An interesting LS story, a mystery at best...

Nateff91

Nateff91

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This is my first post here! Been reading for a while though! Anyways I have a very interesting, and strange LS story. The LS I bought, (I'm 17, lucky enough to have help from parents) was 58,xxx miles 2004, Ls V6. We live in SE Michigan but bought it from Bowling Green lincoln in Bowling Green Ohio. The care was absolutely gorgeous, ran great, and we all fell in love. We payed around $8,900 cash, half of which my hard earned savings and the other half my parents. We expected the car to last me trough college and hopefully more. So what we thought, a wise investment. Then the odd horrors begin. First off the dealer never once told us of the 91+ deal which we then read up online about which was no big deal. Then after 5k miles, it was time for an oil change (light never came on though). We go to the Valvoline and there they are shocked at what they saw. On the computer it said the last oil change was at 49,500 miles. We thought the dealer did it (like they should have) and then they pulled out the air filter from not the dealer, but the one that was changed at 49,500. They said that the dealer would have changed the air filter if they changed the oil. Long story short we put full synthetic in and it ran fine (didn't know better of the ride they're supposed to have) At about 60,000 miles the engine starts a bizzare noise. It was knocking, got louder and faster when I accelerated, and just was weird. Wasn't sure what to do. I only could think of use better fuel to clean it out. (Which I now know really doesn't work like that) Filled up with 97 and was good to go. Only the noise came occasionally. Went back to 91 and was fine. A tank or two later, it was back. And louder than ever. So I called my uncle who is a head mechanic at a Mazda dealer (previously ford) and he said he would take care of me! But, he was going in for knee surgery so it would be two weeks before we could go. He said take it easy on the car, try not to go past 2500rpms and only drive when absolutely necessary. Two days later on a Monday I was driving to school. As soon as I pulled out of my sub, and got up to 40, I heard a screech, as if a squeegee was rubbing on wet glass. I immediately backed of the gas, and pulled to the center lane. Turned it off, and started again. It seemed normal for the next .4 miles. At this point I was twice as cautious. As I was taking a left turn, the car started shaking and I heard the same noise, this time louder, and really repetitive so I put the car in neutral and coasted in to a cvs parking lot. We later got it home not exceeding more than 15 mph. A week went by of sitting in my driveway torturing me, and it was time. My dad drove the car on back roads with me in a minivan behind him, not exceeding 25mph. This went okay for a while, but as soon as he accelerated a little bit more to try to turn onto a main road, black smoke out the exhaust, and nothing. Wouldn't turn over, wouldn't budge. We then towed it to my uncle and we awaited the news. The news was, the engine is seized, and won't work. He said he is going to pull it apart and take a closer look. This is what he found.


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So on that note he said it would be worth it to order a new engine and install it. He bought one from a 2004 Ls in great shape, and with around 70,xxx miles on it. He then installed the engine, costing us around 2100 which was what I thought an outstanding deal. 1000 for engine and 1100 for labor as it was a good 3-4 days work.
Now, the car runs a ton better from when we first bought it, it's incredible the difference! So smooth! I put in 500 miles with it so far!! And I'm happy as could be! I fell in love with my lincoln and I'm glad to have her back home! But still, there are unanswered questions. I would like any insight you guys have to offer! I want to try to get some closer as to what happened. Please, reply with thoughts, comments, questions, anything!!
Hopefully this was a fairly interesting story and didn't bore all of you! Thanks!
-Nate

