New member

[Garufa61]

Hello everyone!

Well, I finally am moving from a reader and second hand enjoyer to a proud owner tomorrow. I am flying from Little Rock AR to Fort Myers FL to pick up my dream Lincoln. It is a 2002 Continental w/DSS 130 package. It is a White Tricoat metallic with Light Parchment Tu-Tone front bench seat. It has 73,000 miles, and no rust or paint issues and the whole interior looks mint in the pictures since it is a Florida car. It has the original window sticker and some additional service records.

I feel I got a great deal, settled on $3,500 after the final inspection when I get there. The recent work done was new tires, battery and alternator and other normal maintenance. I hope to be able to contribute to this forum, I have really enjoyed reading the various postings for the last few years. It was a really hard choice to make, choosing the Continental over some good Mark viii’s as well as some final series Rivieras with the superchargers.

The only known issue is an ABS light but since it does not affect the normal braking system, I will look into it when I get it home. The current owner is an older guy from Michigan who winters in FL. He does not seem to know much about to troubleshoot the issue. This was now his third vehicle at his FL condo, with only two parking spaces. I will be happy to give it a new forever home provided it matches up to the pictures I’ve seen. He will be picking me up at the airport so I can see and drive it right away.

My future plans are to resolve the ABS light, verify if any maintenance needs to be done. After that, tint the windows and look into a upgrade to the stereo for Bluetooth and a back up camera.

I hope my first post wasn’t too long, just wanted to give a little background on my new adventure with the “Gentleman’s Sleeper”.

Thanks for all the great knowledge so far,
Michael

 

[Svets96]

Hi and welcome to LVC!

Congrats on your purchase. Sounds like a gem of a car. You'll really like it a lot. I've had mine since April of '01

When you get a chance post some pics and start a thread on your car in the Continental section.

If you need resources for parts check out my thread here: Here are websites for Lincoln parts and supplier info

Also if your interested I'd look into being a member of Lincoln and Continental Owners Club, LCOC. It only costs $48.00 a yr. They have meet and greets, car shows, Ad placement discounts, a quarterly magazine, and you get Ford X-Plan discount on any New Ford or Lincoln whether you buy or lease. Info here: Home - Lincoln & Continental Owners Club

-Svets

 

[Garufa61]

Thanks for the great reply!

 

[restince]

Congrats on your new Lincoln!

 

[Garufa61]

Thank you.
Just put on 4 new Goodyear Assurance 80,000 mile tires from Walmart on it. $477.00 with tax and installation. They ride great, are real quiet and handle great in the rain.
Car is running fantastic, adjustable suspension and steering give a great ride. I’m averaging almost 21 mpg with mostly local driving.

 

[restince]

Thank you.
Just put on 4 new Goodyear Assurance 80,000 mile tires from Walmart on it. $477.00 with tax and installation. They ride great, are real quiet and handle great in the rain.
Car is running fantastic, adjustable suspension and steering give a great ride. I’m averaging almost 21 mpg with mostly local driving.

That's good to hear.

 

[Garufa61]

Thank you

 

[sleepytones]

Hope you're enjoying your new Linc.

 

[Garufa61]

Hello.
Yes I am. Sorry for the delayed response, I haven’t been on the site in a while.
i did have a blowout on the left front tire after about 2000 miles of driving. After I checked all the tires again I saw they showed some weathering, so I put on 4 new Goodyear Assurance tires from Walmart with an 80000 mile mileage warranty. They were about $440.00 including mount, balance, valve stem and tax.
I have put almost 2000 miles on the new tires, they are very quiet, handle very well even on the rain. Vey happy with them so far.

 

[Garufa61]

Sorry about the new tire info that I duplicated. Should have read my previous posts…lol…
Now that I have put on about 2000 miles on the tires, still very happy about my choice of the Goodyear’s.

 

[Garufa61]

Sorry to have been missing in action, been some months since I got on the forum. The “thinks he is so smart” Arkansas governor thought he could solve all the business owners problems complaining about lack of people willing to work by cutting off the pandemic unemployment help 10 weeks early. This cost me about $5,400 dollars left in my unemployment account. I was smart enough to save most of that extra money, but after 3 months of no income, funds were going to run low soon. This made me start getting depressed, thought I may even have to sell my Lincoln just to keep up with the bills.

