Common problems with 03+ V8s

[dealmaster]

Hey everyone, I'm hoping to hop on the Lincoln LS bandwagon sometime in May, and I've found a couple of good specimens (03, 04 V8s under $20k and less than 40k miles) around Austin that I like. I want to know what to look for on maintenance records, what to check in my personal look-over of the car, and just general things that may go bad on me. For the record, I tried searching but only found sparse results.

I intend to purchase an extended warranty (where is the best place to buy one of these?) but I'd obviously prefer to get a car in better condition. So if you guys could tell me trouble spots or things to look for and ask about, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[LUVMY03LS]

if you get an ls you deffinantly wanna have the plugs checked and make sure you dont have oil in the plug wells. if it does then it needs a valve cover gasket change. this is the most common problem.

 

[dealmaster]

if you get an ls you deffinantly wanna have the plugs checked and make sure you dont have oil in the plug wells. if it does then it needs a valve cover gasket change. this is the most common problem.

Is this just an 00-02 problem or has it carried into the 03+s?

 

[SoonerLS]

It can happen to any car, but in the LSes, it's predominantly found in the pre-'03 cars. There have been a few members with '03s (probably early build date cars) who had the problem, but it's rare, and virtually unheard of on '04-'06 LSes.

 

[Smokey]

I just had both banks done under my extended warranty. I had 2 cops with oil on them on the passenger side. Runs great again!

 

[NateRW21]

yup... early 03's had the old style gasket sets (gray) which are prone to failure. I was lucky to buy and early 03 and get the old style gaskets... bonus for me.

Generally, most problems were more typical on early model LS's... there were over 500 changes between the 20 and 03 model years

 

[SoonerLS]

I intend to purchase an extended warranty (where is the best place to buy one of these?) but I'd obviously prefer to get a car in better condition. So if you guys could tell me trouble spots or things to look for and ask about, I'd really appreciate it.

IMHO, the Ford ESP warranties are the only ones worth a damn. There are a few people who've had good luck with aftermarket warranties, but far more have horror stories. There are a few of those horror stories posted around here; in a few cases, the desired result was achieved, but only after much fighting, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

 

[dealmaster]

IMHO, the Ford ESP warranties are the only ones worth a damn. There are a few people who've had good luck with aftermarket warranties, but far more have horror stories. There are a few of those horror stories posted around here; in a few cases, the desired result was achieved, but only after much fighting, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

Thanks for the input about the warranties. I checked Ford's warranty site and looked into it and they are priced very well, but it looks like they only want to cover cars purchased in the last 12-48 months. I'm not sure if any '03 I'll get would be covered by such a warranty. I'll probably have to call them and ask.

 

[SoonerLS]

Thanks for the input about the warranties. I checked Ford's warranty site and looked into it and they are priced very well, but it looks like they only want to cover cars purchased in the last 12-48 months. I'm not sure if any '03 I'll get would be covered by such a warranty. I'll probably have to call them and ask.

That is the catch with Ford ESP--the car has to be under the original factory warranty for you to be able to buy an ESP for it. For the LS, that's 4 years or 50,000 miles, so all you need is the odometer reading and the car's original in-service date, which any FLM dealer should be able to provide. For a car not purchased at an FLM dealership, you can call Lincoln Customer Service, and they should be able to tell you the in-service date. (The in-service date is the date the warranty clock starts ticking.)

 

[Kelleyo]

Most likely any tranny probs (Valve bodies etc) were already fixed under warranty when the car was young. The only nagging problem I have had is the headliner drooping near the 3rd brake light.

 

[owlman]

IMHO, the Ford ESP warranties are the only ones worth a damn.

... if you trust that Ford will stay afloat till the end of your warranty period

 

[fuzzyb]

... if you trust that Ford will stay afloat till the end of your warranty period

LOL, they are trying to go under!

The Racks (Rack & Pinion) go out in the 03's. It makes a zippy feeling in the steering wheel at slow speeds.
The rack alone at cost is $750. This would be around a $2000 repair.

 

[SoonerLS]

... if you trust that Ford will stay afloat till the end of your warranty period

At least the chances of Ford staying afloat 'til the end of the warranty term are better than the chances of getting satisfactory service from that notorious cesspool that is aftermarket warranties...