I'm back with a new Mark VIII

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sprocket

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Hello all,

I burned a valve or something like that to cause a cylinder to go dead on my '96. So I gave it to a friend. It now sits in his shed waiting for him to find and install an engine. Personally I don't think it's worth the trouble with well over 200,000 on the clock.

But now I bought a '98 LSC collectors edition. Pearl white with 147,000 miles. Pictures to come. The body and interior are in really good shape. Supposedly it has a blown head gasket. I didn't get a lot of details other than that it was overheating and a mechanic told him it was the head gasket. It has sat in his garage for about 3 yrs. He finally decided he was never going to get around to fixing it so I bought it for $800. I have driven it once for about 45 minutes. It has a few minor issues but it didn't overheat. I did a block test for hydrocarbons in the coolant and it was negative. It misfired on cyl 1 and 3 when I first started it the day before, but it hadn't been run in a long time. They cleared up. There were no codes or pending codes after my drive. It needs an oil change, new coolant, spark plugs, air filter... Two tires lose air and tires need balanced. Brake rotors vibrate.

I don't feel like questioning the previous owner about its supposed issues. I would rather he thinks it had serious issues and he got what he could for it. Maybe it really does have a blown head gasket. If anyone has advice on how to explore that possibility further, I would appreciate it.

I will update as things progress!
 
I think that "blown head gasket" is the go to diagnosis when they don't see an obvious problem.
 
I haven't noticed the fan coming on. Should it come on if the a/c is on high?
 
An update :

The A/C needed charging but even after that, the fan doesn't come on with the A/C on high. I let it idle for quite awhile and revved the engine long enough to get the engine temp to rise to 240. Still the fan didn't come on. I did a test drive and checked live data. LTFT on one side, bank 2 I think, was high. Like 15 on average but bounced around. Fuel system 1 shows closed, fuel system 2 says n/a. I don't understand that. I could see it saying open, but I don't understand not available. One of the 02 sensors part the cat seems sluggish. It often reads zero. I think that is on bank 2 as well.

It runs decent, no misfires, but maybe a little sluggish. No stored codes. Not yet anyway. Fuel economy seems low. It looks like either the VLCM or the PCM is bad. The is a VLCM on eBay. None locally that I have found yet. Does anyone know a good source for these?

Any comments or suggestions are Appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Nope. It was just a loose ground wire. I think I got it. I might need a new plug. This one seems kinda loose. The fan runs now.

I changed the oil and the air filter. Two screws were missing in the air box. I added one more. Live data seems to be improving.

I don't think there's really anything wrong now. Yay if I'm right!
 
Yea, I would do a partial tune up being that you just bought the car.

"Partial" meaning I'd do everything minus new COPs & minus fuel filter to rule out the common components that are more easily accessible. New PCV valve, spark plugs, and new COP Boots should be more cost friendly than $300-$400 for new COPs.

However, if you paid $800 for the Mark, then coughing up $400 for new COPs may not be that bad an idea if you think the car is worth it. Otherwise, the spring coils & boots could probably just need replacing as they're likely sludged up with the oil that was sitting at the bottom of the wells which might account for the slight sluggish feeling.

Maybe it still has the air-intake snorkel!! Removing it might give the Mark that extra umpth that you're used to. At the very least the engine will growl better :cool:
 
I replaced the fuel filter before I started driving mine purely because it had been sitting for 3 years, its not hard if you know where its at.
 
The latest is that I found oil in the plug wells. So now I'm doing new spark plugs and the valve cover gasket set. The driver's side cover will not clear the brake booster. I'll have to raise the motor on that side to clear it.
 
Latest update :

Valve cover set is done. New spark plugs. New coil boots. No codes and it runs fine.

I also replaced all the brake pads and rotors. I made an ametuer mistake by bumping off an inside pad while installing the caliper and picking it up and reinstalling it backwards. Yes, they fit backwards. After a short drive I realized my mistake but enough damage was done that I replaced that pad and rotor. It's all good now. I may do one final brake bleed. I think they are good but I ended up removing brake lines from the master cylinder to make it easier to remove the valve cover. So it took awhile to bleed all the air out.

