My new '94 Mk VIII

[McMkVIII94]

Hey Folks... just wanted to introduce myself, and say Thanks.

Last Friday, the "luckiest" thing that has EVER happened to me transpired just about noontime.

I stopped at a yard sale because I spotted a piece of lawn furniture I thought my wife might like... I was late and almost kept going, but turned around and went back anyway. After I paid the guy for it (a couch-size metal "glider"), I spotted a very dusty black car in the back yard with big splotches in the paint, but with very sexy lines from what I could see of it, parked between two old pickup trucks. Asked the guy about it and when he told me what it was, I perked up. He asked if I wanted to look at it... "of course!"

He got the keys, said it was for sale, and my heartbeat went up a little... And when he opened the door and I saw the interior, I was bowled over... spotless! Then when he cranked it up I immediately fell hopelessly in love (but tried not to show it of course ).

I was driving my work van at the time, and told him I'd have to sell my current personal vehicle to be able to buy it. He asked what it was... one thing let to another, I went and got my car for him to look at, and before I knew it we agreed to a straight title-swap.

There are only two things wrong with this beauty:

1) The paint... the car spent years under a car cover and has big splotches on the nose, top and trunk lid where the clearcoat is peeling away from being rubbed so much for so long. I can deal with this for a while until I can swing a top-notch paint job.

2) The transmission/drive train had a shutter/skipping feeling under certain driving conditions. Thanks to the thread here, Transmission Dying?, I feel sure I now have the answer to that problem... the torque converter is not fully locking up. I'll change the fluid and filter ASAP, and see if that fixes it.

So here she is, after a detail washjob and a little TLC...

(My last name starts with "Mc")... hence, I give you:

The 1994 Lincoln McMk VIII

 

[Don Pfau]

Very nice. What did you trade for it ? How many mile ? Good luck with it.

 

[chris2523]

make sure you drain the torque converter as well, and you may want to look into the 1-2 accumulator upgrade. the early transmissions had problems with those. easy fix.
looks great. even the chrome trim is in good shape.

 

[fastang]

Looks great! Nice find!

 

[NoLimit95]

Lucky, this would happen in my city, NEVER! I would have given him a 1988 GMC truck for it lol. That's the only other vehicle I have but it stays parked outside and is only used when it rains to keep the 95 indoors.

I would have been all over the black 94, especially if the interior was black. The things mentioned that need to be fixed aren't hard to do. As for the transmission, I would go ahead and just be looking for a 98+ short tail shaft trans to swap it with and be done with that part of it.

 

[mark0101]

Very nice, you found a gem. Hopefully after the transmission flush, your shudder problem will be thing of the past. Oh yeah, how many miles?

 

[UltimateSVT]

WOW! I love your story! It's amazing how nice it looks. Please, more pictures. We are pictureholics on this forum! & expect plenty of them! You will find all the help you need on this site. Welcome home & conrgats on the new car!

 

[McMkVIII94]

hehehe...

how many miles? (I knew that was coming ) an unbelievable...

36,049 mi... and I put 127 of those on it since Friday. I'll make a sig line with stats soon.

Previous owner put new tires on it less than 1000 mi. ago, just generic brand MultiMile Matrix tho. Wish he'd been a dyed-in-the-wool Michelin man.

He also replaced the air ride with coils (bags went bad or something), don't know brand of replacements but I'll find that out if he knows... springs are red. He told me it had never had a tune-up nor a trans. servicing... both of which I plan for real soon... I'm cruising around this forum making a to-do list and finding/printing tutorials.

He replaced the stock head unit with an Alpine, but I must say the stereo is nothing to write home about. He still has the original unit, I'll pick it up today along with any other parts he might have.

I'll link to some more pictures later, have to leave for work now.

After the trans. fix and tune, I'll be doing other stuff, so I'm sure I'll have many questions. I've been using the search here a lot, and trying to soak up as much as I can (got to find out exactly what a JMOD is and how to do it)... great forum!

