem.

Does that make me an arsehole? Eh. To some I'm sure it does. Others may even agree with me, who knows. Point is, pull your head out of your ass, learn to write and help with your car problems may be more abundant. Occasional typos I can deal with. Run-on sentences and lack of structure, i can't. And yes, I will make fun of your kindergarten like writing. Deal with it.

Posted by: Calabrio

...You're in North Port. That's just a few miles away from here.

First bit of advice- there is a mechanic at Sarasota Ford who is incredible. He's very knowledgeable regarding the Lincoln Mark VIII. He's Rick W. and if you need to have any more work done on the car, you should just take it to him. He will absolutely fix it right the first time and while he's under there, he'll let you know what you should expect to work on next. On the occasions I've had to get work done on my, he's the only person I would ever take it to.

You're so heavily invested in that car, forget the idea of ever getting any money back. If you sell it now, you probably won't get enough to replace it with another. If you actually like the car, you might as well bite the bullet and fix what needs fixing- then keep it for another five years so that it pays for itself.

The seats can be fixed. My experience has been that it's easiest to just find working seats out of a donor car and swap the tracks. That won't take you too long- just 8 bolts, a hing, and a couple of wire harnesses.

I can't imagine why you'd care about heated seats in North Port. And, the sunroof- I wish I had one too. But, I look at it like this- it's something else that could break. You can always have an aftermarket one installed.

Anyother Mark VIII you buy will eventually need all that suspension work you've mentioned. You're probably ahead of the game right now. New suspension, transmission, ect....

You're in an economic no win, so if you like the car, fix it... You can't replace it for what you'll get for it.

Posted by: DeeeePIMPact

Thanks guys for some good advice!!

But just tonight i got hit again!! the pizzia hut delivery driver backed into my car! Another insurance check going into the pot!! And I LOVE my color black on black!! So i figure yeah keep the car take it to maaco get the whole car a fresh lifetime paint job... and use the rest of the money to get some used parts...

I do have the remote start

$900 Python car alarm

I guess I am going to need seats (all 3 LSC style), steering column, (just saw on ebay for like $250) and that electrical pump for the secondary injection. (p0411 or something like that)

I AM probably going to Maaco in Sarasota and stop by and see that mechanic about the electric pump and steering column... Does it cost money for him to look at it since he is at a dealership?

And Frogman I dont really want to say ANYTHING about this because, i just need some advice and help and dont want this turning into a grammar thread.. I didn't think i was writing to my professor.. That was my first post EVER... If you could help i appreciate, it if not please don't write anymore about this...

I'll take pictures if anyone is interested! Definitely will take some and post them up when i get the fresh paint job!

~thank you ALL

Posted by: Frogman

yawn

Posted by: turborich

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frogman

yawn

Why always so negative? He's just looking for a little help, That's all.

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