Lincoln LS

cdnpinhead

I have 108K miles on my LS; I bought it new & took delivery in May of '00.

I first wore out the Firestones -- noisy, but acceptable overall.

Then I went with a set of the Michelin AS sports, and they were great. Quiet, but expensive. Handled well, but made noise on corners -- better than the Firestones.

I'm currently riding on Kumho Ecsta KH11's that I bought a couple of years ago. I'm moderately confident they don't make this exact model anymore, but Kumho is a worthy performance tire maker -- much less expensive than the alternatives.

lobsenza

I had Michlein Pilot Sport A/S on my 2002 LS and they were a fantastic tire. I now have the MXM4 on my 2005 LS and they are not as good a tire. Since the price is similiar, I recommedn the Pilot Sport A/S.

lse4me

Again, my main want is ride smoothness. Are the Michelin Pilot AS's smoother than the MXM4's ??

akirby

I switched from the OEM Firestones to the Pilot Sport A/S on my 2000 LS and they were great tires, but expensive and prone to premature wear on the center strip on the rear tires.

Right now I'd recommend the Avon Tech M550 A/S. Great survey results and much cheaper than the Michelins.

brucelinc

You indicated that ride comfort was a high priority for you. With that in mind, my recommendation would be the MXM4's in a V speed rating. I think they are available in Z but the V's will ride smoother. Are your Bridgestone's Z rated? If so, the sidewalls are stiff as a board and you will feel it.

I absolutely agree with your assessment that you would be happier with a touring tire rather than a high performance tire.

lse4me

Thanks for your input. Yes, I should've known better I guess that the Bridgestones with Pole Position as part of their name and being Z-rated, but the reviews I read rated Ride Comfort a lot higher than the MXM4's.

I saw a listing for the MXM4's as a V or W- rating. I'll go with the V. Hopefully I get back the smooth ride I enjoyed before.

brucelinc

Yes, the speed rating has a big impact on ride. Some of the opinions expressed in those tire rack ratings are sometimes contradictory. I think how a tire performs in comparison to the owners expectations drives the owner comments and ratings.

For example, I recently replaced the Continental S speed rated tires on my wife's Taurus with Goodyear Comfort Treds because she wanted a smooth quiet ride. She expected the Goodyears to be very comfort oriented. The surprise was that they actually give a bit firmer ride than the Continentals at the same pressure. They are extremely quiet but my wife would not rate them particularly high for ride comfort - in spite of their name and what other owners think. I think the higher speed rating (H) makes them a bit stiffer. I think the ride is great but they didn't meet her expectations.

jerseyguy1

My wife has an '04 LS V6 with 27000+ original miles. The original Continental Contact Sport tires are getting a bit thin. Time to consider new skins. The Continentals are trash--in my judgment. Biggest problem is that they are noisy and have been that way for some time now.

Looking to put an all season H speed rated tire on her car. Not looking for a "comfort" tire. She has had a couple of Audis in the past and we have had Porsches in the family off and on for the past 30 years. She understands a firm ride and would prefer crisper handling and cornering to a mushy ride.

Any suggestions on what might give her a reasonable level of handling and a quiet ride.

Thanks in advance.

akirby

Best tire IMO - Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. Great but expensive.

Best value - Avon Tech M550.

lobsenza

Yes, the are smoother and quieter than the MXM4

2000v8

Im a new member and also new owner of a 2000 ls v8 sport. Iam only 17 and would appreciate any advice. Iam looking to get more low end power out of my v8.

akirby

Start with a cold air intake and cat back exhaust. Beyond that you'll need a SCT PCM programmer. If you'll send me an email I can point you to several resources for parts and advice.

ezaircon4jc

I had (don't laugh) General Exclaim UHPs for about 22K miles. That's the best wear I have had from any tire. They handled very well, are inexpensive and stayed quiet throughout their life. It's hard to judge the ride as I had lowering springs and the tires were 245/40/18. I would definitely purchase these tires again. BEWARE, these are summer tires and in cold (below ~35°) become very hard and slippery. Being in San Diego this isn't an issue for me.

lse4me

Thanks to everyone for their inputs. I finally decided to go with what I had originally in the Michelin MXM4's. I definitely learned the differences and the car doesn't ride like on rails like it did with the Bridegestone Potenzas but I had to decide on what was the most important to me at this point and that's ride smoothness.