Thankfully, I have started a new job which I love but requires me to travel out of
town every other week. This is putting a lot of miles on the Lincoln, about 1,300 the last week I was out of town. The car runs great! Yesterday I had Walmart do the free tire rotation & balance you get when I put the Goodyear’s on. I also had another Mobil 1 oil & filter change. The only issue is the tire guy did not get the left rear Chrome center cap clipped in all the way. I put over 500 miles on it today, parked it at the hotel and the center cap is missing when I got out to get in the trunk. I called Walmart. The automotive manager will call me back.
I just looked on eBay, did not find the correct center cap. Anyone have a good source or maybe an extra cap? It is for the factory chrome alloy rims.

 

[John_Carr]

Contact This Fellow, He bought one of those that was the wrong one for his Town car.

https://lincolnforums.com/forums/members/babyburr.49512/

 

[Garufa61]

Well, a new sad tale of woe! While driving the car on Monday, I was getting ready to drive back about 20 miles to the hotel at the end of the day. I was leaving a parking lot and it felt like the trans slipped for a few seconds. Then it seemed to be fine but a few miles down the road it felt like it was slipping again with the motor revving up even though I was not pushing harder on the gas.

I pulled into a parking lot and checked the fluid. It smelled a little burnt. I tried to make it back to the hotel but it only went about a mile then really started slipping. I pulled to the shoulder, tried to see if it would move in reverse but that was also slipping. I shut it off and called roadside assistance. It took an hour for the flatbed to arrive, tried thr trans again, still slipping. Too late for a trans shop that night, towed to the hotel then Aamco transmission the next morning. The diagnosis is a valve or seal let go, causing an internal pressure loss but no external leaks. I could replace it with a salvage yard trans delivered to Aamco for about $650.00 with 59,000 miles from an 2002. The shop would install would install for about $1410.00 with a 6 month warranty or rebuild mine with an 18 month nationwide warranty for $3177.00.

I am choosing to rebuild mine for the extra cost but better warranty. The Ford dealer quoted $3800.00 to $4800.00 but possibly a month to get a factory rebuilt. I can’t wait that long or justify the extra money for that. Aamco say it can take up to 10 days to be finished. They will flush the trans cooler and all the lines. It also includes the upgraded torque converter, metal valves instead of plastic and upgraded bands and seals. Has anybody had one rebuilt recently and for how much? How did it turn out?

 

[Svets96]

I haven't had mine rebuilt, maybe down the road ways I'll get into it. Although Powertrain Products which is a brand new AX4N trans in my case would be the way to go. It also comes with upgraded torque converter and shift kit. I believe the prices are inline with what it would cost. Some say Luk Schafler Torque Converters are the BOSS in the AX4N. It's a total monster. I will be putting in a Trans Go shift kit in the new unit down the road.

Make sure there are no loop holes in the warranty. I'm sure you know.

It all depends on what you want to do. If the cost effective way is better for now, then that's what you should do.

Look for a sticker or writing on the used trans from the '02, to see if it says AX4S or 4F50N. The dealers did this to keep track of recalls, during 95-02 Continental trans. Some say the 4F50N had better internals, even though it was still the same. Keep an eye out.

Once the trans was rebuilt or a new unit put in, people said the new trans route was better. If trans gets rebuilt, make SURE the shop is doing what their suppose to be doing and is reputable. That is the most important thing.

 

[Garufa61]

I haven't had mine rebuilt, maybe down the road ways I'll get into it. Although Powertrain Products which is a brand new AX4N trans in my case would be the way to go. It also comes with upgraded torque converter and shift kit. I believe the prices are inline with what it would cost. Some say Luk Schafler Torque Converters are the BOSS in the AX4N. It's a total monster. I will be putting in a Trans Go shift kit in the new unit down the road.

Make sure there are no loop holes in the warranty. I'm sure you know.

It all depends on what you want to do. If the cost effective way is better for now, then that's what you should do.

Look for a sticker or writing on the used trans from the '02, to see if it says AX4S or 4F50N. The dealers did this to keep track of recalls, during 95-02 Continental trans. Some say the 4F50N had better internals, even though it was still the same. Keep an eye out.

Once the trans was rebuilt or a new unit put in, people said the new trans route was better. If trans gets rebuilt, make SURE the shop is doing what their suppose to be doing and is reputable. That is the most important thing.

Thanks for the quick reply.

