New LS Owner

A

Avalon

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Hello all. I just registered with this website. Been a long time lurker, first time poster(?). I just purchased a 2005 Lincoln LS Sport. It's in pretty decent shape. It's got the normal wear and tear for a car of this age (dings, scratches, paint peel, etc.). I've always wanted an LS and now I have one. It is black on black. Anyhow, I would like to know if anyone has any recommendations regarding upgrades (performance, body kits). Been doing a lot of searching and apparently lskoncepts is not a reputable firm to order from. And I don't really like anything I've found on eBay or any of the other body kit websites out there. I would really like to find an LSE front bumper that would fit my '05 LS, but these seem harder to find than an alter boy who hasn't been molested. I'm sure a lot of you have seen BullSchmidt's LS and in my opinion it is absolutely gorgeous. My goals for my LS are performance and aesthetics so any inputs, references, ideas would be greatly appreciated. I'm located in San Antonio, TX. Thanks all.
 
I think that the best "upgrades" that you should do first are new plugs, new (OEM) COPs, new cooling system plastics, and new fluids.
Is this the V8 or the V6?
 
Hello joegr. Thank you for the reply. It is a V8 and the previous owner put on coil packs, new spark plugs, new coolant reservoir, and I'm assuming new fluids when replacing the reservoir. I'm kind of illiterate when it comes to upgrading vehicles with performance parts and such, but I'm real good at doing what I'm told, thus my post about some suggestions. :) Any and all help is appreciated.
 
So, you can get really cheap COPs, that don't work very well for very long, or you can get the $50 ones from Ford. If he changed the COPs to be able to sell the car to you, I would bet on it being the cheap ones. The same goes for the degas bottle. There is a Dorman one that only lasts a few months at best, or the Ford one that usually goes for six years or more. Note also, that there are way more plastic parts in the cooling system.
GenII LS8 Cooling System Overhaul

I'd make sure it was operating like new before I tried to make any "improvements" to it.
Note that "fluids" include the transmission, brakes, steering, and maybe even the rear differential, in addition to the coolant and oil.
 
Yes sir. Appreciate the info. I made an appointment with the Ford dealership to have everything looked at today. Hopefully everything is in good order. I'll keep you posted.
 
Definitely nothing wrong with having ford do the once over with the oil change special. Just be aware that 1) they may not want to work on the car since they cant get alot of the OEM parts 2) if they do, they will overcharge you.

If you are going to DIY repair things joe and others have it down. If like me you rely on others, one of you tasks is to find a good mechanic that wont screw you over on price, or quality. For example, ford wanted 3 grand for my timing chain overhaul, and that was even 'fleet' with some cutting of the hours. Found a good mech and it was $1500.

As joe is saying here, you will want to get the car to baseline, and that means changing all the fluids, cops, plugs, plastics etc. Your transmission probably has never been touched, so you should do a flush and clean on that, and possible while in there you may want to consider changing solenoids or rebuild the valve body. Again, find a trustworthy transmission place (not AAMCO) and let them know you want to avoid any harsh shift issues since they are in there looking anyhow.
 
Okay guys, so, I didn't have time to do the $120 inspection where the hook the computer to it and such, but I did the $40 Ford 40-point inspection and from that I'm told it needs a coolant flush (which you guys mentioned) and it needs rear outer tie rods; rear upper control arms, rear sway bar end links, and rear lower control arms. So, I'm guessing it needs a whole new rear suspension? And, where should I start looking for parts? :) Ebay?
 
Actually, that leaves out quite a bit of the rear suspension, but those are the common problem items. You'll need the hardware with those parts too (nuts and bolts). Stay away from the cheap ebay kits. Alignment is required immediately after replacing the rear toe links.
 
once you get all the maintenance done. as far as body kits and such, you have next to no options. there is a Razzi kit (thats for a 1st gen so it wont properly fit your car with out some modifications) there is a wings west kit (that I think will have the same fitment issues) or being how your is a 2nd gen, you can also for the OEM LSE/06 look, but those parts are often extremely hard to find if possible at all anymore.
 
