Ok guys.. Found a private seller this afternoon selling a 97 LSC, beatiful Evergreen. Has 88k on it, 10 disc changer, blah blah.. Got him down to $6200. Test drove the car.. and the power in the engine is there, but the car doesn't want to take off. Im guessing its very well the tranny due to the car not moving as quick as it should, and the burning smell after trying to take off... i am still very depressed about this, and i am waiting for him to call back so i can tell him to either (1) fix it (2) get it checked and get an estimate and lower the price to match the difference of the mechanical cost. I really will never see another 2nd Gen. Mark like this around here ever again.

(still sad)

Sean.

That really sucks man, but don't lose hope! You'll find your car, you just have to be patient and persistant. Good luck!

well.. he called me back, claiming that its the heat shield on the catyalatic converter. what do you guys think? i still think its the tranny, but i am not a mechanic.

well.. he called me back, claiming that its the heat shield on the catyalatic converter. what do you guys think? i still think its the tranny, but i am not a mechanic.
It's not the heat shield. That won't affect performance.

well.. im now being told its the cat. another friends 97 with 80k on it, has the same problem.

i have a bad sulfur smell from my cats after im hard on the throttle, hollow them out and it might go away?

A heat shield will let the cat run too cold and subsequently not perform right.

A heat shield will let the cat run too cold and subsequently not perform right.
I will respectfully disagree, but will certainly await a further explaination from you. It has been my experience that the heat shield is exactly that; a barrier between the high heat of the catlytic converter and everything that surrounds it. I have been told personally by the owner of an exhaust shop that my heat shields serve little pupose, just "don't park in a field!" Now this is what he told me for my Jeep, and also my MarkVII. Perhaps there is a difference with the VIII? I know that the newer vehicles tend to have larger converters, maybe that makes a difference? I can see it being more likely that a clogged catalytic would cause these performance issues.

Remember that you have a Gen1 and there is a difference in power between a Gen1 and Gen2. I have a Gen2 and my brother-in-law has a Gen1. I have a couple of things done to my car but I can still feel the power in first in the Gen 1.

Remember, I had my whole tranny replaced... the smell is the torque converter chewing up the output shaft, with the new tranny my performance is incredibly better now.

Remember, I had my whole tranny replaced... the smell is the torque converter chewing up the output shaft, with the new tranny my performance is incredibly better now.
Couldn't he just inspect the tranny fluid for metal shavings if that's the case?

Couldn't he just inspect the tranny fluid for metal shavings if that's the case?

why be depressed at all get the guy to drop the price to 55 or so and buy it. park it at the house drive the 93 around until you get the extra $$$ to fix the 97 you are not looking at that much to fix trans. anyway thats my opinion.
Eric :L

Try checking out ebay

I will respectfully disagree, but will certainly await a further explaination from you. It has been my experience that the heat shield is exactly that; a barrier between the high heat of the catlytic converter and everything that surrounds it. I have been told personally by the owner of an exhaust shop that my heat shields serve little pupose, just "don't park in a field!" Now this is what he told me for my Jeep, and also my MarkVII. Perhaps there is a difference with the VIII? I know that the newer vehicles tend to have larger converters, maybe that makes a difference? I can see it being more likely that a clogged catalytic would cause these performance issues.

Cats need to be hot to run properly. Like 1200F hot. The heat shield keeps much of that heat from escaping so the cat can perform efficiently. If it runs cold, the platinum won't catalyze as efficiently, increasing emissions and possibly either fouling or fooling the O2's into changing engine running parameters. I must add that in my experience with car mechanics (which is pretty extensive, since I was one for a bit), they usually know HOW, but never WHY. That's what engineers are for :)

Cats need to be hot to run properly. Like 1200F hot. The heat shield keeps much of that heat from escaping so the cat can perform efficiently. If it runs cold, the platinum won't catalyze as efficiently, increasing emissions and possibly either fouling or fooling the O2's into changing engine running parameters. I must add that in my experience with car mechanics (which is pretty extensive, since I was one for a bit), they usually know HOW, but never WHY. That's what engineers are for :)
Thanks Capt. ;) You didn't know I was an engineer, now did you? You poking fun at me. :D

No fun :) I have the utmost respsect for engineers (except industrial engineers, we made fun of them :) ) EE's first, then CE's, then ME's.

i just had my tranny replace and stall . i still have that smell try the O2 sensors clean up or replace i was told that would work.