The roads here in California are the worst on the country, which is not just my opinion and has been written in national publications so I needed to compensate. To illustrate how bad the roads are here, a friend of mine has a friend in Sales who travels throughout the country. In every other state he rents a BMW when he visits. In California, he rents a Cadillac.

With the LS discontinued, I may want to look at Cadillac or Lexus for my next car.

lse4me

Well, now that I got my new tires, I have a new question.

Again, I have a 2002 LSE. When I went to get my replacement tires at a tire outlet, of course it made sense to check the front end alignment, which I had never had to do for this vehicle. In doing it, they said they couldn't get it completely within manufacturer specifications because when the vehicle settled, it moved far outside the range and cannot be adjusted within range. The affected adjustments (as they provided me with a printout) are the right front caster and the front Cross Caster.

They said this has been common speficially with the LS's and generally with Ford products. In order to get the proper adjustments, I'm told they'd have to install a Front Camber/Caster kit which consists of a number of bolts that would be installed in the lower control arms after drilling of holes.

With the value I hold of my LSE and the fact I just had new tires installed that were $200+ apiece, I felt this was a necessary thing to do.

Likely because I'm originally from New York State I'm still a little skeptical. The kit costs about $99, plus an estimated $90 to install and then a new alignment at about $55 putting the total over $250. So, mainly for piece of mind, I thought I'd post here as to whether anyone had experienced and or/heard of this required modifcation for their LS.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

jerrym3

My wife is the primary driver of our 2004 LS8 Sport. (I still commute with my 94 TBird and, every now and then, my 2003 TBird.)

I noticed something the other day that I had never seen before. I'm suddenly seeing a line of additional information on the radio dispaly.

The top line gives the typical station ID, but the lower line is giving information such as "fresh" (for fresh radio), easy listening, sometimes the name of the artist and/or the song title, etc.

Now, I know my wife doesn't play around with the radio settings, other than changing stations, so has anyone else had this experience?

PS, I do not get this info on my 2003 TBird radio.

brucelinc

I am not an expert on this at all but I don't believe all radio stations provide the information necessary for all RDS features to work. Perhaps your wife's favorite station just started providing the info? With some stations, I get the station ID, artist, and song title. With other stations in the same area, it is just the station ID. If my memory is correct, the music type (easy listening, talk, etc.) is also set by the RDS button and then "select." I can't imagine how it would change without using the RDS button.

Disconnecting the battery will erase or possibly change settings. Any battery service recently?

cwz

It is time to replace those dusty OEM pads on my 06. Put porterfields on my previous 00 V8. They were okay but lacked the stopping power I expected. Have read about EBC red and green pads. Anyone have any info on them and how they are and their aggressiveness to the rotors? Or any other low dusting pads for that matter.

akirby

Porterfields had issues but stopping power wasn't one of them. On my 00 V8 it was like throwing out a boat anchor. Maybe you had other problems.

I've heard good things about the EBC pads, too but I don't have any details.

ezaircon4jc

My only problem with the Porterfields's was initial bite. Once they heated up they stopped as Allen said. I didn't like the lack of initial bite and they had started to squeal. I switched to Raybestos Quiet Stop and an extremely satisfied.

schitzo

$150 for timing belt repair on your Camry? Must be nice! The "guide" for the timing belt/chain(?) went out on my 2000 LS V8..........$2600.00!! Have also replaced all eight coil on plugs (not hard, did myself) and had valve cover gaskets replaced so no more oil in the spark plug wells. Air bag light is on, but I will not spend $300 plus to fix. Occassional hot air on drivers side with cold to cool on passenger side. Front right "noise" from suspension, especially going over a speed bump. BUT I DO have 162,000 miles on it and it still drives so fast and smooth that I just can't give it up. Oh, there is some noise also that sounds like a rattle that you might hear from a pulley that is losing it's bearings, but it is coming from back of engine/front transmission area. Only at idle. Slight clunk when shifting from 4 to 5 (auto), but, again, it drives so well that I guess I will keep it until another big $ item comes up, then junk it.

