What did you do to your LS today?

[don-ohio]

I own a V6 and I can tell you the future maybe. On the V^it is very common to need catalytics at around 80K or soon thereafter. Also the oil leaks start and you find yourself switching to `recirc' air to keep the smoke from being drawn into the cabin at low speeds or idling.
So although I think you might be 500 too cheap,still,you have to look at future problems common to it. don-ohio ^)

I'm also 'negotiating' with the seller for this extremely Base Model 2005 V6 with just 70k miles.

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[All2kool]

I own a V6 and I can tell you the future maybe. On the V^it is very common to need catalytics at around 80K or soon thereafter. Also the oil leaks start and you find yourself switching to `recirc' air to keep the smoke from being drawn into the cabin at low speeds or idling. So although I think you might be 500 too cheap,still,you have to look at future problems common to it. don-ohio ^)

I have a good feeling that this car has seen the dealer regularly and the maintenance you point has been done.

I just heard from the consigner, seems a deal may be in the works. I haven't increased my offer and have stood firm at $4000 since the beginning yet he just asked 'I believe there could be a deal here. The owner is showing a certain 'level of flexibility'. What about you?' I responded with 'I’ll gladly shell out forty $100 bills for it today. They are crisp and new, not sequential, but will spend just like $4000 should.'

 

[don-ohio]

Yeah,I'd stick with that ALL2..........I'd say you'll have to fix those problems I mentioned pretty soon,and that is a lot of cost,along with replacing the 6 coils and plugs when you fix the leak. don-ohio ^)

I have a good feeling that this car has seen the dealer regularly and the maintenance you point has been done.

I just heard from the consigner, seems a deal may be in the works. I haven't increased my offer and have stood firm at $4000 since the beginning yet he just asked 'I believe there could be a deal here. The owner is showing a certain 'level of flexibility'. What about you?' I responded with 'I’ll gladly shell out forty $100 bills for it today. They are crisp and new, not sequential, but will spend just like $4000 should.'

 

[LS4me]

I own a V6 and I can tell you the future maybe. On the V^it is very common to need catalytics at around 80K or soon thereafter. Also the oil leaks start and you find yourself switching to `recirc' air to keep the smoke from being drawn into the cabin at low speeds or idling.
So although I think you might be 500 too cheap,still,you have to look at future problems common to it. don-ohio ^)

Really??? The left cat on my daughter's 2000 V6 is from the factory (over 190K miles) and the right was replaced (don't remember the mileage) when I stupidly drove the car with a serious miss-fire after I washed the engine. The valve cover gaskets were replaced at about 140K miles.

 

[All2kool]

Really??? The left cat on my daughter's 2000 V6 is from the factory (over 190K miles) and the right was replaced (don't remember the mileage) when I stupidly drove the car with a serious miss-fire after I washed the engine. The valve cover gaskets were replaced at about 140K miles.

I think Don got a neglected LS or one that was assembled late in the day, on a Friday. Cars from 'salt the road' states are rarely as good as a west coast counterpart.

 

[heyjewel]

oil leaks and torque wrenches

Done so in order to achieve best even clamp down pressure for the internal gaskets.


Sorry for your troubles Drizz but as Joe expresses his concerns the even clamp down is needed to keep the internal plug well gaskets from leaking into the wells. I'm sure you know/knew that though.

Hi. Jumping in here before i tell what I did to my LSes.

I'm curious how the gasket cement does in stopping oil leaking into the plug wells. This happens on both my LSes and the little rubber (or whatever) O-rings do NOT stop the oil.

Has anyone found something that does stop the leaking?

Also I have a torque wrench that goes down to 120 in-lbs marked on the barrel. None of the torque specs I've used it for have been that high. Most I run int on the LS are 89 in-lbs. I've been extrapolating that on the wrench not realizing that maybe I shouldn't go less than 120.

 

[Andrizzle]

The new gaskets should stop the oil from getting into the wells... I am just now replacing them on my 2004 that has almost 150k miles. So you are looking at doing it once for the lifetime of the car.

I will say, the size difference in the gaskets I removed compared to the new ones is pretty mind-blowing.. I know the old ones have been heated up in a compressed state for years, but damn I don't know how there isn't oil in ALL of my wells. There was just a minor amount in two of the 8.

 

[heyjewel]

So I have 2 LSes, a manual 2001 with all options except heated seats I've had since new which has 196,000 on it (and still has the original catalytics!) but the engine either has a blown head gasket or a cracked block due to overheating. Over the last few months I have succeeded in pulling the engine out of that one, a first for me, and I did have a couple of things get damaged, oh well.

