GenII LS8 Cooling System Overhaul

^^^
"but the car isn't for the feint of heart."

Truer words never spoken. But some mechanical aptitude, problem solving skills,,, and being handy with wrenches will take you a long way.
 
Shopping cart actually came to $550 so it's not quite $700 :)

BUT, the part I am hesitant on or part I am debating is whether or not it's worth it to stick a tenth of the cars value back into the car. That being said, there isn't much that will check all the boxes the LS does for the price.
 
Waltzy said:
...BUT, the part I am hesitant on or part I am debating is whether or not it's worth it to stick a tenth of the cars value back into the car. That being said, there isn't much that will check all the boxes the LS does for the price.
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I think that this is the wrong point of view. You would never have bought the LS for it's value to someone else. The figure to look at is not what you could sell it for. It's what it would cost you to replace it with another car that you would enjoy at least as much.
 
And believe me, $550 is technically closer to a quarter of the cars value lol. Buy new cops, plugs, end links and bushings and you're already in for 100% lol.

Like stated by someone else previously, I'd dump $10k into my LS if I had to before I bought a new FWD Laptop Spaceship.
 
joegr said:
I think that this is the wrong point of view. You would never have bought the LS for it's value to someone else. The figure to look at is not what you could sell it for. It's what it would cost you to replace it with another car that you would enjoy at least as much.
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I agree with Joe. Don't look at how much you spent on the car,,, but the fact of it it has been reliable transportation up to this point. Don't know how many miles are on your LS,,, but as long as the engine isn't making unusual noises,,, or the tranny isn't acting quirky,,, and the suspension isn't falling apart... the LS is worth putting the time and effort into, (and the cash).

With proper maintenance,,, the LS is good for 200k miles... as long as it's not abused heavily. But a person needs to be able to know how to work on the car themselves,,, for the repairs on the LS to be affordable. The LS was never intended to be a cheap car to fix by always taking it to a shop for repairs. This is why it's resale value in the used car market has always been low. Just like a Jaguar.
 
How do you remove the metal parts holding the hoses around the main plastic body section of the vehicle?
 
exime said:
How do you remove the metal parts holding the hoses around the main plastic body section of the vehicle?
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What metal parts? There are no metal parts on the gen II cooling system that hold hoses on, unless you count the engine. Post some pictures please...
 
My thoughts exactly Joe. I think Exime may have a gen 1 LS,,, and getting this thread confused. Unless he is talking about the factory Ford hose clamps. I know those hose clamps can be difficult without the right tools.

Exime... as Joe said,,,, pleqase post pictures if you can... so we know what parts you are talking about.
 
Thanks a lot for this thread and the many others on this topic. It was very useful. I used the approach of removing the TB at the manifold and using shorter bolts. For reference, if you do the same and want to replace the TB-manifold gasket, it is a Victor Reinz G31844 (the TB-elbow gasket is G31842 but you won't need to disassemble the TB and elbow), available from Rock Auto. I also picked up a handful of -W500215-S309 and -W500014-S439 bolts (those are the way the p/ns show up at Tasca) and used them in various places. One is shorter than the other and if memory serves, will work for the elbow bolts. Also, in case anyone was wondering, you do not need to remove the EGR. I ordered a gasket just in case but didn't need it.
 
As a suggestion... I did disconnect the EGR,,, and removed all TB parts back to the intake. That way I could change the throttle body heater hose that ties into the block under the intake. Only other choice to change this hose AFAIK,,, it to remove the intake mainfold... which I chose not to do.
 
our 03 V8 is going through the motions and we have about 96k on it (was my wife's daily commuter from '06-'14, until the throttle body dies on a high-speed tollway, stranding her and scaring her permanently on it, prompting the purchase of a newer vehicle, so I took over the LS)...I've replaced everything (yes, including radiator and water pump as well!) except the DCCV and lower radiator hose, and looking to do those soon, as I am experiencing overheating issues again (on 3rd degas bottle, replaced just this past August), this time the steam comes from the underside of the bottle, but I can see no visible leaks. Then again, i have been buying the Dorman bottles through Amazon, but I am now going the OEM route with both items (DCCV and degas). When it overheats now, I can hear the hissing rush going through the DCCV, and steam as mentioned before...she is saying this is the last time we spend $$ on it, and I have to agree, even though the cooling system and the TB have really been the only issues, but they always seem to happen at the most inopportune times!