Mike

cwz

I bought some EBC Reds for $70. Will inform how they are once get them on.

jeyhoe

We've often heard it said on this board that the reason Ford cancelled the LS is that "they lost money on every one they made". While I still doubt that was true, and it was denied by a former VP of Maketing with Lincoln, it sure sounds like a good reason doesnt it?

Well, then in tha case, I expect to see Ford cancel all their cars made in North America right quick after seeing this in the Detroit News today:

"Ford Motor Co. lost $5,234 on each vehicle it built in North America last year (2006)" So bye bye Navigator, F150, Mustang, Freestyle, Taurus, Edge etc etc etc. Pretty soon it'll be Ford Fusion and whatever they call the little car they're planning to bring in from Brazil.

Oh, and bye bye UAW too. I guess there's a silver lining to everything.

cdnpinhead

". . . bye bye UAW too. I guess there's a silver lining . . ."

Indeed.

Perhaps there really isn't a free lunch, at least for an extended period of time.

Stuff is worth only what you can sell it for. Imagine.

koury

You've got it easy. I've fixed that front right noise 3 times - dealer daid it's bushings, for a total cost of $1,600. Other problems:

Muffler rattles - $850 (refuse to fix)
Air conditioner blows hot/cold, was told director broken, $750 to fix - refuse to pay
Driver's heated seat broke - don't even want to know how much to fix
Left rear seat door doesn't lock/unlock with FOB - haven't bothered to be shocked at price to fix.
Rear view mirror broken (auto-dimming doesn't work), $300 to replace, said forget it.

Mine is a 2000 (build date October 1999), 130K miles. So many more problems but I don't feel like typing. But I agree, the car rides great. The only reason I haven't gotten rid of it is because I'm still paying for my wife's Navi, which by the way, is now starting to have problems now that the warranty has expired.

I think it's safe to say Lincoln's suck.

swnelso

I recently bought a 2004 Lincoln LS with navigation. The dealership gave me the 2003 map version. I'm looking to upgrade to a more recent version and was wondering if anybody had any ideas on going about this. The dealership wants me to pay upwards of $300. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

jeyhoe

Well, when I bought my 2004 Navigator new, they gave me the 2003 version of the Nav DVD. Every once in a while they solicit me to buy a new one for about $200-300. So far I have refused. You should too, unless you really want an ungraded DVD.

jeyhoe

Koury - Oy! Ouch. Etc.

My 2001 LS 5speed has been pretty damm good overall, sorry about your situation., But then, I've only got 84K on her. My wife was just sayin the other day maybe we should sell the LS before it starts costin money? I have mixed feelings, tho the thought has crossed my mind. But thus far, except for a climate control issue that they wont fix because it's SUPPOSED to screw up in the way mine does, - oh and those damn plastic chrome lug nuts - my LS has been 'knock wud' 100% reliable. Tires (twice) and brakes - once at about 70K - is all I've spent on it. Right now I have the bushings for the front end.

There are of course other places to get a lot of the things fixed you're talking about. And they'd probably cost a lot less than the dealer.

So what year is your Nav and what's happening with it? The warranty on my 2004 runs out soon and now you've got me scared!

Do Lincoln's suck? I dunno, I'm on the fence. One thing's for sure, they're getting less appealing, at least IMHO.

txncraig

I'm one-month owner of a 2000 LS V-6. I purchased the prestine beauty with 28,000 miles for $13,900. A Carfax report indicated the car had previous "suspension" repairs. I presumed that's the bushing issue seen on another forum here. However, after a couple days of driving, I detected a low thumping sound (almost like loose engine mounts?). Carmax spent two days making repairs after they "found boots on rear arms torn, play in joints and front links". But the noise still occurs when going over roughly paved streets. Under normal highway conditions,
there is no problem. Finally, althought they replaced the steering tilt switch, it only functions occasionally and the steering wheel tilts approximately 1/4 inch. I'm just hoping these are small inconveniences, as I love every other aspect of this car. Suggestions/comments welcome!

koury

I guess that's a blanket statement, I'm sure there are plenty of folks happy with their Lincolns.

I didn't start having problems with the LS until around 75K miles. Funny, I was on the highway today thinking how great the car drives - I really do love the car, if you forget all the problems. It rides better than any car I've ever owned.