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Last edited:
Nateff91 said:
This is my first post here! Been reading for a while though! Anyways I have a very interesting, and strange LS story. The LS I bought, (I'm 17, lucky enough to have help from parents) was 58,xxx miles 2004, Ls V6. We live in SE Michigan but bought it from Bowling Green lincoln in Bowling Green Ohio. The care was absolutely gorgeous, ran great, and we all fell in love. We payed around $8,900 cash, half of which my hard earned savings and the other half my parents. We expected the car to last me trough college and hopefully more. So what we thought, a wise investment. Then the odd horrors begin. First off the dealer never once told us of the 91+ deal which we then read up online about which was no big deal. Then after 5k miles, it was time for an oil change (light never came on though). We go to the Valvoline and there they are shocked at what they saw. On the computer it said the last oil change was at 49,500 miles. We thought the dealer did it (like they should have) and then they pulled out the air filter from not the dealer, but the one that was changed at 49,500. They said that the dealer would have changed the air filter if they changed the oil. Long story short we put full synthetic in and it ran fine (didn't know better of the ride they're supposed to have) At about 60,000 miles the engine starts a bizzare noise. It was knocking, got louder and faster when I accelerated, and just was weird. Wasn't sure what to do. I only could think of use better fuel to clean it out. (Which I now know really doesn't work like that) Filled up with 97 and was good to go. Only the noise came occasionally. Went back to 91 and was fine. A tank or two later, it was back. And louder than ever. So I called my uncle who is a head mechanic at a Mazda dealer (previously ford) and he said he would take care of me! But, he was going in for knee surgery so it would be two weeks before we could go. He said take it easy on the car, try not to go past 2500rpms and only drive when absolutely necessary. Two days later on a Monday I was driving to school. As soon as I pulled out of my sub, and got up to 40, I heard a screech, as if a squeegee was rubbing on wet glass. I immediately backed of the gas, and pulled to the center lane. Turned it off, and started again. It seemed normal for the next .4 miles. At this point I was twice as cautious. As I was taking a left turn, the car started shaking and I heard the same noise, this time louder, and really repetitive so I put the car in neutral and coasted in to a cvs parking lot. We later got it home not exceeding more than 15 mph. A week went by of sitting in my driveway torturing me, and it was time. My dad drove the car on back roads with me in a minivan behind him, not exceeding 25mph. This went okay for a while, but as soon as he accelerated a little bit more to try to turn onto a main road, black smoke out the exhaust, and nothing. Wouldn't turn over, wouldn't budge. We then towed it to my uncle and we awaited the news. The news was, the engine is seized, and won't work. He said he is going to pull it apart and take a closer look. This is what he found.

So not that note he said it would be worth it to order a new engine and install it. He bought one from a 2004 Ls in great shape, and with around 70,xxx miles on it. He then installed the engine, costing us around 2100 which was what I thought an outstanding deal. 1000 for engine and 1100 for labor as it was a good 3-4 days work.
Now, the car runs a ton better from when we first bought it, it's incredible the difference! So smooth! I put in 500 miles with it so far!! And I'm happy as could be! I fell in love with my lincoln and I'm glad to have her back home! But still, there are unanswered questions. I would like any insight you guys have to offer! I want to try to get some closer as to what happened. Please, reply with thoughts, comments, questions, anything!!
Hopefully this was a fairly interesting story and didn't bore all of you! Thanks!
-Nate
Click to expand...

First off...... The oil light is for pressure, not change interval. I would get a lawyer and see if you have any recourse. Seems to me the dealer sold a defective product to you, based on the records.

Let this be a lesson, check the fluids before purchase.
 
All I can say is I recall this story from at least 2 other people who used to be or still are on this forum. One of which I remember was actually an 06 v8. So I don't know the cause. But I remember the loud knocking and then engine seizing part and needing to be replaced. Sucks, but if your 17 and want this car to last they college I would do as much preventative maintenance as you can.
 
------"Filled up with 97 and was good to go. Only the noise came occasionally. Went back to 91 and was fine."


I didn't know there ever was a 97 octane available. Could be an exclusive blend for your area.

Looking at those pictures, I dont know how that engine lasted you that long. Glad you were able to get it fixed. Hope you enjoy your Lincoln for many years. Welcome to LVC!
 
"The oil light is for pressure, not change interval."
I didn't know that, I just assumed that it was for a change, but regardless, paying close attention to the miles and all of that now.

We jumped into buying the car way to quickly, that's for sure. But as for the maintenance, I know if you take really go care of almost any car they will last, and I plan on doing everything I need to keep it out of the shop and running for as long as I can! Definitely a learned a lot through this whole thing. And as for 97, I found it by accident. There was a huge Sunoco that sold it a little ways from my house by a shopping mall!
Thanks guys!
 
I for one can not get enthused about your story.

You are 17 so I expect you can read. Read the owners manual, it's full of worthless info, like what the different lights mean. A $2100 mistake that I don't think you'll learn from.

BTW, welcome to LVC but please learn about your car beyond what pedals do what.
 
Congrats on getting a nice car at 17! Hopefully the new engine will last.
Without a good history it's hard to tell what went wrong. Looks like a significant oil supply issue, but hard to tell why or how without being there. That is a whole lot of carnage.
As far as the maintenance, what the guys were pulling was just the maintenance performed at the dealership. The car's computer doesn't keep a history. Most likely the prior owner had maintenance done at an independent shop that didn't log with the big databases. At least, hopefully maintenance had been done.

The main lesson is to always, always, always have a used car inspected by an independent shop before purchasing. Even if it's from a dealer.
You may have had some insurance from the dealer, but doing all the work would have negated it. And it's a long haul to get to that dealer, so not a great situation for you.