Wow! I really do appreciate all your replies/suggestions/help! This website is my first social media interaction and you all have been great so far. Okay, joeger, I'll avoid the eBay kits. Do you have any suggestions/websites/stores that I can look into? 1LoudLS - as I mentioned when I started this post, LSE bumpers are harder to find than an alter boy who...... you get the idea. Would the Lincoln/Ford dealership be able to locate/acquire a bumper for me? Thanks again for everything guys. I'm sure you guys have figured out by now that I'm not a car guy. I can drive them, but that's pretty much the extent of it.
 
Also gentlemen, I'm googling the heck out of rear suspension parts. I'm not using eBay, but my knowledge of car part outlets would be Autozone, NAPA, O'Reilly's, etc. Are the any online parts stores you all could recommend? Thanks again.
 
Long time lurker of this forum?

rockauto.com
tascaparts.com
fordpartsgiant.com

... hmmm ???
 
Yes. I've viewed this site/forums because I've always wanted a Lincoln LS but if you read the internet reviews on this vehicle they aren't very good. So I check out the threads to see what the LS owners here have experienced and the help that everyone offers each other.
 
Avalon said:
and it needs rear outer tie rods; rear upper control arms, rear sway bar end links, and rear lower control arms. So, I'm guessing it needs a whole new rear suspension? And, where should I start looking for parts? :) Ebay?
Click to expand...

You're not gonna like the price for all those parts... and stay the heck away from Ebay. Most times,,, reputable Ebay sellers up their price slightly compared to buying direct from their internet store. They do that to cover their "sellers fees".

In many cases, (except for the above paragraph)... LS stuff sold on Ebay is cheap junk... or worn out parts, (if used). On top of that,,, some suspension parts are getting scarce,,, and the only source then is finding the comperable Jag parts.

Some parts are available through the aftermarket... but are not made to OEM specs or design... so longevity may not be what you hope for,
 
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How many miles are on your LS. My guess is quite a bit... to have to replace all 4 rear control arms. If thats the case... then most likely your shocks are bad too. They are becoming close to extinct.

Maybe you should get another opinion from another shop... before taking the plunge into the bottom of your wallet to rebuild the suspension,,, just to make sure you weren't lied to.

Also,,, as others have said... take care of the mechanicals and electronics first before doing any body mods. A sweet looking car... is just a pretty pile of dung if it can't reliably get you from point A-B.
 
There are 148K miles on the LS. I got the coolant flush done yesterday. I had a different place look at the rear suspension and they said that there is rust on the control arms and the bushings definitely need to be replaced. If I need to replace the shocks, I'm guessing I'll have to go aftermarket since, as you mentioned, the OEM shocks are becoming extinct? Would going aftermarket be bad thing? Thanks again everybody.
 
Avalon said:
I had a different place look at the rear suspension and they said that there is rust on the control arms and the bushings definitely need to be replaced.
Click to expand...

I say "run like hell" from that shop. The factory suspension parts are aluminum,,, and the last time I checked... aluminum doesn't rust!!! I think you need to find another shop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't doubt that the control arm bushings MIGHT need to be replace with the milage you have on the vehicle. BUT... some of the bushings can't be replaced without special parts. The normal proceedure is to replace the whole contol arms,,, which gets quite expensive!!!

All 4 rear control arms will cost you at LEAST $750 plus labor,,,, and that doesn't even include the shocks!!!

Again... I suggest you get a second opinion from another shop,,, without letting them know everything you have told us. At this point... I suggest you take your LS to a couple different Ford dealers,,, and just tell them that you want the suspension inspected. Leave it at that,,, and see what is said.
 
I have heard that the aftermarket shocks are worse than worn out factory shocks...
 
Believe me not trying to hijack this thread or start trouble but am wanting to know a few things.

Why is it that whenever a new member joins the LS and is looking for recommendations everyone recommends that the "OP" spend several thousand right off the back.

-Coolant System $800+
-Transmission $500-$1500
-Replace all fluids $100-$300
-COP/Spark Plugs $400-$500

Keep in mind those are just for the parts. Everyone does not work on their car. Add Labor charges and you're well into several thousand. Suspension problems....forget about it. To me that is asinine and makes owning this car seem like a nightmare. Not all the LS's require that kind of maintenenace or even have all the problems that are common to this car. I'll give two examples to clarify my point.