I've been taking it to my local mechanic for a few years, but there were a couple issues that he couldn't fix, so that's why I took it to the dealer.

My Nav is an '03, 55K miles, warranty expired a few months ago. And guess what - last week the window motor went, had to have it replaced. And the air suspension is sounding pretty bad - much louder than normal. I say a prayer every night.

As for the new Lincolns, forget it. The MKZ is a step down, and the new Nav looks like someone fitted it with oversized braces. I'm going foreign next time around.

I wish you lots of luck with yours!!!

leadfoot4

I installed a full set of Porterfields, as well as a set of SP Performance slotted rotors on my 2000 LS about 3 years ago. I was immediately impressed with the additional stopping power.

However, as the rock band Poison once sang, "every rose has its thorns". In reality, my wife is the prime driver of this car, and she's not a hard driver. She recently mentioned a different feel in the braking, so I took it out for a ride. I immediately felt the dreaded warped rotor shudder. I took the rotors off, expecting to get them re-machined, but found they were trashed. It seems that the Porterfield pads, while developing terrific braking power, do it at the expense of rotor life. In this case, the rotors were about 35,000 miles old.

Secondly, the pads didn't hold up very well to the New York road salt. The steel backing plate had delaminated from the thinner metal piece that the friction material was bonded to. Basically, the rear pads "fell apart".

I shopped around, and found the best price on "name brand" rotors were EBCs. I added a set of part store "house brand" semi metallic pads at $60 for all 4 wheels, and my wife is back on the road. I did this job last weekend. While I like to have the "trick stuff", I'm getting to a point in life where I just can't continue to throw $$ at the cars, since retirement is just around the corner...I hope. Secondly, the car is 7 years old, and although it has only 53,000 miles on it, it's seen 7 winters of road salt.

jeyhoe

koury;

Yeah, I hear ya. My LS still good at 85K or so. But I'm starting to get nervous with all the stories I'm hearing. Another one today in the messge folowing yours about Porterfields and warped rotors. I put Porterfields and new rotors on at about 75K.

My Nav still great, but in warrantee for another 7 months. Saw an article this AM that our fearless and brilliant leaders in congress are fixing to cure our love affair with SUVs for good by taxing gas so much that it'll soon be over $6.00 a gallon This alone is reason for me to find someone who hasnt read that story and wants to buy a nice used Navigator. Course with gas at >$6.00/gal, I'd have to replace the Nav with an escape hybrid just to break even on gas. (yuck) Perhaps horses and bicycles are congress' idea for our future. Hard to do a 30 mile commute on a horse or bike though. $6.00 gas = bye bye Ameican Pie and economy. But what the heck, the folks n Wash DC are doing nothing about any of our other ills, why not find an issue to destroy the economy completely.

Oh, yeah, and I'll probably go Japanese this time as well. Only had 2 [non-permissible content removed] cars - a Nissan 200SX and a Honda Prelude. Buth were good reliable cards, though the Nissans' interior fell apart sooner than any car I ever saw. I just am going to eschew all thoughts about doing what's right for America etc when I buy my next vehicles. It'll be doing what's right for me and my family from now on. To paraphrase Ray Davies and the Kinks: "There's no America any more."

lateralg

I read an article by a recognized brake expert stating that rotors rarely, if ever are warped. The surging during braking is due to varying friction coefficient on the surface of the rotor. This can be due to surface deposits, or mteallurgical changes due to abuse.

karg

It has been quite a while since I've visited the LS board. I can still remember reading the earliest posts before The LS even came out in 1999.

My 2000 LS V6 sport auto tranny has been a great car with it now having 97K on the clock. I've babied the car and never drive in the winter here in NW PA. I posted on the Maintenance Page for the LS - 2 posts in regard to replacing the front wheel hub bearings and a very recent no-start condition. (Never stranded though.)

