Overheating problems in my 98 LSC. Help please!!!

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98markviii

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Hi, I'm new to this forum and I'm looking for a little help. I recently purchased a 98 Mark VIII LSC Collectors Edition with 217k miles. I knew it was a lot but when I took it for the test drive, it ran well and seemed to shift well. I've always been a fan of big American luxury coupes and I immediately fell in love with the Mark VIII's styling. Well I drive it home no problems, except for the info center informing me of low coolant. I checked the level in the resivior and it looked ok, and the rest of the way home I kept a close eye on the engine temp and that stayed okay too. Now the car overheats and while the temperature gauge goes up it fluctuates when warming up. It'll jump higher than normal, then go back down, then go up and stay up (it may do this several times before it stays hotter) I never drive it close to the temp redline, even I know not to do that. But even as it gets hotter than engines normally do, the info center says engine temp okay when the system check is performed. I topped of the coolant, and it still tried to overheat, and I bought a new thermostat and hopefully will get it in tomorrow. But any input from fellow Lincoln owners would be a big help!! I'm only 17 with a part time job so I'm really hoping it isn't something expensive :( all input is appreciated :) thanks.
 
Coolant needs to be filled and burped from the crossover by the alternator. Just topping off the reservoir will not get any air that might be in the system out.
 
90% chance you will have issues getting that cap off the cross over tube. So be careful and if it is stuck let us know, there are a few tricks you can do.
 
I bought it from an individual seller about an hour and a half away from my house, everything was fine on the drive home, and the next day I blew a radiator hose (it was pretty old) so I lost some coolant there. It was pretty low, the car also seems to smoke out of the tailpipes a lot more than normal when the engine is warm.
 
98markviii said:
I bought it from an individual seller about an hour and a half away from my house, everything was fine on the drive home, and the next day I blew a radiator hose (it was pretty old) so I lost some coolant there. It was pretty low, the car also seems to smoke out of the tailpipes a lot more than normal when the engine is warm.
Click to expand...

The smoke out of the tailpipe is a common sign of a bad head gasket.
Smell the exhaust and see if it smells sweet.

And for future reference so you don't encounter a situation like this again, buy/rent one of these and buy some fluid and test ANY car you intend to purchase before handing any cash over:

Tester: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/OEM-Block-Tester/_/N-25dh?itemIdentifier=391378_0_0_

Fluid: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...est-fluid/_/N-25dh?itemIdentifier=391381_0_0_


I hope in your case it's not the gaskets but with the info you've provided I have my doubts they aren't blown.
 
If they are blown, I was looking into some of that Blue Devil gasket sealer. I had my doubts about something like that, but it got really good reviews on amazon, I know it wouldn't be a permanent solution at all, but it would be good if it worked at least temporarily.
 
98markviii said:
If they are blown, I was looking into some of that Blue Devil gasket sealer. I had my doubts about something like that, but it got really good reviews on amazon, I know it wouldn't be a permanent solution at all, but it would be good if it worked at least temporarily.
Click to expand...


That might give you another month or two but in the end your motor will still need to be changed, not to mention you will clog up you heater core & radiator. Save the money and get a hydrocarbon test kit after you have checked:

-The exhaust for a sweet smell of coolant
-The oil for coolant and coolant for oil.
-Properly bled the system and make sure there is no air trapped in the system.

If you are still getting a white smoke and you temperature continues to fluctuate, do the hydrocarbon test.
 
98markviii said:
I bought it from an individual seller about an hour and a half away from my house, everything was fine on the drive home, and the next day I blew a radiator hose (it was pretty old) so I lost some coolant there. It was pretty low, the car also seems to smoke out of the tailpipes a lot more than normal when the engine is warm.
Click to expand...


Which is Salem.........
 
Markviiiedrea said:
That might give you another month or two but in the end your motor will still need to be changed, not to mention you will clog up you heater core & radiator. Save the money and get a hydrocarbon test kit after you have checked:

-The exhaust for a sweet smell of coolant
-The oil for coolant and coolant for oil.
-Properly bled the system and make sure there is no air trapped in the system.

If you are still getting a white smoke and you temperature continues to fluctuate, do the hydrocarbon test.
Click to expand...
Everything on mine is good I guess I can’t properly bleed the system because my heater doesn’t work 97 lsc
 
After having to "repair" the blend door issue, I'm about ready to re-write my "How To" on here with repairing the black upper blend door arm is absolutely senseless. The stem broke off on mine a year after the repair with a op rod hole to slot mod. Thank God, just recently new blend door motors are now available WITH new white rod arms to replace the fatally brittle black arms. I just installed the new white arm into my upper blend door (that allows for heat) that fits off the blend door motor. I had to pull the dash back a few inches to do this but now, with the slotted hole on the grey arm, the 2 blend doors work perfectly in unison WITHOUT binding the hell out of the connecting rod when in full heat. I'll have new pictures of all this in the re-write of blend door repair in a few days. Oh, I took the china made blend door motor apart and I opted to keep my OEM motor since the china unit uses a vinyl worm gear rather than brass to move the gears. If you don't slot your connecting arm AND use a china motor, that plastic worm gear is bound to fail.
 
