Lincoln LS

vhkat1

Yes! My 2000 (10/99 vintage) V8 did this back in Sept after 135K miles. It was the auxiliary/after-run coolant pump. Pump was $203, anti-freeze $14, and $65 to replace. Works fine now.

nvbanker

I drove Lincolns from 1992 through 2006, one after the other, always leased them. Had a Continental, Town Cars, Aviators and Navigators. Although I tested the LS, and was very impressed with its performance, I never bought one because I need space for passengers, and the back seat is very tight for knee room. Also, styling was sort of bland IMO. Nonetheless, I gave it props for being the best "driver" Ford made.

So, I have a friend who wanted one, and found an 01 at the Auction where I buy cars often in nice shape, 80,000 miles. Interior was like new, everything seemed to work. Once again, I am love with the way they drive and handle. The V-8 is very smooth and fairly quick, but the steering, weight distribution, ability to drift, and high speed dynamics are amazing, even after 12 years of service. I continue to be amazed at the car.

I owned an 02 Thunderbird for a couple of years, and it was similar, the engine was identical, and it was pretty awesome in handling as well, but the LS, as everyone knows, was the purebred, and the Thunderbird was an adaptation, and lost some of the driving dynamics in the re-design. I will however mention how solid it was at 130mph.

It is so sad that Ford/Lincoln didn't continue along the path the LS began, and convert the Lincoln brand to performance and world-class driver's cars. They would not be where they are today, they would be creaming Cadillac, and competitive with BMW right now. The division would probably be carrying Ford, and I would still be driving Lincolns. I lament the loss of Jaguar as well. I know it never made money, but it was just on the verge after years of capital being poured into it to make it reliable and world class - now it's there, and Ford reaps nothing from their efforts and expense. But, I guess to save Ford, Mulally had to do what he had to. Although I recall, he got nothing for it really.

So, Kudos to the LS still - a magnificent car, overengineered for the price point at which it would sell, under designed aesthetically, which hurt sales, and representing the high-water mark of Lincoln/Ford in world class automotive competence. Long live the "remaining" LSes.

cdnpinhead

it's time to resurrect this thread, or try to.

I just (finally) put my LS up on Craigslist, after having spent the afternoon taking some pictures to include in the ad. Should be interesting. I've heard all sorts of horror stories related to the flakes who respond, but OTOH lots of cars get sold this way.

It's been a few months short of 13 years since I ordered my LS -- I wanted one with a manual transmission and only the audio upgrade. I used it as a daily driver until 2008, and not much since; it's accumulated 128K miles.

lateralg

I live mostly in AZ, and see one or more LS's almost daily. If I were a decade or so younger, I'd be very tempted to acquire one, install twin Turbo 3.5 and a twin clutch 6 speed.

Does anyone want to join me in this fantasy?

toomanyfumes

Good luck with the sale. I got a decent price trading mine on a new Mustang, I do miss the seats and roomier interior, but not much else. I saw it the other day with a Domino's pizza sign on the roof.

g2iowa

Is there any way to resurrect the LS thread here? Been gone from the new car marketplace since what...2006? 2007? An eternity ago. Would be interesting to see how many of the original manual transmission LSs are still on the road. That is the real interesting model. The one with the initial hotter final drive ratio. Thinking that was a 3.50 or 3.57? But just for short time in first year?

Still see a substantial number on road. Is a tastefully style car that is never trendy or hot, but always attractive. More Mary Ann than Ginger on Gilligan's Island?

Will be equally interesting to see if Lincoln survives. The LS was the last great Lincoln (since it was based on a Jaguar). Lincoln hasn't had anything of any real interest since the LS. I don't see anything on the horizon that is terribly intersting when compared to marques like BMW, MB, Infiniti, and Lexus.

Too bad Ford blew all those billions in the early-mid 2000s on stock buy backs/payments to shareholders when they could've desperately used it to shore up balance sheet and invest in innovative, exciting projects. Remember Jacque's old Premium Group? Aston Martin, Jaguar, RangeRover, Volvo. Now all sold off!

(Do know what you mean about giving up your LS. My 2004 IS300 with 5-speed manual and LSD is still going strong at 128,000 miles. Never been in shop for a repair! Can't imagine parting with her after all these years and miles!)

garthman

Okay, it's alive. Still have my 2001 LS8, Autumn Red. Ran it in the LS Mania in Irvine on Jan 8, 2001. 57,000 miles, 2nd set of tires, 2nd battery plus a few window regulators, wiper sensor, valve cover gasket set, head and tail lamps and soon to replace a weak clock spring.