The other is a 2001 automatic very base car. Doesn't even have homelink or auto seat adjustment or power lumbar ... but it has only 118,000 on the engine which runs great. So I bought the car fairly cheaply expecting to swap the engine into the manual. But my wife came up with another idea and so I've been working on fixing a transmission issue in this auto car. It would not shift above 3rd gear. After searching around, I found mikeywood's writeup on here about fixing the 5R55N and mentioning about the spring that often fails. Sure enough after pulling the valve body (as far as I've ever ventured into a transmission) I found that spring broken into 3 pieces. So I got one from Sonnax for about $5. I also changed the solenoid pak cause that's what the code suggested to problem was. And finally I found 2 tears in the filter screen on the reverse servo assembly so I replaced that as well. Whole fix cost about $300 including about $100 for Castrol Mercon V.

When I got it all back together I was dismayed to find that it only shifted into reverse. I was working from mikeywood's description (great job) and the Lincoln DVD manual. But neither of these mentioned a very important step which caused my no forward problem. Never having been inside a transmission before, I did not know there's an important valve in the body called the manual select valve or similar. Well, this valve must be connected to a rod on the shift linkage or nothing works. I guess I should have noted that it was hooked up when I took the VB out, but I didn't. So I have to pull it all out again (almost) to make this connection and now the thing runs amazingly smooth. I had some help from a (retired I think) Ford engineer who worked on the design and test of the 5R55N. Without his help, I'd be driving around in circles in reverse. I did a 450 mile break in drive of this car yesterday and now it becomes my daughters daily driver. It runs smooth and got 25 mpg

So now I gotta figure out whether my manual's engine has a blown HG or a cracked block. Not sure where to start wit this, if anone has suggestions, they're very welcome.

 

[Robot]

FL state law requires wipers on when raining if they are needed or not. But I know you're a rebel.

Are you sure you don't mean headlight required when wipers are required?

 

[joegr]

Are you sure you don't mean headlight required when wipers are required?

Yes, a number of states has that law. We do here, but everyone ignores it. What I really can't understand is the number of people around here that turn there hazard lights on when it is raining. It makes it very difficult to quickly tell when a car actually is disabled in the rain and in the road way.

 

[joegr]

Hi. Jumping in here before i tell what I did to my LSes.

I'm curious how the gasket cement does in stopping oil leaking into the plug wells. This happens on both my LSes and the little rubber (or whatever) O-rings do NOT stop the oil.

Has anyone found something that does stop the leaking?

Also I have a torque wrench that goes down to 120 in-lbs marked on the barrel. None of the torque specs I've used it for have been that high. Most I run int on the LS are 89 in-lbs. I've been extrapolating that on the wrench not realizing that maybe I shouldn't go less than 120.

Please don't do that. There are only two little spots (where the front timing cover meets the valve covers) on each one where any sealant should be applied. The rubber gasket and o-rings do just fine at stopping the oil. It's just that the heat hardens them and they will have to be replaced every ten or so years.
Never try to use a torque wrench set all the way to it's maximum or minimum setting, let alone beyond that. Either get one that goes down to 80 at least, or just use a small wrench and apply a reasonable amount of force. Making the bolts tighter won't put any more force on the gaskets or make them any less likely to leak. The standoffs around the bolts determine how much compression the gaskets get. You just need the bolts to be tight enough that the standoffs are fully seated, and that the bolts won't vibrate loose later.

 

[heyjewel]

Yeah, I got it about the torque wrench. Course I used all in and around the transmission. Valvle body etc all 89, solenoud pak 72 IIRC and something else at 96 lb-in. Oh well.

The O-rings, IME, do no stop the oil, even just a year or less after being installed cylinder 6 plug well is full of oil. Most others are not too bad. I'm talking V6 here. THe 3 cylinders on the passenger side are a devil to get at.

 

[RigsLS]

Please note when a torque wrench is not in use it should be relaxed as in move the ring all the way to ZERO foot pounds, do not get in the habit of storing a torque wrench away while loaded. It's just good practice and will ensure you get longer life out of your already paid for tools. It can get lazy if stored away loaded and give you a false torque over time. It weakens the spring.

It is what it is ... don't take my word for it.


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Beat on the 04 LSE V8 today on and on the way back from the Dentist office. Huge difference in enjoyment since custom exhaust.

~ Did NOT get a chance to do any exhaust vids today, will have to wait for a bit into next week. If you do NOT like your LS to have deep tone with some drone the dual IN/OUT Magnaflow # 11386 is NOT for you. The drone factor is somewhat medium and at no point does it ever null out the interior.


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All2kool, I'd hold out for something better for less if I was you, don't be in a hurry to purchase, keep looking, don't be afraid to travel a bit out of state to pick up a much better deal. Up to you of course.


- - - - -


Joe, yes I did eventually spot the heated wiper park lines in the glass. Not sure how I missed that on the first go, not near as pronounced as on 1st GEN but indeed present minus the ON indicator light. +1

 

[LS4me]

CONGRATS George!! Nice job! Now you need another donor car for your manual!

A head gasket shouldn't be too hard of a repair, but a cracked block is terminal. Hope it's only the gasket...

