New Owner 1998 Midnight Gray MKVIII

[SouthernGemini]

Hello guys,

My name is Andy and I bought Brett's lovely Mark VIII last week. He goes by stang99x. 120k on the clock, my favorite color of all Marks and I plan to share plenty of pics and posts in the coming years. I can't take any updated pictures b/c I have the car at my mechanics shop at the moment so I can get an inspection sticker. This will become my second daily driver so I will perform some low key, basic mods but that is about it.

So far I have found the forum to be quite helpful. Some issues I will be tending to are:
1. Vibration that seems to come from the front wheels. Car drives straight as a Catholic living in the Vatican so the alignment is good, I think. Maybe a weight came off a tire or something. I read on here these cars are sensitive to these issues.
2. The rears rub when hitting mid to large bumps due to the wide rims. Sitting still, the rear seems to sit a bit low for my taste so I will investigate how to fix this. I recall something about this being programmable? Still has air ride and I don't want to change that.
3. Back window gasket from he** needs to be ironed out.
4. Exhaust has been modified but I think it needs a different 'tune'. I'll likely take a before and after video so you guys and listen in.

I am also a 2006 Nissan Titan X-cab 4x4 Big Tow owner and a member of TitanTalk.com and own a 93 Supercharged Crown Victoria and a member of CrownVic.net. I don't have any good pics of my truck except this older one when I was dirt riding. Mine is the blue one on the left. Sold the Suzuki a few years ago.

This is my play toy.

I look forward to meeting you guys over time and I plan to help you as much as possible b/c I'm sure you fellas will help me. Cheers from southern Louisiana.

 

[ford nut]

So far I have found the forum to be quite helpful. Some issues I will be tending to are:
1. Vibration that seems to come from the front wheels. Car drives straight as a Catholic living in the Vatican so the alignment is good, I think. Maybe a weight came off a tire or something. I read on here these cars are sensitive to these issues.

The car has non stock rims correct?
Does it have hub rings? sounds like a tire issue.

2. The rears rub when hitting mid to large bumps due to the wide rims. Sitting still, the rear seems to sit a bit low for my taste so I will investigate how to fix this. I recall something about this being programmable? Still has air ride and I don't want to change that.

You can raise the hight sensor in the rear, get a stiffer shock, roll and or cut the rear quarters to try to stop the rub.
Odds are the off set of the rear rim isn't ideal.
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/tech/lincoln-mark-viii/Sensor-Lowering/index.htm

3. Back window gasket from he** needs to be ironed out.

If your lucky you can find a nice one in the junk yard.
It is molded in the window so you have to replace both.

4. Exhaust has been modified but I think it needs a different 'tune'. I'll likely take a before and after video so you guys and listen in.

I am also a 2006 Nissan Titan X-cab 4x4 Big Tow owner and a member of TitanTalk.com and own a 93 Supercharged Crown Victoria and a member of CrownVic.net. I don't have any good pics of my truck except this older one when I was dirt riding. Mine is the blue one on the left.

This is my play toy.


I look forward to meeting you guys over time and I plan to help you as much as possible b/c I'm sure you fellas will help me. Cheers from southern Louisiana.

Love the 5.4 vic.
Must be a fun ride.

 

[SouthernGemini]

Greetings Ford Nut,

Funny you responded b/c my Mark VIII is sitting on jack stands as we speak. That vibration in the front? I think i found the issue to be an inner and outer tie rod on the passenger side. Inner was definitely bad, outer was questionable so I decided to change it anyway. The bad news? Car Quest sold me the wrong outer tie rod end. Not their fault b/c the box was labeled correctly but the design is off. It LOOKS right until one goes to screw it on the inner tie rod end. Apparently the big chains like O'Reilly, Auto Zone, Car Quest, Advance, Napa carry the inner but no outer. This afternoon going to verify in Auto Zone has the right one and get it by tomorrow. I took pictures and will show readers what I discovered.

You are right Ford Nut, the tires are just a bit too wide. I did raise it and it helped but the correct rims are the way to go. At the moment, I am going to hold tight on this.

I bought the rear window kit and installed it yesterday. Pics to come on this as well.

Here is the vid of the exhaust..and it still had the old plate on it. The plate has been mailed back to Brett and I now have my La plate on it. Nothing fancy, just a stock issue plate. Notice the rear end pump up! So cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6Yh2m2CQrI

The 5.4 Vic got a new Ford Racing rear end two weeks ago and I took it to the track...the 2 3/4 mile track, not the drag. It was awesome. I didn't have the funds to buy a camera and video it but if I do it again, I will work on getting one.

 

[Markviiiedrea]

I like to order 75% of my parts from rock auto, they have always been correct so far and you cant beat the price. My rear window is in awful shape as well, so I'm interested in how yours turned out.

Welcome to LVC!

Any plans to put a blower on that mark too?

 

[SouthernGemini]

Thanks Markviiiedrea,

No plans to modify the engine UNLESS something goes awry with the current one. I use it as a 1/3 daily driver rotating it out with my Nissan Titan and Honda Accord. If I do need to replace it, I think it will be quite a replacement.

Here are some pics of what I have been up to the past few months starting with the back glass. Here is what it looked like

Pressed down, you can see it is much better but the rear window seal itself is losing its heartiness, thus the discoloration.

It worked as it should and I would use the product again. I am a member of AAA and they have a program that for $30 ($40 for non members) you can have your VIN etched into every piece of glass. Will it really deter a thief? I don't know but it may and for $30 I like every bit of security I can get.

 

[SouthernGemini]

The neon was out and thanks to this forum, I figured out what was wrong in quick form. I ordered the ballast from glitch (the former Richard McCarthy) and compared to the original, it was tiny. The black one is factory, the one from glitch is white and just below the factory one.

I mounted it with rivets instead of the sticky tape that was supplied but keep in mind, you may need to grind them down so the ballast cover will fit on the back of the light correctly.

Don't have a friend to help you press the brake when testing ALL lights after an install? I use a wood clamp and put the end on the brake and adjust it so the rubber piece hits the seat. Works on just about any car you need...at least on the cars I work on.

The pic shows the neon being a little brighter than it actually is. If I went too low with the camera, it looked bright and too high with the camera, too dim. It looks good in person.

 

[SouthernGemini]

I also had a wobble b/t 60 and 70 like I mentioned above. Also, under medium to hard braking it shook the darn steering wheel. A quick move of the front wheels while off of the ground exhibited plenty of play on the right side. Turned out to be the inner tie rod end. Time to replace it. Removing the boot.

This is what I found. Semi dry grease and it was loosee goosee. Plenty of play.

While I was at it I figured I would replace the outer tie rod end b/c it was questionable. For the record, I don't like 'just replacing parts'. I'm frugal, yet have common sense so for the $20-$25 and the old one was not as fit as I would have liked, I changed it. Here are the old parts along with my trusty inner tie rod tool which is NOT NEEDED for this job. I kinda wish is was b/c I haven't used this tool in so long.

New part installed and after I find that 'clunking' sound coming from the front end that happens on occasion I will get an alignment.

 

[k9t8m]

Welcome to LvC!

why would anyone want to drive a crown vic? isnt that a grandpas car?

 

[pepperman]

:W to :V

 

[SouthernGemini]

I only WISH my grandpa would have had that car...and let me drive it!