Good day Guys, thanks again

eta: I know this is a subjective question, but... Is it gonna hurt this transmission bad to drive it a little in the condition it's in?

 

[ratdog442]

sweet 94, what a great year for a Mark.

 

[UltimateSVT]

how many miles? (I knew that was coming ) an unbelievable...

36,049 mi... and I put 127 of those on it since Friday.
Good day Guys, thanks again

eta: I know this is a subjective question, but... Is it gonna hurt this transmission bad to drive it a little in the condition it's in?

OMG!!!!!!!!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?!? YOU just got yourself a new car!

I wouldn't drive it much like that. It's sat for waaaaaay too long. You will regret it!

 

[ford nut]

Nice low millage find, love the 20 spokes on a gen 1 car!

It still has the stock fluid in it.
You need to put in Mercon V

Mercon V was designed to improve friction material stability, prevent torque converter clutch chatter "shutter/skipping your experiencing" and lower overall operating temperature, including shift temperature.

Make sure to drain the converter when you change it.
I believe its about 13 quarts.
If it was me I would j-mod it change the fluid, just Google j mod to find the info.
You can buy/install the parts or do the mod yourself.


Search the markvIII forum using Mercon V as your search word.

Welcome to LVC.

 

[NoLimit95]

Nice low millage find, love the 20 spokes on a gen 1 car!

It still has the stock fluid in it.
You need to put in Mercon V

Mercon V was designed to improve friction material stability, prevent torque converter clutch chatter "shutter/skipping your experiencing" and lower overall operating temperature, including shift temperature.

Make sure to drain the converter when you change it.
I believe its about 13 quarts.
If it was me I would j-mod it change the fluid, just Google j mod to find the info.
You can buy/install the parts or do the mod yourself.


Search the markvIII forum using Mercon V as your search word.

Welcome to LVC.

Agreed, didn't know the mileage was so low. Only problem is if the fluid is burnt, he may still be facing a shudder problem that could get worse. Doubtful but it is possible. All depends on the condition of the TC as it is right now.

 

[ford nut]

A nice find no doubt.
He might even be able to fix the paint with a detail.
If he is lucky all the air ride stuff is there un-damaged.

It reminds me of the blk/blk gen1 I found at a tires plus store, slammed.
I asked about it, then bought it.

These cars scare the chit out of people when they see the repair bill.

 

[kaha]

how many miles? (I knew that was coming ) an unbelievable...

36,049 mi... and I put 127 of those on it since Friday. I'll make a sig line with stats soon.

The sound you hear is people gnashing their teeth in envy. :lol:

Great find!!

 

[ratdog442]

make sure you drain the torque converter as well, and you may want to look into the 1-2 accumulator upgrade. the early transmissions had problems with those. easy fix.
looks great. even the chrome trim is in good shape.

+1 on accumultor upgrade...I would look there before the torque convertor..know problem in the 94 Model year.

 

[Raped Ape]

He also replaced the air ride with coils (bags went bad or something), don't know brand of replacements but I'll find that out if he knows... springs are red.

Springs are probably Strut Masters. And if he has parts to the car that he is throwing in, get it all now. Especially if he has any or all of the air ride setup. Do not leave anything to waste, you may never know what you may need down the road.

Nice ride and find.

You never answered what did you trade heads up with.

 

[My Great 8]

Instant shudder fix....... Dr. Tranny. It's a 2 ounce tube available at NAPA. Buy two at $6.49 and the shudder will be gone!! Nice car. Welcome to LVC!

 

[Right on the Mark]

+1 on accumultor upgrade...I would look there before the torque convertor..know problem in the 94 Model year.

The 1-2 accumultor problem is really a broken spring in the accumultor causing hard 1-2 shift. This does not make shudder. BTW my 1-2 accum spring was broken in half when i bought my car also.