Ex. 1 My boy has a 04 LS and he's had it 4 years now and brought it from a private owner but it now has 125,000 miles and he's had no cooling system issues whatsoever, transmission problems other than a flush and fill, or the coils/plugs change out. He did have valve cover gaskets replaced and dccv changed and ball joints. That's it over the course of 4 years and he bought it with 70,000 miles. He was the reason I got a LS. Mines...not so lucky but could be worse too I guess...

Ex 2 Owner of LS forum on FB was selling his LS which was well maintained and had no serious issues and most of the work was already done. Buyer went onto this forum and of course was told all these things were wrong or going to come up and it scared him away from this car. Sale lost just because of hear say and he most likely wouldn't of had the issues since they were already recently done.

I guess I just feel that we do a disservice to new or potential new LS owners by "threatening" or strongly urging all these repairs when they might not encounter it right away if at all. It turns people away from the car quickly. I went to my first LS meet a few weeks ago and it was a blast. We talked about this topic as well.

Love the knowledge that Big Rig or the infamous "Joegr" has no doubt but sometimes telling all new owners to overhaul an entire car from the start is not encouraging and hurts the "resale value" and overall reputation....at least in my opinion. Not everyone that has an LS is on this forum. In fact most aren't and I'm sure they aren't doing all this so I have to wonder how they're getting by. I see alot of older people in Chicago still driving theirs.

I know this was long but felt it was necessary to at least mention.

Sorry for hijacking your thread bro. Have a good day!
 
LQ1906 said:
... sometimes telling all new owners to overhaul an entire car from the start is not encouraging and hurts the "resale value" and overall reputation ...
Click to expand...


I wouldn't say they are told or threatened to rebuild anything. They are suggested.
Most without searching, post new threads with the same old story of I have this overheating problem ... or I just bought this LS and it's idling rough or stalling out, going into fail safe mode.

Often they simply get a heads up that they may want to carefully review everything related to misfiring, cooling and suspension, rather then thinking of posting about what bodykit or stereo's others could possibly recommend.

More then not they already have issues or as they took possession they come to learn there is in fact some issues that needs urgent attention. Like rotten bushings here and there.

I'm not convinced they are told by anyone here that they need to rebuild their newly acquired LS. I do think they are given sound advise what/where to look for.


We will always make the recommendations that coils get replaced all at once and to only use OEM, we will always recommend to not use the Dorman bottle on cooling systems.

When we suggest that they replace all the plastic cooling system parts it's because the system rots at the same rate, they go in and replace only one part and expect it to bleed and last for another 40K, which is not the case. Some on a budget can only afford to do one part and so they do, it may last it may not ... eventually they are doing the labor several times over and reposting about their overheating issues.

It is what it is ... I don't think anyone is threatened into anything.
Advise is offered up to replace not just one coil but all of them for very valid reasons. Some don't like those suggestions, some do. Some don't understand why, some can't afford it. yet at the end of the day, they continue to experience misfiring issues and then they tell us the only changed out 3 out of the 8 coils with some no name ECCP crap brand and didn't bother changing out the plugs.

TLC tune-ups are not like your shower were when no one is looking you can go ahead and put them dirty socks back on. If they are going to try and get it running right, there are some key parts that need refreshing.

But yeah !
That's the cost of buying a 800$ used LS - as you priced it out above pretty much.

.
 
First off, enjoy the car Avalon! I bought my first one in January and I have fallen in love with it. Like you, I joined back in June and spent a good deal of time reading this forum so I knew what to expect. I was also looking at Panthers and Fox bodies and if I had gone that route, then sure, I would've been able to buy performance upgrades at Wal Mart or Circle K, but that was not what I wanted. Car culture is all about individualism and standing out from the crowd and this car definitely does that.

Another deciding factor was the quality of this forum and the helpfulness of the members (some of the best of whom just happen to be on this thread). I have taken their advice to heart, but I also did not run right out and spend 3 grand on repairs either. I've made a list of the major problem areas and I plan to tackle them as I see the signs. This also does not stop me from breaking up the heavy wrenching with the occasional performance/looks upgrade just to keep it fun and interesting. Like everything else in life it is a balance of time and budget.

I'm glad to see more Texas guys joining in. We should all stay in touch and one day stock up on spare cooling parts and do a run down the Devil's Backbone in Wimberly!
 
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