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Comments
Not a major grind, but a grind nonetheless. I cant really see the pad thickness through the spokes of the 17 inch sport wheels, and I wont get a chance to work on the car this weekend, but I do plan to purchase a set of non-sport pads (less dust) from the dealer tomorrow. My questions: Has anyone had to change out front pads at 33,000 miles on their LS? Seems a bit early to me. If so, anyone have any tips or instructions? Are the disc brakes on the LS pretty straightforward?
PS..on a separate note, I have to agree with a post Giowa made a few weeks ago. The factory floor mats for the LS suck. The new fronts I just purchased a month or so ago, already show noticeable wear where my right foot heel rests. And like giowa says, the mats are too small, and dont cover enough surface area. My next set will either be custom mats, or something much thicker, yet less costly, from Costco or Walmart.
Is driving a stick better for you? Read on.... The 5/29/01 issue of NY Times had an interesting story on a sociology study comparing the sexual habits of Americans and the French. An excerpt: "55 percent of the French men and 49 percent of the women surveyed reported having sex two or three times each week, while only 33 percent of the American men and 31 percent of the women reported similar frequencies ... About 60 percent of the Americans and one-third of the French said they had sex once a week or less ... American women over 50 were far more likely to be sexually inactive than French women of similar age." Has me wondering if driving a stick improves your sex life? (ls1bmw0: You should do an unscientific survey at LLSOC comparing V8 auto, V6 auto, and V6 manual owners.)
ronniepooh: Sadly, my '00 LS8's floor mats compare poorly with my business '00 Hyundai Sonata GLS. The Sonata's mats are top notch quality and cover about every square millimeter of floor space. I HAVE to vacuum the LS weekly to get all too much that the mats don't cover. I just pull out the Sonata's mats and brush 'em off, as usually there is next to nothing to vacuum. A car in this price range needs better mats.
Hmm.. Let me see....
1. Did you get some more often before or after your purchase of your LS?
2. Did you get any complaints about the lack of a shifter?
3. Did more power make a difference?
4. Does the lack of 2 cylinders hinder performance?
The possibilities would be endless
Brian
Thanks.
The LS has 2 'ride' possibilties, the Sport pkg option has a firmer more 'European-style' suspension than the non-sport, which is a smoother, more traditional Lincoln-esque ride. A BMW owner may be more at home with the sport package. I love the way my LS rides, and I have the sport pkg.
Definitely drive the V8 for the xtra HP. With the sport pkg it will also have Lincolns' shiftable 5 speed automatic, called Select Shift. Personally I have a 5 speed manual, but one can buy that only with the V6.
I think you'll find the LS comparable to the 5-Series in most aspects. One big difference is the $$$ you'll save at purchase time on the LS. Especially now with great lease deals and 0% financing.
George
So as to be fair to all the boards they requested that all Edmunds boards not have other site logos attached to Edmunds. I thought that this was a fair request since LLSOC doesn't compete with Edmunds and vice-versa. They have added a resource link to us in the topic posts on the left.
I've also asked Edmunds to do a slight name change for this board from Lincoln LS Owners to Lincoln LS Enthusiasts so as not to confuse people on what site is which.
Brian
(Stan's article about speaker replacement on the LLSOC site)
As a former BMW owner and enthusiast myself, I have to srtongly suggest you go test drive the LS. I think youll be quite shocked at what Lincoln has to offer. Although the 528 has a 6 cylinder rated around 193hp, and the V6 LS is rated at 210hp, I suggest you skip the V6 auto and test drive the V6 Manual (if you can find one) if you are in the market for a manual transmission. If a manual is not in your sights, then go straight to the LS V8 Sport Package. Loaded, it will sticker around $40k to $41k. Right now is a great time to buy an LS, great financing incentives, and you can usually snag a LS for around $500 over invoice. The LSV8's performance will exceed the 530's performance, but not by a huge margin, as the LS is a larger, heavier car. The interior space in the LS is actually larger than the 7 series. Interior materials are of somewhat better quality than the LS, but overall, the LS is a better value. Just dont get thrown off by the cheap floor mats in the LS. :-)They really arent representative of the quality of the rest of the car.