 

[Right on the Mark]

Instant shudder fix....... Dr. Tranny. It's a 2 ounce tube available at NAPA. Buy two at $6.49 and the shudder will be gone!! Nice car. Welcome to LVC!

The car is a 1994 and new to him why not just do a nice Mercon V fluid and filter change and know its done. Also did the 94's come with mercon V in those days? I thought I read that early years not come with that. Not 100% on that. Oh BTW great deal on your car I could only dream of scoring a MK8 with 36K!!! You will love the car for sure.

 

[ratdog442]

I had this fixed ten years ago but as my memory serves me correctly it was a shudder at 45MPH not a hard shift...I had the dealer fix it...if I am wrong on this I am wrong...if you have to replace the torque converter go with a stall then change the gears to 4.10's or 3.73's...this is the way the car should have come in the first place.

 

[k9t8m]

beautiful car. sensor lower it and it will be perfect. Those 20 spokes clean up real nice with just a little elbow grease.

 

[Right on the Mark]

beautiful car. sensor lower it and it will be perfect. Those 20 spokes clean up real nice with just a little elbow grease.

His car came with springs. So hard to sensor lower. LOL You also might want to look into doing the stock FORD deep dimple sump trans pan. Ford put these on later MK8's for a reason. I got mine real cheap.(30) FYI you have to run the later years MK8 filter kit with this pan because filter has a snorkel on it to get into the sump. Its a nice little upgrade to the trans.

 

[ford nut]

I had this fixed ten years ago but as my memory serves me correctly it was a shudder at 45MPH not a hard shift...I had the dealer fix it...if I am wrong on this I am wrong...if you have to replace the torque converter go with a stall then change the gears to 4.10's or 3.73's...this is the way the car should have come in the first place.

TSB
06-14-4 MERCON ATF IS BEING REPLACED BY MERCON V ATF AS A SERVICE FLUID.
Publication Date: June 29, 2006

FORD: 1980-1997 Crown Victoria

1981-1997 Mustang, Thunderbird

1981-2003 Escort

1986-1993 Festiva

1986-1997 Taurus

1989-1997 Probe

1994-1997 Aspire

1995-2000 Contour

1980-1996 Bronco

1981-2003 F-150

1981-2004 E-Series, F-Super Duty

1983-1996 Ranger

1986-1996 Aerostar

1991-1997 Explorer

1993-2004 F-53 Motorhome Chassis

1995-1998 Windstar

1997-2004 Expedition

2000-2005 Excursion

2001-2007 Escape

1987-2000 F- & B-Series

2000-2007 F-650, F-750

LINCOLN: 1980-1997 Town Car

1981-1997 Continental

1993-1997 Mark VIII

1998-2004 Navigator

2002-2003 Blackwood

MERCURY: 1980-1997 Grand Marquis

1981-1997 Cougar

1986-1997 Sable

1987-1999 Tracer

1995-2000 Mystique

1999-2002 Cougar

1993-2002 Villager

1997 Mountaineer

2005-2007 Mariner

MERKUR: 1985-1989 XR4TI

This article supersedes TSB 01-15-7 to update the vehicle application chart.

ISSUE:

MERCON® Automatic Transmission Fluid is being replaced by MERCON® V as a service fluid.

ACTION:

Beginning immediately all automatic transmission / transaxle applications requiring MERCON® can now be

serviced using MERCON® V or MERCON® Automatic Transmission Fluid or dual usage fluids labeled

MERCON® / MERCON® V. After July 1, 2007, MERCON® Automatic Transmission Fluid will no longer be

manufactured, therefore, availability of this fluid will only continue for however long it takes to deplete what

remains in inventory.

SERVICE PROCEDURE

Service automatic transmissions requiring MERCON® with MERCON® V or MERCON® Automatic

Transmission Fluid or dual usage fluids labeled MERCON® / MERCON® V

For proper fluid application on current and past model vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions /

transaxles refer to the fluid usage chart. (Figure 1)

CAUTION: AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS / TRANSAXLES THAT REQUIRE MERCON® V SHOULD

STILL ONLY USE MERCON® V OR DUAL USAGE FLUID LABELED MERCON® / MERCON® V.

