tryin to grasp the basics

rustyrodder

rustyrodder

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hey guys,

trying to get the basics on marks- whats good, bad, common problems...any perks some years have. Ive done searchs, couldnt find much on common problems.

I know the airsuspension has problems. Do the trannys go out on these like the cougars/T-birds? and the super awesome headlights:rolleyes:
 
Yeah, different years have different problems.

To help you narrow it down, Gen 1 is years 93-96..... Gen 2 Is 97-98
 
How much money to you have to spend ?
What year are you lookin to buy.

The only advise I would give is stay away form a 96.
unless you find a nice one for super cheap.
 
Gen 1 most likely- 93-95. They come up for 1500 or less on craigslist around here. Its mostly for daily duty and college, so nothing fancy(although I said that about the mustang...and now its goign to be a summer queen).
 
Lets see...

Air Ride
Door Handles
Headlights
Transmissions
Cupholders
Center Console Lids
IMRC's
Front Suspensions
Rear Shock Mounts
Drivers Seats
Power Seat Tracks
Door Ajar Messages

Those are the things off the top of my head that I would expect a first gen for under $1500 to have issues with... I can elaborate on any of those things if you are still confused.
 
kustomizingkid said:
Lets see...

Air Ride- blows out, nice 800 dollar fix...
Door Handles- break off, ala foxbody mustang?
Headlights- chrome peels, yellow over
Transmissions- blow
Cupholders
Center Console Lids
IMRC's- stick?
Front Suspensions
Rear Shock Mounts- rust out?
Drivers Seats
Power Seat Tracks
Door Ajar Messages- goes off constantly, doesnt read sensor that doors closed?

Those are the things off the top of my head that I would expect a first gen for under $1500 to have issues with... I can elaborate on any of those things if you are still confused.
Click to expand...

how am i doing on those so far? I test drove a 93 way back when- had the door ajar problem. would have bought, but on closer inspection the rear had been wrecked.

example of whats here

marks use the 4r70w, right? hmm...how hard is a trans rebuild yourself?man, memories of being under MN12's
 
Issues with the 96...

Year specific IMRC's and VCRM.... these parts are hard to find as just an fyi....
 
rustyrodder said:
how am i doing on those so far? I test drove a 93 way back when- had the door ajar problem. would have bought, but on closer inspection the rear had been wrecked.

example of whats here

marks use the 4r70w, right? hmm...how hard is a trans rebuild yourself?man, memories of being under MN12's
Click to expand...

I think that car has more than just the forward speed of the transmission not working right. Maybe the owner tried to put in some mercon V and it didn't help. Sounds to me he burned something up in the tranny
 
By the looks of the ad, the guy selling it thinks it's a formula F 1 car ! If you're used to being under MN12's ,you could drop the tranny yourself & have it rebuilt for $400 to $600. + or - a converter. The worst issue is what KK mentioned above. Those parts are like 96 HID housings, good luck finding them if they quit working. Oh, & if it's rusty(NY), it's only worth 3 dollars.
 
When you spend $1500 on a mark, you usually end up with a turd. Expect to pay more for a nicer car, otheriwse expect to be fixing alot of issues. Dont buy the first one you look at. It took me 4 years to find my LSC, and boy am i glad i waited.
 
cadillackman said:
By the looks of the ad, the guy selling it thinks it's a formula F 1 car ! If you're used to being under MN12's ,you could drop the tranny yourself & have it rebuilt for $400 to $600. + or - a converter. The worst issue is what KK mentioned above. Those parts are like 96 HID housings, good luck finding them if they quit working. Oh, & if it's rusty(NY), it's only worth 3 dollars.
Click to expand...

i thought that sounded wierd. both my friends got blown trans- and each time it was 3-4. my best friend drove his 95 home from NH in 2nd gear- 4500rpm at 65 for 4 hours. maybe it would be easier to get a decent one with a blown trans, fix that and get a decent one out of it!

allright, so it sounds like 96 is a bastard year. have to love those between changes models!

one thing thats been floating in my mind- I almost remember somebody telling me that 93's were the fastest year for some reason. any truth to that, or is my brain making me look like a dumbass?
 
93's supposably have a more agressive tune and they are the only year with a 1 piece driveshaft, but they are also the first cars, oldest, higher mileage, usually....either way- it doesnt really matter though...

i got my 100% stock at the time gen 2 to run 14.9 @ 93.3 mph...so whats 2 /10's a second in stock form and 50 bucks for a driveshaft, not much really.

Just get one that you like thats not all beat to hell.

I've had a bunch of mark vii's, a 93 mark viii, and it took me over a year to get my 97 black on black (really wanted a 98 but i took what i could get) and even then it was a year to find. Just be patience.