One of the things i did do to have a more complete bleeding process is to add the Prestone flush kit inline on one of the heater hoses, and fill the system with the coolant needed through the thermostat housing entry, then backfill it from the flushing entry, then with low water pressure from the water hose, slowly bleed the system and bring it to the proper water levels (I think water/coolant above the max fill line creates too much pressure and causes the cracks and leaks in the degas bottle, in my opinion the weakest point in the system). Sometimes I will do this while the car runs and cycle the water through the system to assure a proper bleed. Has been a Life Saver so far (see what I did there? Heh)

I was hoping to hold on to it and do a SC 4.2 or 5.0 Jag upgrade/swap as the car is in fantastic structural condition, but now I think that is going to be far too much of a headache.
 
I'll let Joe speak about the prestone flush kit. I've been accused as of late for being jerk... so no comment. As far as using OEM or aftermarket parts... that has been a bit of a debate lately too. SOME aftermarket parts may function properly in the LS for quite some time... but when it comes to the cooling system,,, it becomes questionable. The V6 is possibly a little more tolerant... but the V8 is pretty much a FUBAR Jag design,,, so IMHO... OEM parts are better for long term reliability.

I'm sorry your wife is saying this is the last time. The LS is actually a pretty good vehicle,,, even with it's faults. Thing is... at about 100k is when things start to go wrong on ANY vehicle. Unfortunately,,, the parts for the LS are more cost prohibitive to do the proper maintenance. As the saying goes... "in for a penny,,, in for a pound". How fitting to use a British saying,,, for a British designed vehicle. As I've said before... the LS is "pay to play".

Hope you get the issues worked out on your LS,,, and that maybe the wife will let you keep it. Be ready for costly suspension repairs in the next 30k -50K miles. The rear lower control arms are an issue... and on the cheap side of OEM,,, about $500 for the pair... not including any labor. Whatever you do... don't buy the stamped steel/welded Dorman version of the rear lower control arms.

Not trying to get you discouraged. Just letting you know a bit of what's coming.
 
Ima Luthier said:
... I think water/coolant above the max fill line creates too much pressure and causes the cracks and leaks in the degas bottle ...
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I'll have to respect your opinion but state the fact that such is not the reason!

Don, that you?
 
Overfilled or very low, it will be the same pressure, 15PSI. The degas cap regulates the pressure. It will vent any excess coolant.
 
Would it ever hurt you to simply say, Rigs is right ???

LOL
 
... trouble is, I'm not always right.
 
joegr said:
Overfilled or very low, it will be the same pressure, 15PSI. The degas cap regulates the pressure. It will vent any excess coolant.
Click to expand...

Hey, it was my theory, however erroneous it may be!

and 04_Sport_LS, appreciate the feedback, I've been under the hood of this car from 60-96k more than I was under my 99 Acura TL from 100-140k, and I beat the HELL out of that thing!

I'm hoping for at least another year and a lottery win (heh), then our LS will truly become a "Hot Rod Lincoln", no tellin' who I'll be drivin' to drinkin'...we've owned it 10.5 years now...but one would think someone could have come up with an improvement on the cooling system design and market it...Lincoln's bleeding process has been a dang JOKE for this car...a disobedient ornery demon possessed pet is less frustrating...
 
Quote Ima:

"a disobedient ornery demon possessed pet is less frustrating..."


LMAO... That's funny.

I actually thought about contacting an aftermarket racing parts manufacturer a few years back about designing some aluminum cooling system parts,,, but that never happened.

I DID contact TRW a couple years back about making bushings for the rear control arms,,, but then got too busy. Still have the phone number for someone in the engineering department around here somewhere. Now that Moog is making rear control arms for the Gen 1 LS... and both Moog and TRW are both owned by Federal Mogul,,, it's a moot point. Probably won't be too long, (a year or 2), before Moog comes out with Gen 2 rear control arms.
 
Quote Ima:

" and I have to agree, even though the cooling system and the TB have really been the only issues, but they always seem to happen at the most inopportune times!"

Have you ever really know ANY vehicle to break down at an opportune time??? :)
 
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