I grew up in the service station business. I was 3 years old when we got the first station in Fullerton CA. Aamco shops are independently owned but offer the nationwide warranty. I will inspect the shop on Friday when I pay the 50% requested to start the fob. I’m using my new PayPal credit card to pay for the

 

[Garufa61]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I grew up in the service station business. I was 3 years old when we got the first station in Fullerton CA. Aamco shops are independently owned but offer the nationwide warranty. I will inspect the shop on Friday when I pay the 50% requested to start the fob. I’m using my new PayPal credit card to pay for the

Repair*. Sorry for the typing error, it’s 1:50am in Tennessee, having a hard time sleeping at the hotei because I miss my car. I did not think I would have to spend so much money on a single repair after only driving it about 8,000 miles since I bought it. At least it will have an upgraded trans at 81,000 miles, something less to worry about.

 

[Garufa61]

Well, a new sad tale of woe! While driving the car on Monday, I was getting ready to drive back about 20 miles to the hotel at the end of the day. I was leaving a parking lot and it felt like the trans slipped for a few seconds. Then it seemed to be fine but a few miles down the road it felt like it was slipping again with the motor revving up even though I was not pushing harder on the gas.

I pulled into a parking lot and checked the fluid. It smelled a little burnt. I tried to make it back to the hotel but it only went about a mile then really started slipping. I pulled to the shoulder, tried to see if it would move in reverse but that was also slipping. I shut it off and called roadside assistance. It took an hour for the flatbed to arrive, tried thr trans again, still slipping. Too late for a trans shop that night, towed to the hotel then Aamco transmission the next morning. The diagnosis is a valve or seal let go, causing an internal pressure loss but no external leaks. I could replace it with a salvage yard trans delivered to Aamco for about $650.00 with 59,000 miles from an 2002. The shop would install would install for about $1410.00 with a 6 month warranty or rebuild mine with an 18 month nationwide warranty for $3177.00.

I am choosing to rebuild mine for the extra cost but better warranty. The Ford dealer quoted $3800.00 to $4800.00 but possibly a month to get a factory rebuilt. I can’t wait that long or justify the extra money for that. Aamco say it can take up to 10 days to be finished. They will flush the trans cooler and all the lines. It also includes the upgraded torque converter, metal valves instead of plastic and upgraded bands and seals. Has anybody had one rebuilt recently and for how much? How did it turn out?

 

[Garufa61]

Well, the sad story continues…

I was told the car would be ready on Thursday afternoon from Aamco. I was going to call the shop on my lunch to pick up the car after 4 pm. It is never good when the shop calls you early on the day it should be ready. The manager tells me he has bad news…the trans is still on the bench, partially put back together.

As I can hardly believe it, he then tells me the reason. The old guy who is the rebuild expert - the only guy in the shop who does the rebuilds, had a heart attack on Wednesday night! I first asked if he was okay - he went to the hospital and had a procedure that night and another scheduled for later that next day. I then asked what was going to happen to my rebuild, the car had already been there 2 weeks. He stated the mechanic should be back in 7-10 days if everything goes well with the procedure. I asked what plan B was…he then tells me about the same used trans from GA with the 59,000 miles that he had originally advised against getting. I shot that down! He then said if he ordered a rebuilt trans from a rebuilder, It would take 3-4 weeks or longer. Also, not a good option.

Since I travel back to Chattanooga every other week until probably next summer for work, and he knows this, he said it should be ready when I get back on the trip. I went by the shop on Friday just to make sure it was still on the lift as promised, with the trans just waiting for the guy to return to work . He had spoken with him on Friday, he was already home from the hospital feeling better. The procedures had gone well, he expected to be back at work in about a week. Since he has other guys who can install the trans after the rebuild is done, I made him promise if he was going to train another guy to backup the old rebuild guy, I did not want to be the trans he learned on. He assured me we were waiting on the old guy to come back!

Atleast I have a teammate from work who lives close to me in AR, he took me home when it broke down then back and forth for this weeks trip and the next one. I am lucky to have a back up ride, a 2005 Saturn Vue with about 188,000 miles that runs great to get back and forth to work while the Lincoln is down. My work commute is 130 miles a day when I’m home then every other week about 1,200 miles to Chattanooga and back.

Glad I love my Continental, hope the trans is the only major expense for a long time. I will update the this ongoing adventure as it continues to work towards my reunion with my sweet ride!