Reminds me of the idiots who purchase SUV's, only to spend 99% of the time driving it solo, not hauling or pulling anything at all, never go off-road, and see maybe 3 days of snow per year.
Sorry, did I slip off into a rant? ;-)
The K&N Filter # is 33-2148. It was not in stock at the local parts store and was ordered. Received in 3 days.
Bill
Brian
Please email me with feedback on the Granatelli Motor Sports mass air flow sensor on the V-6. I'd like to compare notes against the V-8 version that is on the project car. My email address is: brian.gowing@llsoc.com
Thanks,
Brian
LM is not going to give away anything w/o a fight even when they are wrong.
Joe
I've recently notice, at 16k miles, a strange odor coming from the heating/AC sytem when it gets turned on. It smells like iodine to me. It goes away after a few moments. Any suggestions.
Thanks.
Joe
aiuto@att.net
Brian
I posted a while back about my floor mats and took a little kidding about it, but I can take it. I got mine at Wal Mart, very large and heavy, and they happen to match the gray carpet in the light graphite interior almost perfectly. The drivers' side mat wants to lay just a little crooked due to the way it goes over the "dead pedal" on the left, but otherwise the fit is perfect. Think I paid $19.95 for a set of four.
Since the Mondeo's engine is transverse, it probably would've been prohibitively expensive to make it a rear-drive-only car. Platform-sharing does have its limitations, but the Mondeo gets generally high marks from European magazines, so it seems the most reasonable compromise that Ford could make.
I'm interested to see how much room there is in an X. If I remember correctly, the trunk is larger than the S, but I'm guessing that the interior will be noticeably smaller than the S or the LS. I haven't seen one in Texas yet; looks nice in photos. For the money, though, I still think we LS owners have the better deal.
Items Needed:
1)12 Millimeter Socket with ratchet.
2)12 Millimeter Box wrench
3)Coat hanger, or very short bungee cord.
4)Flat head screwdriver
5)Brake Pad Kit, from Lincoln Dealer.
A)Jack up car
B)Remove lug nuts and wheel.
C)Attach one portion of the bungee cord to the top coil of the coil spring. Or, use a untwisted coat hanger. The goal of course is to have something to support the brake caliper once you remove the caliper bolts.
D)Remove the two 12mm Caliper bolts. The socket/ratchet will work on the lower bolt, but a socket/ratchet wont fit on the top one, due to the upper suspension arm being in the wayb. This is where the box wrench is needed.
E)Once both caliper bolts are completely removed, firmly pull the caliper out and up from the rotor assembly.
F)Using the other end of the bungee cord or hanger, suspend the caliper up out of the way, ensuring that there is no stress or tension on the brake lines/ABS wires.
G)Using a flat head screwdriver, remove the brake pads and caliper shims that the ends of the pads rest against.
H)Remove the brake reservoir cap.
I)Using a large "C" clamp, carefully compress the brake caliper pistons fully back into their housings.
H)Insert new pads/caliper shims onto the rotors, and use the new caliper bolts for reassembly.
I)Tighten up the caliper bolts, and replace the wheels.
J)Start the car, and pump the brake pedal 5-10 times to get the calipers pushed back out firmly against the pads. Do this prior to placing the car in gear.
Do-it-yourself savings? Probably 2 dealer service hours of labor, or approx $120-$160 dollars in labor and "disposal/etc fees".