One thing I noticed a few posts back was someone mentioning the steering wheel vibration or chatter. I'm guessing that is the aweful noise that is makes when you pull the key and the steering wheel goes up and in. After a little tinkering and removing a lot of plastic to see inside to find the problem - the treatment is rather simple:
- move the steering wheel out the whole way and keep in the uppermost postion. Push back the black fuzzy trim piece on the left side above the back of the column and shine a flash light on the left side - you should see a threaded metal piece that moves the wheel in and out - this is the culprit. I just spray it with WD-40 with the little straw on it and run it in and out a few times. The sound does come back though.

Hope that helps! There is nothing as embarassing as when you have people with you and that steering wheel makes that aweful sound as it retracts. What a luxurious touch!

leadfoot4

While I too, have read the articles about brake pad "deposits" causing the pulsations, my rotors were toast. I didn't realize exactly how toasted they were until I took off the fronts, and saw that the back sides were both gouged as well as rusted away. I'm sure that the road salt had a little to do with it, however I'm a little suspicious that the fact that the pistons of the calipers press directly on the back of the rotors probably increases the wear on that side, vs. the outside.

billief

Well, you are getting off easy, They told us at the Lincoln dealership that it would cost us $6000.00 to $8000.00 to fix. They told us that the timing chain guide broke off inside of the engine, I'm wondering if this is true the engine doesn't sound as if anything is inside.

Billie

billief

Well, I've been trying to trade our nice looking LS V-8. A few months ago it decided to go out on me. It all started with about 82K miles on the car now the car was already burning oil but this was something different. She drove fine when I left my job I turned her off got back in started it up and it made a noise and then she started shaking and making all kinds of noises. I took it in they fixed the valve cover gasket the spark plugs, coil, and the tensioner belt (new one) and it was tighten. Okay they called said that the timing chain had broken inside of the engine and that it would cost me between $6 and $8000.dollars to fix I've started the car and drove the car around the block the engine sounds okay it stills shakes and burning oil and making noises after paying $1100.00 dollars. I just have a few questions: Do you think that it's possible for the guide to break in the engine and should I get rid of the car or just keep it.
Billie

lateralg

If the timing chain breaks, the engine will not run.

schitzo

My 2000 LS V8 with 160,000 miles on it had the timing chain/belt(?) guide break. Had a very bad knock, especially when idling. Paid $2600.00 for repair and runs well again. I have also replaced each coil on plug before that along with new valve cover gaskets to stop the oil from leaking onto the coil on plugs.

billief

I understand if the chain was broken it wouldn't run, but they are telling that it's the chain guide is what broke inside of the engine and that the engine is damaged now and not to drive the car. But I have started the car and driven it when you step on the gas the engine sounds fine now when you stop or the car is idling this is when you hear the whining sound and the car is shaking really bad. It sounds as if the timing is off really bad, I don't know what to do at this point. What do you think it is or do you have any suggestions? Help please.

Billie

lstuner6

air bag lights and traction control lights blinking and not going off help please and at 94k miles i bought this car it was a dream and then i founf the problems it had after i bought it (( lower ball joints strut bars brakes all bad and now the air bag light)) all i wanted was a strong car that was a manual and it is a lincoln ls v6 3.0 5 speed and finding performance upgrade suck hardly any help with that too please.. :confuse:

akirby

Get a second opinion. It can't cost that much to fix it even if that's what is wrong.

lateralg

Definitely!

lstuner6

where?

akirby

At another dealer or an independent shop. Where else?

lateralg

Ask folks.

Check Better Business Bureau

Google "Auto Mechanic "

Then Google "Auto Mechanic complaints "

lstuner6

:surprise: they told me 150 to check it but thats a bit much... well i need performance parts for it...ls tuner all the way lol.. so i need to know if mustang wheels like the bullit mustang

02linc

I'v had both of those problems. I had to replace my airbad computer module thing under the drivers seat and I had to replace my ABS control module for my traction light. hope this helps.

P.S. theses parts werent all that cheap

cwz

Stay away from the EBC Red pads, a waste of $70 bucks. They squeal and their low dust is almost as bad as the original pads. Putting on some Raybestos Quiet Stops to see if they do the trick. I had Porterfields on my 2000 V8 and they would good on dusting but had slight squeaking at initial pedal engagement and brake pedal felt a little spongy.

cwz

After two months of use, stay away from these pads they squeal like a pig and dust almost as much as the original pads. Bought a set of Raybestos quiet stops and will try them out next.