 

[All2kool]

All2kool, I'd hold out for something better for less if I was you, don't be in a hurry to purchase, keep looking, don't be afraid to travel a bit out of state to pick up a much better deal. Up to you of course.

I'm going to go see an '05 V6 Base model w/70k miles tomorrow that I've negotiated a good deal on - I've got him talked down to $4000 from his original price of $6777.

 

[1LoudLS]

The O-rings, IME, do no stop the oil, even just a year or less after being installed cylinder 6 plug well is full of oil. Most others are not too bad. I'm talking V6 here. THe 3 cylinders on the passenger side are a devil to get at.

sounds like the 0 rings were not installed correctly then... my V6 never had to have them replaced.

 

[joegr]

sounds like the 0 rings were not installed correctly then... my V6 never had to have them replaced.

That seems like the logical answer given that they seem to work fine (for at least 10 years / 100K miles) for just about everyone else.

 

[fabrizio]

Hi , I installed my new subwoofer amplifier kenwood kac-5001ps using the stock cable harness,just Audio&Remote signals.

The ground wire were connected behind the back seat using the stock nut retainer.

I did the recommended sealed subwoofer box but it's just a cube,I'm working on a custom box to fit in the trunk.

Best regards!

 

[Andrizzle]

That must be one tiny amp, usually if you are putting in aftermarket stuff, it is considerably more powerful than the stock setup. Thus needing beefier wires.

 

[1LoudLS]

it is a 500w RMS amp with 60a of maximum current draw...

(A) way over what the factory wiring is rated for, I sincerely hope that while you can use the signal wires from the OEM harness, I sure hope a dedicated power wire was ran directly to the battery.

(B) I never recommend using a seat bolt for the ground wire, as most of the surfaces will have paint and can make it a pretty terrible grounding point. honestly, since you will need to run a power wire to the battery and it is already in the trunk, I would just also run a ground wire directly to either the battery or the battery's ground point

 

[fabrizio]

Hi, it's a 500W@2ohms amplifier,
the shown wires are just for audio signals and remote using the stock harness to avoid runing new cables.

Te power wires are awg8 /

 

[fabrizio]

it is a 500w RMS amp with 60a of maximum current draw...

(A) way over what the factory wiring is rated for, I sincerely hope that while you can use the signal wires from the OEM harness, I sure hope a dedicated power wire was ran directly to the battery.

(B) I never recommend using a seat bolt for the ground wire, as most of the surfaces will have paint and can make it a pretty terrible grounding point. honestly, since you will need to run a power wire to the battery and it is already in the trunk, I would just also run a ground wire directly to either the battery or the battery's ground point

Thats right!

I remove the paint to make good grounding.I like short cables

30min test without issues,power wires temperature barely warm.

 

[FDR]

For such a short run of wire, I think you'll be fine, but I'm just going off of a general electrical chart. It says using 8ga for power transmission is only good for 32amps, but using it for chassis wiring is good for 70A. 4ga, though, is good for I think 60A in power transmission

Still, there are some 8ga kits that say they're good for 600W+

But on the other (4th) hand now, there are companies that advertise their kit's power handling in PEAK watts. What in the ever loving fvck is that about. Car fires is what that's about.

 

[1LoudLS]

For such a short run of wire, I think you'll be fine, but I'm just going off of a general electrical chart. It says using 8ga for power transmission is only good for 32amps, but using it for chassis wiring is good for 70A. 4ga, though, is good for I think 60A in power transmission

luckily while the max current draw can be up to 60, its average is far less than that, and at least with the LS, the power run is so short it helps a lot.

Still, there are some 8ga kits that say they're good for 600W+


But on the other (4th) hand now, there are companies that advertise their kit's power handling in PEAK watts. What in the ever loving fvck is that about. Car fires is what that's about.

I think that most companies are are banking on that the vast majorities of 600w amps dont make close to 600w amps. it also drives me crazy when a lot of 4awg kits are really just 8awg wire with 4x as much insulation... compound that with a huge amount of companies using aluminum wire lately and you really have to be paying attention to what wire you're actually getting.

 

[fabrizio]

luckily while the max current draw can be up to 60, its average is far less than that, and at least with the LS, the power run is so short it helps a lot.




I think that most companies are are banking on that the vast majorities of 600w amps dont make close to 600w amps. it also drives me crazy when a lot of 4awg kits are really just 8awg wire with 4x as much insulation... compound that with a huge amount of companies using aluminum wire lately and you really have to be paying attention to what wire you're actually getting.

I saw it too , I was planning to buy a 4 awg wire kit but it was too expensive and I was doubtful about the the aluminium wire with a thin copper layer,It was a thick wire but I took a look at my stock wire and use a industrial certified 8 awg(pure copper)looks thinner but it meets the area requiered.
RCA cable were expensive too but it depend how you buy it , Gold finish terminal mmm :shifty: , the same shielded cable without " autocar version" is cheaper.