Notes/tips:
Although I have the Sport Package option, I purchased/installed the non-sport pads, as its been reported here that the compounds are different (at least on the fronts), and that the non-sport pads dust significantly less. Ill keep an eye on that and see for myself. I can report that the pads are an exact fit. Additionally, all 4 pads are identical, inboard and outboard. The part number for the kit, which includes 4 pads with installed shims, 4 new caliper bolts, and 4 shims that actually attach to the portion of the caliper assembly that the pads rest against is XW4Z*2001*AA. List price is $99.72. Manhattan Lincoln in Rockville, MD charged me $74.42. Thats the quote they gave me over the phone, and thats what I paid when I got there. My old pads were shot at 33,700 miles. Passenger side had maybe 1 or 2 thousand miles left, by my estimate. The drivers side pads had maybe 100 miles left before the backing would have begun to contact the rotors. The inboard drivers pad was the thinnest of all. Glad I changed them this evening. Total time for the job was 1.5 hours, with at least 1/3rd of that time spent on jacking/removing/re-installing the wheels. If I had to just replace the pads, it would now take me about 25 minutes tops. One other tip. When replacing the caliper bolts, make sure the oval-shaped cailper bolt "housing washer thingie" with the flat sides, has one of the flat sides resting against the rotor. If a rounded end is resting against the rotor, the caliper bolt will never line up properly. Kind of hard to explain, but if you were looking at the assembly right now, you would know what Im talking about.
Good Luck. Brian: Feel free to post this in the appropriate area on LLSOC.
I don't know how it would have handled last years winter, but I had no problems up here. You might have to use a more expensive chair to hold your parking spot though.
Brian
Regarding the ceramic pads, I've never heard of that. I have heard of $7000 ceramic rotors used in some Porsche's, but never heard of these pads. I could find no dustless pads for the LS in my search. Repco/Axxis is the company that Im most familiar with, with regards to dustless pads, and they dont make any for the LS, at least not yet.
From my personal experience, the 17" Firestones performed reasonably well in the snow. We use Pirelli 210 snow tires (on the sport package) for our cold weather / high altitude development trips and never have a problem. I've been able to drive through snow deep enough to drag the undercarriage with no troubles.
We have a Taurus (front-drive) so it was easy to make comparisons between the two. In deep unplowed snow, the Taurus might be marginally better. On hard packed snow and ice, the LS is more confidence inspiring because of its better balance. The LS is far superior to any rear wheel drive car I have ever had. The equal weight distribution is a big plus. I would not hesitate to recommend the LS in snowy climates.
Bruce
I have not checked into the quality of they're pads any further.
Hi Tom,
The pads available for your application is Raybestos part number PGD805M
and I never had any complaint from our customers on dusting.
Regards,
Pierre Lalonde
Canadian Technical Representative
mailto:Pierre.Lalonde@dana.com
Thanks.
If anyone leased, what is the residual as a % of negotiated purchase price?
Thanks again.
Just a been-there, done-that warning
Brian
Bill
I have seen news to the effect that many lessors are not offering great lease deals due to the glut of lease returns depressing the resale value on used cars. My dad recently sold his '98 Grand Prix and it was painful. Autotrader.com had over 200 like his listed in metro ATL and at least 2/3 were obviously program cars (base models) going for way less than he really wanted to get. Same thing happened to me when I sold my loaded '97 Grand Marquis. I wanted $11,500 (KBB average condition) and ended up taking $10k from the third guy that even called after 2 months of advertising.
Bill
Hey Brian... saw the new T-bird highlighted in the local newspaper today! It shares about 60% of LS parts..including the 3.9 V8. Any word of convertible LS in the future? (Us california guys can't get enough sunshine!) The article said it was about 7" shorter than the LS but the trunk is almost non-existent...just a scant six cubic feet. I still think my LS is by far and away the best car on the road...but that T-Bird sure does bring back memeories of 45s, crusin, and a time where bucket seats were so radical and so cool!
There was even mention of Ford trying to match the color of the leather to the outside of the car. My dad had a Lincoln Continental with suicide doors. It was metalic turquoise with metalic turquoise leather interior...for some reason that combo did it for me when was 14...maybe that's why Ford is trying to recreate the same feeling again...
Bill
The replacement tires are V rated Bridgestone Turanza Revos and they are quietier, smoother and hold the road better than the Firehawks ever did.
The Service at Firestone was excellant.