The maintenance light should come on when you start the car, along with all the other lights. One very bad tendency is for shops (and dealers) to remove the maintenance light bulb or "forget" to replace it when it burns out.
 
oddball said:
...The maintenance light should come on when you start the car, along with all the other lights. One very bad tendency is for shops (and dealers) to remove the maintenance light bulb or "forget" to replace it when it burns out.
Click to expand...

There's no "maintenance" light on the LS. (The V8 does have a message center to tell you when to change the oil and a few other things.) It's a check engine light. It comes on when something emissions related has failed, not before.
The oil light is a no-oil-pressure light. When it comes on, it is almost always too late. If you don't turn the engine off immediately when the oil light comes on, it will be too late. (If I understand correctly, the oil light never did come on.) The OP should also learn how to use the dipstick to check the engine oil level and condition every so often.

I don't know that there is anything he could have done to avoid this outcome, other than having the car independently inspected before buying it. However, it does worry me that he thought the oil light would come on to indicate an oil change was needed. Please do sit down and read the whole manual from front to back.
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/tech/Lincoln-LS/2004LincolnLS-OwnersManual.pdf
 
"As far as the maintenance, what the guys were pulling was just the maintenance performed at the dealership. The car's computer doesn't keep a history. Most likely the prior owner had maintenance done at an independent shop that didn't log with the big databases. At least, hopefully maintenance had been done."
I meant the computer that they put the VIN number in to see maintenance history, sorry for not clarifying. And now it seems like there was no maintenance done at the dealership. Like I said, unfortunately we bought the car without knowing enough about the car's history. It was a costly mistake but regardless I can't take it back.
As for reading the manual, I have skimmed certain areas but I will plan on reading front to back tonight. I didn't know much about cars until after this whole ordeal. I'm not saying I'm a mechanic, I just have a better understanding. I wish we would have done a lot more research before we bought. But I can only hope that things are good here on out!
 
The point being made was that the "computer" they pulled the maintenance records from was Ford's. It only knows about maintenance that was done at a Ford dealer (doesn't have to be that specific one). Anything done just about anywhere else won't show up, since the car itself doesn't store any such details.

Good luck with the car. Read some of the threads on here to see about other common problems. Since it is an 04, I would keep an eye on the transmission. If you get delayed and harsh engagements (particularly going into reverse), it's time for a full fluid exchange and replacement of the solenoid assembly.
 
Nateff91 said:
As for reading the manual, I have skimmed certain areas but I will plan on reading front to back tonight. I didn't know much about cars until after this whole ordeal. I'm not saying I'm a mechanic, I just have a better understanding. I wish we would have done a lot more research before we bought. But I can only hope that things are good here on out!
Click to expand...

That V6 should serve you well; as long as you keep up with the fluid changes. My daughter's 2000 (my old one; I know, no VVT but same basic engine) has over 180K miles and still runs like a top and uses no oil.


One of the most helpful things I learned from my dad was care and maintenance of my car. Learn that now and your vehicles will last a long time. Changing your oil, washing and waxing, checking tire pressure and fluids, changing brake pads are just a few things that you can do yourself. Keep up with the maintenance schedule in the back of the manual (use the severe service schedule) and your vehicles will serve you well.
 
welcome to LVC young man, did even though it was too late. when you got the car did they ever offer you a extended warranty on the car? they usually do that with a car with low miles like you have. when I got my 06 I got the warranty with it so now im good till 100k.
 
Good luck! I think that the 3.0 failures are rare, so hopefully you will be good to go now.
 
chocolat1701 said:
welcome to LVC young man, did even though it was too late. when you got the car did they ever offer you a extended warranty on the car? they usually do that with a car with low miles like you have. when I got my 06 I got the warranty with it so now im good till 100k.
Click to expand...
We did not get the extended warranty, which we obviously regret.
 
wow that sucks, it would of paid for itself if you would of gotten it, and you would of gotten a new engine out of it instead of a used one. wow.
 
lincolnlogs said:
you live close to me!
Click to expand...

Nice!!
And I just looked at your LS transformation on photobucket, I love it! I want to start modding the looks of the car as soon as I get this new engine payed off! First I was thinking about getting a grille that has a white outside with the chrome center like on the 2006 LSes
 
chocolat1701 said:
wow that sucks, it would of paid for itself if you would of gotten it, and you would of gotten a new engine out of it instead of a used one. wow.
Click to expand...

I could hardly afford the used engine. The used engine was in good condition and I think I'm lucky enough as it is sitting in the driveway rather than the scrap metal yard!!
 
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