The tires are shot. I had one that leaked air so I took it to a good tire shop to get the bread to seal. I was told my chrome plated cyclone rims have a fair amount of corrosion and it took some work to get the bead to seal. Shortly after that I found a set of almost new Michelin's for sale and bought them. I'm having the same shop mount them on the rims. He charges a fair amount but he does good work. He says he will give me a discount if I just bring him the mounted tires and not the whole car. Then they can just fit it in whenever. I'm in no rush since it's parked for the winter at this point. I can put it on jackstands for a final brake bleed and bring him the tires and rims.

I also have my eye on an almost new set of cyclone rims. Expensive, but they look so nice! I'll have to make a decision on those rims before I have the new tires mounted on the current ones.
 
Update:
New tires have been installed. New center caps. I found some aftermarket ones on eBay with gold Lincoln emblems. I like them. I talked to a detailer and she knows someone who does bodywork in the side. He used to do it full time. He is going to fix some minor rust. It won't be perfect but will be decent and halt the rust. He knows someone who modifies Mustangs and may have a Cobra intake. I want to do the exhaust. Remove 3rd cat, X-pipe, 2 1/2" pipes, Borla mufflers, stock tips. He also knows someone who may be able to rechrome the rims cheap, but I would have to be very convinced they would come out excellent. That would be a pretty big expense to take a chance on.
IMG_20200602_112942.jpg
 
I guess one thing I'm struggling with is modifying the exhaust when the existing exhaust is still in very good shape.

Opinions?
 
Purchasing a new set of rims might be more cost effective than re-chroming. I'm sure you can find similar looking aftermarket rims if the OEM 10 spoke style is what you want to hold onto.

For example,...

lexani-744-twister-1pc-cast-black-machined-accents_1.jpg

Security Check

Otherwise, as with the OEM HIDs, you'd be at the mercy of another enthusiast and what they deem their set to be worth if the wheels are close to mint condition.
 
sprocket said:
I guess one thing I'm struggling with is modifying the exhaust when the existing exhaust is still in very good shape.

Opinions?
Click to expand...

I might be wrong in saying this, but I believe most of us have purchased the catback exhaust tubing kit from Trubendz. It's mandrel bent, Alum or SS, comes in OEM 2.25" or 2.5", and you can add the X-pipe for an extra $35.

https://www.trubendz.com/categories/tubing-kits/lincoln/93-98-lincoln-mark-viii.html

The mufflers I went with were the XpansionX IIs from Geno at LMS, though I'm not sure if he still sells them.

Short of that, you can always cut off the mufflers(sounds good but raspy) and weld on some tips or different mufflers if you don't want to do anything too crazy. Anything but the OEM mufflers!
 
sprocket said:
Update:
New tires have been installed. New center caps. I found some aftermarket ones on eBay with gold Lincoln emblems. I like them. I talked to a detailer and she knows someone who does bodywork in the side. He used to do it full time. He is going to fix some minor rust. It won't be perfect but will be decent and halt the rust. He knows someone who modifies Mustangs and may have a Cobra intake. I want to do the exhaust. Remove 3rd cat, X-pipe, 2 1/2" pipes, Borla mufflers, stock tips. He also knows someone who may be able to rechrome the rims cheap, but I would have to be very convinced they would come out excellent. That would be a pretty big expense to take a chance on.View attachment 828574275
Click to expand...
I agree rechroming might not be worth it, those wheels look great b
sprocket said:
Update:
New tires have been installed. New center caps. I found some aftermarket ones on eBay with gold Lincoln emblems. I like them. I talked to a detailer and she knows someone who does bodywork in the side. He used to do it full time. He is going to fix some minor rust. It won't be perfect but will be decent and halt the rust. He knows someone who modifies Mustangs and may have a Cobra intake. I want to do the exhaust. Remove 3rd cat, X-pipe, 2 1/2" pipes, Borla mufflers, stock tips. He also knows someone who may be able to rechrome the rims cheap, but I would have to be very convinced they would come out excellent. That would be a pretty big expense to take a chance on.View attachment 828574275
Click to expand...
I agree with you rechroming might not be worth it, those wheels look great BTW.
 
sprocket said:
I guess one thing I'm struggling with is modifying the exhaust when the existing exhaust is still in very good shape.

Opinions?
Click to expand...
I'm having the same problem I want it to sound more like a cobra and less blah you know.I mean it sounds good above 4500 RPMs
 
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