I still recognize some of the names above...

nvbanker

I have purchased a few used LSes the past couple of years for folks, mostly young guys who have become a bit of cult followers on the LS - recognizing the amazing driving dynamics, weight distribution and handling of the car. I predict based on the interest I've seen, these may become collector cars someday. Even 10 or 12 years old, they have largely held up very well. Even the 2000, which had early problems and growing pains that were largely iron out in later years, are pretty good cars today. All of those early issues were long ago fixed on these cars. I have found the transmissions held up remarkably well, traveling well over 100,000 miles in some cases with no service even. If they go screwy, a new valve body easily bolted in from underneath repairs it nicely, easily and cheaply. It can be a DIY project if you want.

The interior products held up remarkably well. Seats are almost always in great condition. The excellent driving dynamics remain. They are still a kick in the pants to drive aggressively. Steering, handling, acceleration are still exciting. Part of this may be very few alternatives for similar cars of the era remaining today. Especially for the price they are trading ($2000 - $4000) for today.

A kid with a little money can buy one of these and have a hell of a lot of fun and a great performer. If I could find a cream puff, I'd buy it on spec and put it in the garage for a few years, and see where these cars go. It could be quite the appreciating asset someday, and lots of Sunday fun in between.

cdnpinhead

Is there any way to resurrect the LS thread here?

Probably not, given that the more social Edmunds boards that existed back in the day were vaporized a number of years ago and only a few remain in the off-topic crevices. I would dearly love to see the daily hit chart for the last 15 years for the Edmunds forums, but I may as well ask to be let into Fort Knox for 15 minutes with a pallet jack. I think the 23 people who visit regularly aren't interested in the LS.

The secret to a great car, IMHNO, is continuous improvement -- keep the good stuff and fix what breaks every 3-5 years, and "before you know it," say in 20 years, you've got a wonderful vehicle and a following. However, that requires what's called an attention span, and nobody has one any more, especially the people who market this stuff.

Ended up selling my car to CarMax -- very pleasant experience, all but the amount of money that changed hands. But, seriously, what should I have expected with a car that had a manual transmission (at least 19 were sold that way) and numerous parking lot dings? The one and only person who came to look at the car as a result of my Craigslist ad admitted that it was in great mechanical condition, but "didn't look as good in person as it did in the ad."

I went through the 3-4 month newspaper ad (remember when there were newspapers?), AutoTrader, drop the price every few weeks and keep paying for more ads drill back in '00 when I sold my Eagle Vision. I wasn't interested in going through that again.

The TSX I replaced the LS with has been 100% reliable for almost 70K miles, and it handles quite well (for a FWD vehicle); the manual transmission shifts beautifully. The differences between these two cars was remarkable as I shifted between them over the past several weeks. I will never own another American car.

BTW, it's good to hear from you again. I've been spending a lot of time in Iowa over the past couple of years, mostly in Creston where there's a large aerospace aluminum/magnesium foundry.

toomanyfumes

I recently traded my '05 LS in on a new Mustang. The interior was still almost perfect, and the seats and room are what I miss most about it. Mine had the 3.0 six, so the power was so-so, and it needed brakes, had a driveshaft vibration, and the back bumper was cracked. (My fault). Also I replaced three coils, but it was missing again, and I would have had to pull the intake manifold to change the other three. Got a decent trade, and it was time to move on, but I liked that car. It seemed to handle as nice or better than my Mustang in corners, seemed to corner flatter, I had nice Goodyear Eagles on '06 17"Sport wheels on it.

rjones17

This summer I went on the hunt for an LS after wanting a luxury packed sport machine that I could afford. I could not believe the car I found the $$. I found a 2006 LS Sport (pearl white) with 59K in MINT condition. I drove from NY to PA (about 2 hrs) to hunt her down at a Honda Dealership. Needless to say, I fell in love instantly especially after hitting the gas on the test drive!! I have read some horror stories about it since, but am crossing my fingers that I will not have any major issues. I just had the DCCV valve problem fixed and it was all covered under the warranty I purchased. Other than that, I have driven about 7K so far and absolutley LOVE this car! My neighbors/friends/co-workers think I hit the lottery or something! They all thought LS was brand new! Also love this forum!!

toomanyfumes

'06 is the one to get. I had the '06 Wheels on mine and they really set the car off. Enjoy your new new ride!!

rjones17

Thanks!

lateralg

I'm a retired Automotive Engineer & have owned > 2 dozen new cars.

