Bought a beater today... It has issues.

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'00GrayGhost

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'97 LSC. 160k miles. Bright Toreador Red on Saddle Leather. It looks like it went through the mother of all hail storms, but the interior is in very good condition and all the goodies work except the CD changer. Beautiful factory Chrome wheels. It's had a Strutmaster conversion done so no Airbag woes. Issue number 1: Unfortunately, the car sat for about 6 months and something is going on with the front end. Turning the wheel either way causes awful groaning noise "like rubber sliding against something" and hard steering and it doesn't want to straighten back up. Issue number 2: The alternator went out about 15 miles from home. I made it home, but now I'm gonna have fun in the morning...
 
Yeah, I know the alternator isn't too bad. And the car needs tires anyway, so I was gonna have my shop check out the front end when they had it. Thanks for the heads up.
 
You are going to need upper control arms, lower ball joints and a mattress to fall onto when they tell you how much they want to repair it for you...
 
Since it's already been converted to coils, you can just get Thunderbird upper and lower control arms and save a little bit of money.

Get a good brand name, or else you'll be doing it again in 6 months.
 
Or go buy a set of wrenches, its really not that difficult
 
'00GrayGhost said:
'97 LSC. 160k miles. Bright Toreador Red on Saddle Leather. It looks like it went through the mother of all hail storms, but the interior is in very good condition and all the goodies work except the CD changer. Beautiful factory Chrome wheels. It's had a Strutmaster conversion done so no Airbag woes. Issue number 1: Unfortunately, the car sat for about 6 months and something is going on with the front end. Turning the wheel either way causes awful groaning noise "like rubber sliding against something" and hard steering and it doesn't want to straighten back up. Issue number 2: The alternator went out about 15 miles from home. I made it home, but now I'm gonna have fun in the morning...
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rome tx?

take it to laser
 
Thanks guys. I'm aware, it's not exactly cheap to do some things to this car, but it's a whole lot cheaper to work on than my E55. Again thanks for the tips. GMAN, you have a PM.
 
No pics of this car? I'm assuming you have an LS too because of your avatar but we love pictures and would like to see the 97. We don't want to see the LS. Most of us see those in every parking lot and every other driveway.

One thing you might want to check into is your spring conversion. If it's a cheap kit, it could be the culprit of your front end going bad.
 
98lincmk7lsc said:
Since it's already been converted to coils, you can just get Thunderbird upper and lower control arms and save a little bit of money.

Get a good brand name, or else you'll be doing it again in 6 months.
Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth. I know from experience.:eek:

Sapperfire said:
Or go buy a set of wrenches, its really not that difficult
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True. It'll take a couple of hours but it's not that bad and you will save tons of cash over what a garage will charge in labor alone.
 
I used to have an LS. Just haven't changed my avatar. I'll get some pics up soon. Got the alternator done. As for the conversion kit, I know it came from Strutmaster, beyond that I couldn't say. But new upper control arms aren't too expensive and if that's what it needs I'm cool with that. My plan is to get it 100% as far as the mechanical aspect and drive it. The hail damage is probably too extensive to warrant what it would cost to do the paint/body work.

PS: Is MOOG an acceptable brand for the control arms or should I go with someone else?

Also, I'm in Rome, GA. I didn't even know there was a Rome, TX.
 
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'00GrayGhost said:
I used to have an LS. Just haven't changed my avatar. I'll get some pics up soon. Got the alternator done. As for the conversion kit, I know it came from Strutmaster, beyond that I couldn't say. But new upper control arms aren't too expensive and if that's what it needs I'm cool with that. My plan is to get it 100% as far as the mechanical aspect and drive it. The hail damage is probably too extensive to warrant what it would cost to do the paint/body work.

PS: Is MOOG an acceptable brand for the control arms or should I go with someone else?
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I think MOOG is preferred by everyone here that has a Mark.
 
'00GrayGhost said:
PS: Is MOOG an acceptable brand for the control arms or should I go with someone else?

Also, I'm in Rome, GA. I didn't even know there was a Rome, TX.
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If you can get it to Columbia, SC, I can help you. I've got all of the tools needed, including air tools. :p I've done this job at least 6 times now. I can get it done in a couple hours...

Moog/TRW is what you'll want to get.

I just looked at Rock Auto and you can get uppers and lowers (both sides) for a 97 Thunderbird for a little over $200 plus shipping.
 
GMAN hooked me up with a CupHolder. And I have the ability to do the work, just not the time. I work nights 50-60 hours a week. New development: the driver's seat worked fine when I picked it up, but after the alternator went out last night it's not doing anything (none of the buttons work in any direction). The passenger seat still works so I'm lost. Are they on different fuses or could it be something else?
 
98lincmk7lsc said:
If you can get it to Columbia, SC, I can help you. I've got all of the tools needed, including air tools. :p I've done this job at least 6 times now. I can get it done in a couple hours...

Moog/TRW is what you'll want to get.

I just looked at Rock Auto and you can get uppers and lowers (both sides) for a 97 Thunderbird for a little over $200 plus shipping.
Click to expand...

Wow, never heard of Rock Auto before... I bought Moog ball joints from my local parts store and it cost over $500 for the 2000 TC. Rock Auto - $193 delivered :eek: I'll have to bookmark that website!
 
'00GrayGhost said:
GMAN hooked me up with a CupHolder. And I have the ability to do the work, just not the time. I work nights 50-60 hours a week. New development: the driver's seat worked fine when I picked it up, but after the alternator went out last night it's not doing anything (none of the buttons work in any direction). The passenger seat still works so I'm lost. Are they on different fuses or could it be something else?
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You're gonna have to mess around with the harness under there. Unplug them and reconnect because it could just be a bad connection. Had the same problem with a 93 once and if the harness was raised up, the seat would move. If I let it set on the floor, it done nothing. I unplugged them and sprayed with electronics cleaner that dries almost instantly and it worked fine after that.
 
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