 

[Svets96]

Sorry to hear about all the troubles your having. You'll soon have your car back good as new!

Keep us updated!

 

[Garufa61]

Sorry to hear about all the troubles your having. You'll soon have your car back good as new!

Keep us updated!

Sorry to hear about all the troubles your having. You'll soon have your car back good as new!

Keep us updated!

Thx for the support.

How do you like the Powersport pads & rotors? I’m getting some pulsation in the front rotors, next maintenance item will probably be brakes.

I am glad I went to Aamco on Friday to check on it, it was on the lift as promised. I had not been able to look underneath before or since I bought it, I was very happy it was like new! Just a couple of very small surface rust spots on the chassis. It was great for an original Michigan car, was only moved to his Florida house 3-4 years ago when he bought it from the 2nd owner. Only driven about 3-4 months a year when he fled the cold Michigan winters. He was the 3rd owner, it must have been garaged and really cleaned well if driven in snow before he got it. There was also no leaks what so ever underneath when I looked on the lift.

The trans was a surprise, but glad it will be done/upgraded! Since the engine burns no oil and he used Mobil 1 oil & filters, I am continuing that, changing every 7,500 miles since 130 miles a day to work for 2 weeks a month! Then about 1,200 miles each the other 2 weeks until maybe next June or July on the Chattanooga work trips. The way I drive with so many miles every day, the car warms up well, will not get any real condensation in the oil. In fact the oil was extremely clean when I changed it, still very golden not black. After Chattanooga is finished, work trips should be a lot closer to home

I work for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette paper as a Digital Specialist, helping convert our subscribers to iPads for the Monday thru Saturday paper. I bought the car way before getting my new job, makes a hell of a daily! We’re converting close to 20,000 subscribers, that’s why so many trips to the same place.

Spending so much on the trans may slow down some of the planned upgrades but I still want to make some changes as soon as possible. Has anyone upgraded the factory rear deck subwoofers keeping the stock Alpine setup? It really sounds good with the upgraded Alpine DSP adjusted to the driver’s seat position for the mid’s and high’s but not much bass in the factory setup.

I wouldn’t mind changing to a newer head unit with XM radio for the longer trips and a backup camera and Bluetooth would also be nice but better bass could really make the wait easier while I do some brake and other mechanical upgrades first.

Any suggestions for sound upgrades would be appreciated.

I also need some suggestions for better headlight bulbs, I tried upgrading to ultra silver stars for my last trip. Hoping for a big improvement over stock bulbs, was not impressed, I think I will return them to Walmart, almost $50.00 but not a big difference.

 

[Svets96]

I like the Power Stop brand very much. I recommend them. Get the ceramic pads, that way it will have no squeal.

One thing I recommend also for oil filters would be to go with the Motorcraft FL820S filter for this car. It has an anti drain back valve so there is oil in it upon start up. Plus its factory OEM.

As far as audio upgrades, I'm kind of lost with that type of stuff. Others will chime in about that!

Headlight bulbs I'd say some kind of upgraded Silverstars would be good. I know that you had a different experience, but I've talked with others about them and they swear by them. I think their called Silver star extremes??? Just make sure they don't get to hot and start to deform the actual headlight or headlight housing.

Good Luck with your career, by the way!

 

[Garufa61]

Thx for the good wishes on the job, so far the best job I’ve ever had! Good to know about the Powerstop brakes.

Did you get upgraded rotors that are slotted and drilled? Rockauto has Powerstop z23 Evolution kits for front & rear which look good for an upgrade.

On the headlight bulbs, has anybody found LED’s that work well? I have read some tests that if the LED’s have only side mounted LED’s the way stock bulbs have the filament that the light is much brighter/better without the crazy glare that some LED’s have that blind people. Also what is the best color range for an LED?

 

[Svets96]

There are LVC members who have gone with the slotted and drilled rotors. They had good luck with them. However from what I hear and thought about, is, those rotors will grade the pads down like a cheese grater does to cheese. So maybe more brake pad changes will likely occur. It is a fantastic upgrade, the car will stop quicker too. I think either way you'll be good.

On the headlight bulbs with LED's I am currently clueless on that. Someone will chime in on that....

I had only gone through about 5 of these results, did a search real quick and came up with this: Search results for query: LED Bulbs