First Mark VIII, First Post

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thehamm99

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Hi,

I'm Will.

I recently purchased my first Mark VIII, a car I've had my eye on for awhile.

I think I got a decent deal too.

She's a '97 LSC, with 76k, no engine tranny issues whatsoever. The guy I bought it from replaced the air ride compressor (all works great), and did a complete brake job.

I had a mechanic look at it, and the only real issue seemed to be it "probably" needed an AC compressor. (Other than that, it definitely needs a paint job. It's black but peeling/chipping).

So we settled on $1800 and I felt I got a decent deal.

The guy even gave me a "working" engine from a 1998 LSC with 120k or so miles on it (heads, valve covers, manifold, fuel rails, damper, flywheel, etc.)...which I'd like to sell for a few hundred $$$, as well as an extra air ride compressor and an extra steering column.

I soon realized the mechanic wasn't that great as my driver's side front wheel fell off the car while I was driving on the highway (from him not tightening the lugs correctly)...but at least I was okay, and he took full responsibility for the parts. He still owes me an abs sensor and a left front fender (I found the rim on the off ramp and it was fine!)

I also realized the Cruise control wasn't working, so I checked the fuse box, and voila- no fuse in that spot- which also controlled the AC.

So now I seem to have great working AC...but I have one problem:

The heat/defroster -- which worked up until last week (when the mechanic put on a new rotor and didn't yet install a new abs sensor) still blows, but no hot air whatsoever.

1. I checked both hoses connected to the heater core...both get hot

2. In order to drive without the abs sensor I have to turn traction control off. I read somewhere that with TC off heat won't work. So I turned TC on...but still no heat.

3. I want to locate the Heater Control Valve to check it, but don't know where it is.

So if anybody has read this far and has a clue as to my heater issues, any help would be appreciated.

I'm still very excited to now own a mark viii. If anybody's ever interested in seeing what she looks like I'll post a pic or two.

Thanks,

Will
 
The no heat issue could be the blend door. Do a search for it.
 
it probably is the blend door and or the blend door levers. i have the same issue.
i guess its a common issue with 97 and 98 marks. they even made updated the blend door actuator
 
Thanks guys! I'll check that.

Dmaup...I'd love for my black '97 to look like yours in a couple months.
 
thehamm99 said:
Thanks guys! I'll check that.

Dmaup...I'd love for my black '97 to look like yours in a couple months.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I just like the blue cause its different than most of the ones around here.
 
Sounds like an average deal. Pretty much a run of the mill car, for an average price. GL fixing it up. Please do post pics. WELCOME TO LVC!
 
We need pics!!!

Welcome to the site. You would be hard pressed to find another group of good people anywhere else online. :)
 
welcome to the site and marks be prepaired to do a lot of research and mechanical work. it's a low production and model change year. that said there are a lot of mark nuts on here that suffer thru and enjoy the hardships, heart achs, headachs, dissapointments , and still enjoy their cars and comradere of other sick individuals with the same handicap. jd
 
thehamm99 said:
I soon realized the mechanic wasn't that great as my driver's side front wheel fell off the car while I was driving on the highway (from him not tightening the lugs correctly)...but at least I was okay, and he took full responsibility for the parts. He still owes me an abs sensor and a left front fender (I found the rim on the off ramp and it was fine!)
Click to expand...
What the..... I'm glad you are taking this well and you still like the car. Wow.. Congrats on the car
 
Big Mike said:
Sounds like an average deal. Pretty much a run of the mill car, for an average price. GL fixing it up. Please do post pics. WELCOME TO LVC!
Click to expand...

From the initial description before the wreck it sounds like a $3500 car with those miles. I would say he did very well for $1800.
 
Based on the description, the price sounds pretty good.
The value of the car exceeds the selling/buying price meaning they sell for much less than they are worth.
 
Thanks for all the responses.
I'll post some pics in the next day or two...its been raining non stop here.
 
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Your rims are backwards in the rear.

Yeah, that's some beat up paint. Looks OK though. How's the inside look? Get some paint on there and it's gonna look nice.
 
The inside is pretty straight. A little dirty, and I will need the plastic piece that goes on the driver's seat and runs along the door (with the seat control knobs sticking out of it)...but other than that all the electronics work fine and the only real rip is in the driver's side sun visor.

Thanks for noticing the rims...
 
Sweet, if the interior is good, and it just needs paint, I'd say get all the dents pulled little by little (the small ones that make new paint look bad) and go for a good painter on craigslist who needs side work. Around here you can get a VERY nice base/clear repaint if you don't need the door jambs and stuff changed for $600 easily if you take the time to find a guy who needs cash. As long as you want to keep it black, you should have it easy.
 
I would knock $1500 off of my earlier estimate for the damaged paint. I somehow missed that in the initial post.
 
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