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Danger Zone!?

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Posted by: Goddard-MarkVIII

I'm about to take the plunge and buy my first Mark VIII. I want to at least be able to enjoy the car without the engine blowing up on me. Lets say the car is well taken care of and I take good care of it. With 140,000 miles how long do you think I have left in the engine with out replacing it?

Posted by: torquemonkey

Some people have reported over 200K on the odometer. I myself cannot document those findings. However, my '97 has close to 130K and purrs like a kitten and pulls hard. With the weather up there, you may get another 5-7 years up there with proper maintenance and not racing it. Heavy foot when entering freeway entrances not withstanding. After all, gotta blow out the carbon, right?

Enjoy your new ride.

Posted by: Icarus

There is a guy at my work with one that has 425000+ km (264083 miles) on it. Looks and sounds like it runs strong still...

Posted by: MERIJONS97LSC

There are three mark 8 on ebay: 183,333.....194,216.....271,000
I have seen a town car with over 500,000 miles on and it still sound strong(livery took me to airport)

Posted by: evillally

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goddard-MarkVIII

I'm about to take the plunge and buy my first Mark VIII. I want to at least be able to enjoy the car without the engine blowing up on me. Lets say the car is well taken care of and I take good care of it. With 140,000 miles how long do you think I have left in the engine with out replacing it?

Too high. Try under 100K.

Posted by: whiplash15

I have near 160,000 on one of my 98 Collectors Editions, and the last thing I worry about is the engine. It doesnt even have tensioner rattle let alone a knock. Just standard maintenance, is well enough to extend the life of these very well engineered engines. Doesnt use oil either. Nothing like a 350 Chevy.

Posted by: Calabrio

I have about 206,000 on mine right now. The engine has not blown up, nor does it threaten to blow up. So, if it's a well maintained car, you can buy one with 140k and have another easy 70k miles left.

With that said, even though the motor won't grenade, other systems do need attention at high mileage.

Expect to have to replace tie rods, ball joints, control arms, suspension, and other peripheral things like thermostat, oil filter adapter gasket, o2 sensors, maybe the IMRC, and stuff like that. But that's the case with any car.

It's high mileage, so it'll need parts. But you shouldn't expect to have to replace the engine.

Posted by: Goddard-MarkVIII

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiplash15

I have near 160,000 on one of my 98 Collectors Editions, and the last thing I worry about is the engine. It doesnt even have tensioner rattle let alone a knock. Just standard maintenance, is well enough to extend the life of these very well engineered engines. Doesnt use oil either. Nothing like a 350 Chevy.

Doesn't use oil?

Appreciate the input. I wanted to change the engine eventually, but just wanted to make sure it was going to last me awhile before I had to put 3 4 grand into it.

Posted by: chickenviii

no worries on the eng, i see lots crown vics, town cars, basically anything with a 4.6 with 300k+ miles and no major issues with the eng. i know the sohc and the dohc have differences but they are similar in durability.
i have a 98 LSC with 140 on her and before that had a 97 v8 tbird with 130, and my friends (dohc now) t-bird had 176 (i think) on the stock eng (his would burn 1 qt in 3k miles) and they all pull and/or pulled hard

Posted by: jonnieQ

i have a 93 m-8 it has 188k and will still smoke the tirer bone stock.wow~~

Posted by: Roadboss

Is'nt it amazing?? Some guys always suggest how things were better back in the old days (car wise). Everything was better ,less complex Yatta,yatta,yatta.

Personally I am thrilled with the leaps in technology that we now have to work with. There is no way some of the old cars would have drive trains that last as long as our's do, and with as little maintaince as ours do. I can also share with you that there is a bunch more effort put into the quality aspect as well than there was in years gone by (with the exception of a few of those things we all know about).
Advice to new prospective buyer would have to be not get too concerned about the milage, and try and adleast verify what prventive maintance has been done. Fluid changes, belt changes, etc as these if not done will tend to accumulate a bunch of problems that need to be addressed (poor shifting trannies, stalling, etc).

Posted by: Scorpio1118_2000

And also keep a lookout for the blend door thing, and the infamous 97/98 rear tail light ballest thing. The blend door is a biotch to replace.

Posted by: dRock95MarkVIII

All of the modular engines are pretty damn reliable. The 2v 4.6 leading the pack by far.

On a Mark VIII, it's not the engine I would be that worried about (as long as it was maintained that is).......

Posted by: Goddard-MarkVIII

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scorpio1118_2000

And also keep a lookout for the blend door thing, and the infamous 97/98 rear tail light ballest thing. The blend door is a biotch to replace.

The what? Whats the blend door problem? ballest, is that some light problem?

Dude I love that body kit. I have a picture of your car on my desktop.

Posted by: Calabrio

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goddard-MarkVIII

The what? Whats the blend door problem? ballest, is that some light problem?

Dude I love that body kit. I have a picture of your car on my desktop.

Blend door is associated with the climate control. The Ballast has to do with the big trunk light on the back of Gen 2s.

Posted by: BigBHolt

My mechanic has 225,000 miles on his 93 Mark and has no problems. He is going to rebuild another engine, but only for performance reasons. I have a 96 w/100,000 and I drive the crap out of mine. I don't turn down any race.

Posted by: Scorpio1118_2000

Sorry bout that, I should have made myself more clear for the noobs.
I have had people come up to me and offer to buy my engine, apparently the teksid engine is popular among engine builders. As long as you take care of your Mark VIII, you could very well put 200k on the clock with little or no trouble. Now the stuff around the engine is a whole nother can of worms.

Posted by: Goddard-MarkVIII

should it kind of kick when i shift?

Posted by: torquemonkey

As in the engine bucks or the Tranny shifts hard?

Posted by: mespock

OK let's go to the Moon...

I have 155K on my 95, 156K on my 94, and 218K on my 93.

Not one of these car drive like they have miles on them. I am not afraid to take any on a long distance trip.

And all three would be race worthy.

Blow the engine

you might trash the tranny but blow the engine no way... you have to go out of your way to kill it. Or be named Mr. Wilson...

If you take care of these engines they will last you a very long time. Just don't use $hitty oil, and make sure your maintenance is regular and on time. Keep an ear open for worn or wearing parts and replace them before they get bad.

Posted by: Goddard-MarkVIII

Quote:

Originally Posted by torquemonkey

As in the engine bucks or the Tranny shifts hard?

It just gives a little kick. The car kinda jumps a bit. Not to hard, but its noticeable when your sitting idle switching gears.