CAUTION: MERCON® SP, MOTORCRAFT PREMIUM AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID AND

MOTORCRAFT M5 ATFS ARE UNIQUE FLUIDS AND MUST BE USED IN APPLICATIONS

RECOMMENDING THAT PARTICULAR FLUID. USE OF ANY OTHER FLUID MAY CAUSE

REDUCED FUNCTIONALITY OR TRANSMISSION DAMAGE.

CAUTION: THE FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FLUIDS FOR CVT TRANSMISSIONS ARE

VERY DIFFERENT THAN THOSE OF OTHER AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUIDS (ATFS). USE OF

A FLUID OTHER THAN MOTORCRAFT CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE CHAIN TYPE TRANSMISSION

FLUID OR ONE LABELED AS MEETING MERCON® C WILL CAUSE FUNCTIONALITY CONCERNS

AND INTERNAL TRANSMISSION DAMAGE.

CAUTION: DO NOT USE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID SUPPLEMENTS, ADDITIVES,

TREATMENTS OR CLEANING AGENTS.

PART NUMBER PART NAME

XT-2-QDX MERCON® (Quart)

XT-2-DDX MERCON® (55 Gal. Drum)

XT-5-QM MERCON® V (Quart)

XT-5-DM MERCON® V (55 Gal. Drum)

WARRANTY STATUS:

Information Only

Figure 1 - Article 06-14-4

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: The information in Technical Service Bulletins is intended for use by trained, professional technicians

with the knowledge, tools, and equipment to do the job properly and safely. It informs these technicians of

conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or provides information that could assist in proper vehicle service.

The procedures should not be performed by "do-it-yourselfers". Do not assume that a condition described

affects your car or truck. Contact a Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury dealership to determine whether the Bulletin

applies to your vehicle. Warranty Policy and Extended Service Plan documentation determine Warranty and/or

Extended Service Plan coverage unless stated otherwise in the TSB article. The information in this Technical

Service Bulletin (TSB) was current at the time of printing. Ford Motor Company reserves the right to supercede

this information with updates. The most recent information is available through Ford Motor Company's on-line

technical resources.

 

[ratdog442]

it was the accumultor 1-2 that was the problem not the torque converter this was fixed in spring 2001.

 

[Raped Ape]

Also did the 94's come with mercon V in those days? I thought I read that early years not come with that. Not 100% on that.

I do believe as I went thru this on my Conti a couple yrs back, the Merc V was an update in midish 96 for the 97 build year. This is what Ford published........

Beginning with the 1997 model year, Ford introduced a higher performance level ATF with the MERCON V specification. Many Ford automatic transmissions from 1999 on will require a MERCON V fluid. The most notable exceptions are the E40D, 4R100, and CD4E transmissions, which still specify regular MERCON ATF.

I had a 96 Conti 4.6, and I went and asked Advance Auto for the fluid specs so I can do a full maintenance when I bought it. They told me it required Merc V, so of course I bought it and installed it with new filter. Within 1 week, I was leaking tranny fluid out of the front main seal like it was water. I could not figure it out until I ran out of options and asked about Merc V, come to find out my tranny did not have the updates needed for the fluid conversion. Ford told me that the accumulator and front and rear seals needed to be replaced as the new Merc V had inhibitors it it that would cause seal shrinkage when hot, after cool down, it would not leak.

Ford told me if my tranny had the updated parts, it would have a orange sticker showing upgrade date, I did not have that. It took me 3 oil flushes to stop the leak.

Mercon V — Ford’s newest type, introduced in 1997 for Ranger, Explorer V6 and Aerostar, and 1998 & up Windstar, Taurus/Sable and Continental. Must not be used in 1997 or earlier Fords.