The LS is in my top 5 "best" cars, and my #1 "Favorite" car.

rjones17

I am no engineer but have owned over 25 different cars since 1987ish. The LS is also my #1 favorite to date! I did the exotic driving experience and drove an AUDI R8 around the track in Orlando.......if I only had $$$$! For the little I spent on this LS... I have no complaints whatsoever! LOVE IT!!!!!!!

garthman

Anyone know a little about the secondary timing chain stays (nylon rub blocks) that fail on the V8's? Any secrete in determining if they are soon to fail? Also, anyone determine if the clock spring is the reason for radio control buttons on the steering wheel to fail, mute button, channel up/down and if the dash lights around the radio are also related to this same issue?

akirby

That does sound like a bad clock spring.

vman128

Mine would click every time I turned on the AC, did it for years and I never could figure out where it was coming from. After it finally failed and was repaired, I never heard it again.

garthman

akirby, We met at the LS Mania 2001 in Irvine. Still have your LS?

garthman

What was repaired and what "clicked". I had two subjects posted.

akirby

I wasn't at the mania events or any other in person events. I traded my 2000 V8 in on a 2006 Fusion back in 2005 which I'm about to trade in on 2013 Fusion.

nvbanker

I will never own another American car.

That is a bit of a pinhead statement to make. I said that back in 76 because of my Pinto about Ford. But in later years, Ford made some outstanding, revolutionary cars - the LS being one of the best. Was stupid to make that statement. I had a Datsun B-210 that was a miserable, hot, noisy rustbucket - swore off Japanese cars - things change, now have had several, still have a Lexus today.

Things change. I have very little faith in GM, but I don't say never.

cdnpinhead

That is a bit of a pinhead statement to make.

Of course; I picked my handle with thought.

That said, since the LS is the only American car I've ever owned (my Eagle was built in Canada, to split hairs). I've owned nearly all foreign (is that word still OK?) cars over the years and am getting old enough that I'm not going to be buying many more cars of any kind. I buy and hold for 5-10+ years, and I don't see any American car today that I'd buy for myself or my wife, and don't see any on the horizon either. I occasionally point out to Allen that I'll be dead and gone before Lincoln builds another RWD car that can hold a candle to the LS, if they ever do.

It's sad that the only time I bought into the notion that an American car could compete with the Europeans, it ended up like this, but it did. They discontinued the manual transmission after 3 years, exactly when dozens (or more) improvements were made to solve teething problems. Then a few years later the whole experiment went down the glory hole.

akirby

There is a very strong rumor of a RWD coupe based on the mustang platform. I think it will take a couple of years if it is true but if it's executed as well as the MKC I think it will make the LS look like a Kia.

totaljett

Are you guys able to close your air filter box all the way. I've never been able to get the bottom 3 teeth in slots.

garthman

Anyone out there remember the V8 cold air intake system that Brian Gowning sold? Had it since 2003 and now the smog inspection stations are looking for a sticker that says it is approved. This system has no identification plate on it nor a sticker so, I'm now going to need one from the manufacturer to get past the smog b.s.

It's funny, after so many "passed" you would think the state would extend the testing for those who do.

3dx

I know this is an old thread but I am experiencing 5 beeps repeated 5 times. Did you ever figure out what caused this?
Thanks

3dx

2001 LS V8 5 beeps repeated 5 times after starting. Air bag warning light in dash burnt out shortly before this began. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

akirby

Was the gauge cluster replaced?

nvbanker

I have a 2001 LS-6, automatic. The E code was showing up in the display, so I rebuilt the transmission, new valve body, etc. Now, the transmission drives perfectly until it warms up, then the check engine light goes on, and the car goes into limp mode, and the transmission acts like it did previously. Have done everything I can think of, except replace the harness. Any ideas? Always runs great when cold.

cdnpinhead

Maybe once every three years we should try to resurrect this board. . .or not. I still see quite a few of the cars running around, and the LLSOC board isn't quite dead, but it's getting there.

rayainsw

HA !I had 2 LS-s, and would have bought a 3rd, if Lincoln
had created a rough equivalent to the Jag S-Type R of the day.
- Ray
Almost did buy an S-Type R......

cdnpinhead

It's gotten to the point where you can't even get parts for this thing anymore, and unlike many other classic vehicles, there were never enough produced to support an aftermarket parts business. Besides which, it's not an enthusiast vehicle, even though it should have been. Mostly, to those who drove them, it's a smaller Town Car.

Go figure.