Once i drove and sat in a gen 2, i've yet to look back.
 
That is true, 93's kick ass ,I repeat, kick ASS. But, they're in the worst of shape usually. If you can find one that has already had the bugs worked out ,they're golden. alot of them won't have any paint left on them though. They are the fastest out of the box.
 
Not what most of you think, but im really looking at these again for the big comfy daily driver. the 4v...well, old habits die hard. Id rather not get a really nice one, because with NY winters i would hate to kill one that one of you might save!

mileage doesnt scare me- my accord had 155k when it left the driveway. its mostly the drivelines shape and the suspension(holy expensive). my best friends 4.6 has 150k running strong, and i saw the 405k one here- WOW. now im rambling...

Ive read that with the suspension its rarely the sensors that go out, mostly the bags, right? how hard is all that to replace? is there a way to tell which it is?

and on another note, been going through craigslist today- most seem to have either A-airride issues(one claims sensors?), others have the oh so sexy nosedive stance. or B- transmission. wonder if i could rebuild that myself? never tried...
 
99.9999% of the time the sensors aren't the issue.
the .0001% of the time it IS a sensor it's usually just disconnected from it's mounting point.

People love to say the air ride issues are a simple fix..when in fact they and all of us know the truth.

I ran air ride on my 400K car, I replaced the entire system once. but,not all at the same time.
If you get a high mile car, PLAN on the air ride needing to be replaced.
My original air ride had been replaced by 205,000 miles... and it was still going strong when the car was stolen.
 
how much is airride to replace? just parts, not labor. i remember hearing 1500 once?
 
if your just lookin for a beater, you might be better off getting one thats already been converted to coils

to convert its 400 or so, to keep it, if repacling all the bags and what not its a little more...but you shouldnt have to replace everything only whats wrong with it

prices for bags/compressor are on arnotts site, american air suspension, or wherever else you might go for them.
 
They don't have any major problems, they just have little crap that ruins the enjoyment of them.... and the suspension. Which is easy enough to fix, but expensive.

On the first gen, you get the usual stuff-

worthless headlights.
lasagna rear window trim
the power seat tracks wear at and are virtually impossible to fix
the a/c controls crack.
the alarm goes haywire.
the cruise control recall.
the air ride problems
the EGR tube usually cracks.
the IACV get old
the IMRCs can begin to leak air in the o-rings which destroys mid-range torque, messes up the fuel mix, and makes city driving unpleasant.
the door handles can break off.
the power windows break.
the plastic radiator leaks.
accumulator springs in the transmission
the rear sway bar is hollow and might rust through
the center console lids break.

The engine (except the iMRCs) is brilliant though.
 
rustyrodder said:
how much is airride to replace? just parts, not labor. i remember hearing 1500 once?
Click to expand...

rough estimate.
200 each for front struts
200 compressor
99 each for rear bags.


like I said earlier, I didn't replace mine all at the same time.
When I got the car it had a front bag leak..
by the time I fixed it, I had destroyed the compressor..
so I added additional cost due to my procrastination.

If at any point you start to think you have a bag leak..replace it.
the reason I say this is..by the time the leak gets bad enough for the driver to notice it.. the compressor is getting worked double time..
it's usually not until the compressor starts to die that the problem makes itself apparent.

If the car you get has 100K+ on it.. I'd go ahead and budget a set of front bags to put on the car.
That in itself might save you alot of grief and money in the long run.

Just "add/budget" 400.00 into the buying price of the car.
 
doesnt sound too bad...

seems like most either have a blown trans or air ride. and of course, no 4r70s to be found anywhere!

what transmissions would fit with these
(from what cars)
 
ford nut said:
The only advise I would give is stay away form a 96.
unless you find a nice one for super cheap.
Click to expand...

Yeah like mine I picked up for $1000 with 133k on the clock
K Kid said:
Air Ride-check
Door Handles-good so far
Headlights-HID EBAY housing Audi H4 in em now and they rule!
Transmissions-working still
Cupholders-huh?
Center Console Lids-still fine
IMRC's-Bingo and I still have to fix it the right way
Front Suspensions-needs attention
Rear Shock Mounts-noisy
Drivers Seats-good but lumbar quit pumping up
Power Seat Tracks-good
Door Ajar Messages-pisses me the hell of in cold weather!
Click to expand...
I like my 96's interior over the early Gen 1's and I replaced both back air bags for $100 a pair free shipping on EBAY.

I most likely favor the 96 cause it was and is my first Mark VIII but if you can get a decent one cheap and the cell light isn't on I would go for it :D
 
whats the interior difference?

and once again...what cars have a useable trans?
 
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