twinbopilot
Well-Known LVC Member
Well boys and girls I lied to Santa and told him I've been good. 
He must have believed me because I just bought my "dream" Mark VIII - A black on black 1998 LSC with moonroof. Its the one in the Austin CL for $3500. Doctor owned, complete service history, garage kept. I got him to accept considerably less than $3500.
I promise to post some pics but here are some initial observations:
1. Air blows cold, compressor is OK, but no heat (Blend door actuator. I know). Thats fine for warm weather, but it was pouring rain and 40 degrees at night for the drive back to Dallas. I quickly found that windows will not defrost with cold dry air only - they have to have some heat. So there I was, freezing my a** off with my roll of paper towels, wiping the window every few minutes so I could see out. Not fun. Not fun at all. Then I got home and saw on here that I could have just opened the glove box and moved that little lever on the left to get heat. GRRRR.
2. Kept hearing this odd beeping. Five beeps, five times. Every 30 minutes or so. Thought it meant the mileage was incorrect on the odometer, but found out it means the air bag bulb is burned out. Pulled the info center, and lo and behold THERE WAS NO BULB IN THE AIRBAG LIGHT! The previous owner had removed it. Thats dirty pool. I should have caught that the airbag light didn't turn on when I first started the car, but I missed it.
3. When I test drove the car the cruise didn't work. Out on the highway, it did. Then it stopped again. Then I noticed a plastic "crinkling" sound behind the airbag when I turn the wheel. This must be the clockspring messed up? Explains the airbag light and the intermittent cruise, I think.
4. I was told the moonroof worked but didn't test it due to the downpouring rain. It was in the closed position and didn't leak. But when I tried to open it later it got stuck in a crooked position and not won't move. Its not the motor as I can feel it trying to move the glass. This is a new problem for me. (Maybe Santa found out I fibbed a little?) :shifty:
5. Had the "right door ajar" message that wouldnt go away. WD40'ed it with no luck. Finally used some ACF-50 aircraft corrosion inhibitor foam, then used a screwdriver to open and close the lock manually about 50 times. Also put some on the black circle thing on the back of the door under the door latch. I'm not sure what it is but it looks like a proximity switch as used on aircraft and industrial equipment. Anyone know what that thing actually is?
6. Right headlight is burned out. Have not decided if I want to replace the one factory bulb or put in an entire aftermarket HID system. Its actually cheaper to replace both with an aftermarket set (9006 size HID bulb fits the hole perfectly). I put an aftermarket set on my 1997 Mark VIII and they looked GREAT, better than the factory ones to me, but they didn't always both come on when the headlights were in the auto position. That always annoyed me so I haven't made up my mind yet on this.
7. Car has welded Magnaflow Magnapacks, K&N filter, and a Superchip brand chip. I know the Superchips kinda blow, but the car feels a LOT faster than my 1997.
8. There is a SERIOUS vibration that starts around 70 mph and seems to lessen above 80 mph. The owner said it needed a tire balance, but could this be the infamous driveshaft vibration? My 1997 never did this, and the tires on the car look to be in good shape.
9. The car has the coil conversion. I'm not sure yet if I prefer it to the ride of the air springs.
10. There is a "knocking" in the front end when driving over bumps, and the steering didn't feel right on the highway. When initially braking at highway speeds, the car pulled to the right momentarily then seemed to be ok. Could these issues be related? I'm gonna tray to post pics of the front suspension and let you guys tell me whats going on with it.
11. I LOVE the neon tail light and happily it works.
12. Car came with a hard wired Passport radar detector, a 12" sub in the trunk, two led flashlights, two Sprint cell phones (not in service), eight condoms (still in the package, thankfully), and a bottle of LaCoste cologne.
Check back for pictures and the full story as it develops!
Peace to all (well most anyway),
Twinbopilot
He must have believed me because I just bought my "dream" Mark VIII - A black on black 1998 LSC with moonroof. Its the one in the Austin CL for $3500. Doctor owned, complete service history, garage kept. I got him to accept considerably less than $3500.I promise to post some pics but here are some initial observations:
1. Air blows cold, compressor is OK, but no heat (Blend door actuator. I know). Thats fine for warm weather, but it was pouring rain and 40 degrees at night for the drive back to Dallas. I quickly found that windows will not defrost with cold dry air only - they have to have some heat. So there I was, freezing my a** off with my roll of paper towels, wiping the window every few minutes so I could see out. Not fun. Not fun at all. Then I got home and saw on here that I could have just opened the glove box and moved that little lever on the left to get heat. GRRRR.
2. Kept hearing this odd beeping. Five beeps, five times. Every 30 minutes or so. Thought it meant the mileage was incorrect on the odometer, but found out it means the air bag bulb is burned out. Pulled the info center, and lo and behold THERE WAS NO BULB IN THE AIRBAG LIGHT! The previous owner had removed it. Thats dirty pool. I should have caught that the airbag light didn't turn on when I first started the car, but I missed it.
3. When I test drove the car the cruise didn't work. Out on the highway, it did. Then it stopped again. Then I noticed a plastic "crinkling" sound behind the airbag when I turn the wheel. This must be the clockspring messed up? Explains the airbag light and the intermittent cruise, I think.
4. I was told the moonroof worked but didn't test it due to the downpouring rain. It was in the closed position and didn't leak. But when I tried to open it later it got stuck in a crooked position and not won't move. Its not the motor as I can feel it trying to move the glass. This is a new problem for me. (Maybe Santa found out I fibbed a little?) :shifty:
5. Had the "right door ajar" message that wouldnt go away. WD40'ed it with no luck. Finally used some ACF-50 aircraft corrosion inhibitor foam, then used a screwdriver to open and close the lock manually about 50 times. Also put some on the black circle thing on the back of the door under the door latch. I'm not sure what it is but it looks like a proximity switch as used on aircraft and industrial equipment. Anyone know what that thing actually is?
6. Right headlight is burned out. Have not decided if I want to replace the one factory bulb or put in an entire aftermarket HID system. Its actually cheaper to replace both with an aftermarket set (9006 size HID bulb fits the hole perfectly). I put an aftermarket set on my 1997 Mark VIII and they looked GREAT, better than the factory ones to me, but they didn't always both come on when the headlights were in the auto position. That always annoyed me so I haven't made up my mind yet on this.
7. Car has welded Magnaflow Magnapacks, K&N filter, and a Superchip brand chip. I know the Superchips kinda blow, but the car feels a LOT faster than my 1997.
8. There is a SERIOUS vibration that starts around 70 mph and seems to lessen above 80 mph. The owner said it needed a tire balance, but could this be the infamous driveshaft vibration? My 1997 never did this, and the tires on the car look to be in good shape.
9. The car has the coil conversion. I'm not sure yet if I prefer it to the ride of the air springs.
10. There is a "knocking" in the front end when driving over bumps, and the steering didn't feel right on the highway. When initially braking at highway speeds, the car pulled to the right momentarily then seemed to be ok. Could these issues be related? I'm gonna tray to post pics of the front suspension and let you guys tell me whats going on with it.
11. I LOVE the neon tail light and happily it works.
12. Car came with a hard wired Passport radar detector, a 12" sub in the trunk, two led flashlights, two Sprint cell phones (not in service), eight condoms (still in the package, thankfully), and a bottle of LaCoste cologne.
Check back for pictures and the full story as it develops!
Peace to all (well most anyway),
Twinbopilot