xtriggerman said:
After having to "repair" the blend door issue, I'm about ready to re-write my "How To" on here with repairing the black upper blend door arm is absolutely senseless. The stem broke off on mine a year after the repair with a op rod hole to slot mod. Thank God, just recently new blend door motors are now available WITH new white rod arms to replace the fatally brittle black arms. I just installed the new white arm into my upper blend door (that allows for heat) that fits off the blend door motor. I had to pull the dash back a few inches to do this but now, with the slotted hole on the grey arm, the 2 blend doors work perfectly in unison WITHOUT binding the hell out of the connecting rod when in full heat. I'll have new pictures of all this in the re-write of blend door repair in a few days. Oh, I took the china made blend door motor apart and I opted to keep my OEM motor since the china unit uses a vinyl worm gear rather than brass to move the gears. If you don't slot your connecting arm AND use a china motor, that plastic worm gear is bound to fail.
Click to expand...
How much to do this for my 97 lsc ?? I’m in Cali btw
 
No idea what a mechanic would charge to do this R&R of the blend door operating arm. This is the one I bought.
A-Premium 1x Heater Blend Door Actuator for Lincoln Mark VIII 1997-1998 604-915 | eBay
The white arm fits a bit tight onto the OEM motor stud so I just shaved a little off the motor stud with a pocket knife until the white arm slid over the motor stud easy. These are the directions I used to get the dash pulled back enough to get the motor off.
Blend Door Actuator Removal and Installation
I have to say tho, its a lot easier to only take the motor off and not the 5 screw plate it sits on. To do that, you only need to cut or grind off the plastic tip off the barrel nut that holds the motor on at the bottom left. Then once that barrel nut clip is poped off, just pop the motor off its prong studs. It about falls off. No need to put that barrel nut back on. I just put 1/2" thick sticky foam on the motor and with the dash put back into place, that holds the motor snug in place. Also those instructions totally forgot to tell you about 2 small gold bolt & wide washers that are at the bottom of the dash where the consol starts from under the dash. The one on the right is a huge PITA to get out. its like a 8mm and you can only do an eighth turn at a time on it with barrely getting your finger tip on it. I have a picture of that little prick and how to mod the frame so you can get a socket on it to put it back in. I'll get this all in the HOW TO when I get time.
 
Last edited:
xtriggerman said:
No idea what a mechanic would charge to do this R&R of the blend door operating arm. This is the one I bought.
A-Premium 1x Heater Blend Door Actuator for Lincoln Mark VIII 1997-1998 604-915 | eBay
The white arm fits a bit tight onto the OEM motor stud so I just shaved a little off the motor stud with a pocket knife until the white arm slid over the motor stud easy. These are the directions I used to get the dash pulled back enough to get the motor off.
Blend Door Actuator Removal and Installation
I have to say tho, its a lot easier to only take the motor off and not the 5 screw plate it sits on. To do that, you only need to cut or grind off the plastic tip off the barrel nut that holds the motor on at the bottom left. Then once that barrel nut clip is poped off, just pop the motor off its prong studs. It about falls off. No need to put that barrel nut back on. I just put 1/2" thick sticky foam on the motor and with the dash put back into place, that holds the motor snug in place. Also those instructions totally forgot to tell you about 2 small gold bolt & wide washers that are at the bottom of the dash where the consol starts from under the dash. The one on the right is a huge PITA to get out. its like a 8mm and you can only do an eighth turn at a time on it with barrely getting your finger tip on it. I have a picture of that little prick and how to mod the frame so you can get a socket on it to put it back in. I'll get this all in the HOW TO when I get time.
Click to expand...
Just do a YouTube video on it bro I don’t even wanna read all this lol
 
I posted a new PART 2 to Blend Door Repair in the How To articles section that covers this No Heat issue. If you own a Mark VIII that has an original faulty black upper blend door arm. It WILL FAIL and give you a no heat issue. The black ABS plastic Ford used simply drys out from the heater core heat and turns to the most brittle plastic I'v ever handled. The upper blend door's weight keeps it in the closed position all the time unless the black plastic arm lifts it up so air can move threw the heater core. Once the stem of the plastic arm snaps off, the heater core blend door will remain shut no matter what you do to the car or controls. The Part 2 Article describes what to do for those that have the desire to fix the issue.
 
xtriggerman said:
I posted a new PART 2 to Blend Door Repair in the How To articles section that covers this No Heat issue. If you own a Mark VIII that has an original faulty black upper blend door arm. It WILL FAIL and give you a no heat issue. The black ABS plastic Ford used simply drys out from the heater core heat and turns to the most brittle plastic I'v ever handled. The upper blend door's weight keeps it in the closed position all the time unless the black plastic arm lifts it up so air can move threw the heater core. Once the stem of the plastic arm snaps off, the heater core blend door will remain shut no matter what you do to the car or controls. The Part 2 Article describes what to do for those that have the desire to fix the issue.
Click to expand...
Yeah definitely will wait for a video lol
 
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