1992 Lincoln Mark VII

In reply to andxx0r:

This happened a few days ago:

Finally have a day off so I glared at the Lincoln for a bit then lowered the air suspension and took it out for a wash, blasting the ice cold a/c. Pulled into the car wash with it stuttering at idle, pulled out with it running better than it has in quite some time...

So I drove it out to speed lube and had the oil changed then cruised around for a while. When i got home I did the idle reset procedure and a minute adjustment of the timing. It is now idling smooth an driving great...

shrug

I have a theory...

Up until recently I had been unhooking the battery when I was trying to fix the idle/part throttle running issue and I think the computer needed to learn that the issue was fixed. Also after washing it I made a few full throttle pulls and noticed it was pinging so the timing may have been too advanced. I think it may have been a combination of minor things that individually wouldn't have caused the problem but together they caused the issues.

It still has a few issues:

The tach needle is still sitting at redline.

The driver's side window occasionally acts like the drive gear is losing contact with the driven gear when rolling up.

The thermostat is stuck open.

No overdrive.

Questionably installed A-arm bushings.

All I can think of at the moment...

I think that car is too nice for you to sell :) Sort it out and daily drive!

(I ended up buying an LT1-powered GM sled, so I'm out of the market)

The_Jed wrote:

^Before paint.

After paint:

It may be kind of hard to tell the difference since the after pic was snapped in the harsh mid-day sun but it looks a LOT better to me.

In reply to andxx0r:

An LT-1 powered GM product?...a '94-'97 Camaro I assume?

Or a Caprice?

At this point I'm either going to trade the Mark VII for a while or trade it for a cheap to buy and own, rear drive car that's American, has a manual transmission, huge aftermarket support, manual windows, manual locks, no ABS and weighs <3,000 lbs.

I've actually been thinking about bracket racing the Lincoln. The engine, transmission and rear end are all mechanically solid (despite the lack of overdrive, the AOD is basically a C4 with a pansy overdrive slapped on.).

My schedule will not allow me to hit any Solo2 events for quite a while but the local drag strip has a lot more events and some are during my day off.

Underdrive pulleys, an electric fan, a big rear sway bar and a traclok will put me solidly into the high 15's or low 16's all day long!

Looks much better! Did you plastidip all the trim as well, or use the SEM stuff?

In reply to The_Jed:

Roadmaster! Just a sedan though, but with the tow package.

In reply to andxx0r:

Sweet!

In reply to XLR99:

I plasti-dipped the rear bumper but every thing else is rustoleum satin black. The side window trim, door handles, grille, rear window trim, and windshield trim will get plasti-dip, as will the chrome part of the side mirrors.

Sort of like an LSC SE or GTC but with a white body.

Or kind of similar to this:

I just love the satin black trim. Very 90's.

That gold one with the bbs, so wrong but so right!

In reply to chiodos:

Indeed. :)

I popped in a new 180 degree thermostat then drove for a while with the a/c blasting and everything seems to be good to go.

Took the kids to school this morning and the bloopity-blappity idle is back. LOL. Who didn't see that coming?

I guess it's either time for another wash or a throttle position sensor.

Have you pulled the diagnostic codes?

I pulled them a week or two ago:

KOEO code = 11

Everything's fine. Lol

KOER codes:

1 = not listed

2 = not listed

12 = idle out of range

23 = TPS signal out of range

33 = EGR not opening properly

42 = O2 sensor out of range/system rich

93 = KOER code not listed

I'll scan it again tomorrow morning to see if there are any new ones since it's been driven for a while and the battery has not been disconnected during that time.

Okay, I just finished running the scans again. I have driven about 90 miles recently without unhooking the battery.

KOEO:

11 - everything is okay

10 - separation code to keep them from getting mixed up

33 - not listed for KOEO (EGR not opening properly for KOER)

KOER:

I started it to get it to operating temp and it would run rough for a bit then smooth out for a few seconds. It kept doing this for about a minute then smoothed out and stayed smooth with a higher than normal idle. I then scanned it.

12 - idle out of range (high)

16 - could be any of 3 codes: Rpm too low for HEGO (O2 sensor) test, Idle too high with ISC retracted or RPM above self test limit with ISC off

13 - Idle out of range (low)

It repeated these codes 3 times then showed no more codes. The whole time the engine was purring rock steady at around 1,000 rpm.

Installed a new TPS a couple of days ago and took the kids to Bass Pro. Then later that day I took the car to work and everything seems fine...again.

Yesterday at work I sat and jotted down all of the repairs I could think of, a few of them I farmed out when I was stuck working doubles, and/or jumping shifts on a daily basis.

Terribly installed urethane A-arm bushings- $400 (yeah, WAYY over priced on that one.)

Fuel pump and hanger assembly- $300

New distributor with cap, rotor and TFI module- $80

KYB GR-2 Struts- $180

FSB bushings and endlinks- $25

Ignition switch- $38

6 feet of fuel line (for vacuum hoses)- $18

Throttle position sensor- $38

Both coolant temperature sensors- $26 for one $11 for the other = $37

Replacement right rear caliper- $31

Thermostat with gasket- $12

Extra MAP sensor and IAC valve (came with a bunch of crap from the junkyard, 1/2 price wedesday)- $5

Passenger side window motor(robbed from blue Mark VII)- $0

So, not counting my labor that's $1,164 total, unless I've forgotten something.

I still need to reset the tach, fix the driver's side window motor/track and, eventually rebuild/replace the transmission.

Lately I've been pondering either bracket drag racing or Solo2.

It looks like, with the changes in 2015, the Mark VII would go to H Street...or maybe F Street. Either way, it will be fun, if I ever make it to an event.

Edit: I think I'll start out H Street legal and work my way toward the STX class permitted mods, even if I don't make it to many or any events in the near future.

Took the lincoln to work last night and about halfway there the tach suddenly started working.

Today I took my son to a car show and it still works so I guess I can scratch that one off the list. shrug

The_Jed wrote: Took the lincoln to work last night and about halfway there the tach suddenly started working. Today I took my son to a car show and it still works so I guess I can scratch that one off the list. *shrug*

She's self healing now! Awesome.

I almost traded the Lincoln for a bone stock, unmolested '90 Notchback 5.0 5-speed but the Mustang had rust holes in the driver's side floor pan and a lot of rust on the bottom of the strut towers. Also it had low-ish oil pressure and 164,000 miles.

As much as i pine for a 5-speed 5.0, I would have been a fool to make the trade. The Lincoln has superficial rust, that Mustang was holy.

That Lincoln will always be cooler than any Mustang