Lincoln LS General Care & Maintenance

tomroxietomroxie Member Posts: 1
edited July 2014 in Lincoln
Hi I'm Tom,
I want to jack up my Lincoln LS V8, so I can change the trans filter, and remove the plate cover off the rear end.

The problem is the rear end isn't a convential type rear end in which you can jack up the rear end, with the plate on the center of the differential.
I know you can devise a way to jack it up, but I don't know which contact points to use in order to jack it up from the rear.
Any help?
Also, where's a safe spot to place the stands?
Thanks for your time,
Sincerely,
Tom
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Comments

  • tapasintapasin Member Posts: 12
    Hi,

    Could anyone suggest a maintain manual specific to Lincoln LS, V6 automatic transmission? I want to tune up my car, so I need more information about my car beyond manufacturer manual coming along with the car. People told me to look Chilton's or Hayne's. I did not find any specific to LS. Anyone have luck to get one.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    You can get the ones the mechanics use from Helm but they're expensive. Check Ebay - I picked up one on CDROM for $10. It's not super detailed but it gives you enough to do simple repairs.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    I'll save you some time - there's no need to replace the trans filter. If it's dirty then it's too late. This is straight from a Ford tranny engineer. You just flush the fluid using the cooler lines and a special machine. This method has the benefit of changing 90+% of the fluid whereas dropping the pan only changes about 30%.
  • amilfamilf Member Posts: 3
    What the best spark plugs for 2000 LS with 115,000 km and when I should change them.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    Now and the same ones that came with the car.
  • brucelincbrucelinc Member Posts: 815
    My 4/99 build LS V8 has been flawless for 104,000 miles. However, a week or so ago, it developed a misfire under light load but no "check engine" light. I was suspicious of the COPs so I pulled them all out and visually inspected them. The good news is that the plug sockets were clean with no evidence of valve cover leakage. While I had the COPs out, I went ahead and put in new spark plugs. The misfire remained.

    This morning I had the dealer do a COP stress test and he found 2 bad COPs. He suggested replacing them all but I just had him replace the two and all is well again - runs like a champ. If this ever happens again, I will be tempted to simply replace the remaining 6 myself since it is a fairly easy job and they can be purchased for much less than the dealer charges.

    A question: I know they recommend 100,000 intervals on the spark plugs. I originally replaced the plugs at 58,000 and the gaps measured over .050. Proper spec is .039 - .043. This time they had again eroded to a bit over .050. Has anyone left the original plugs in to over 100K miles? How did they look?
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    If you leave them over 100K miles you may not be able to tell what they look like - they'll be welded to the head!

    Seriously though - the few people who've changed them themselves didn't report anything unusual.
  • brucelincbrucelinc Member Posts: 815
    When I changed them the first time about 3 years ago, they came out easily and clearly had anti-seize compound on the threads from the factory. They came out easily this time, too, but I wouldn't go 100K. Based on my gap widths, you would be asking the coils to fire across a pretty wide gap. I think that could cause drivability issues.
  • cwzcwz Member Posts: 72
    Book says to use 5W-20. Is there any problem using 10W-30 Syn blend? Do not need the thin 5W as not in cold climate being in CA.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    If it's still under warranty you'll need to keep using the 5W-20. Otherwise I'd use 5w-30 mobil 1. That's what the early LS models came with (5W-30 but not mobil 1). They switched to 5W-20 purely for fuel economy.
  • heyjewelheyjewel Member Posts: 1,046
    Went to remove the front wheel on my 2001 LS to try to diagnose a suspension noise. Although I've had the car since new and it has 71000 miles on it, I've never had an occasion to remove a wheel before. Took out the factory provided lug nut wrench from the trunk and **it does not fit the lug nuts!!??** :mad: In fact, I could find nothing in my garage toolsets that would fit these nuts. Geez, that's nice, huh? Glad I discovered this in my garage rather than on the road on a rainy night. Perhaps folks with an LS and without AAA road service should verify their lug wrench fits their lug nuts?

    I have the factory chrome wheels and matching factory lug nuts. I don't know if this would be an issue with super silver wheels or if the lug nuts are different with them.

    I did check with my selling dealer and they threw up their hands and want me to bring it in. Then I checked with another dealer whose service dept has been much better than the selling dealer. They knew of the problem and say it's due to the nuts being 'soft' and that they change shape over time when being taken off and put on. They said Ford considers this an owner maintenance responsibility and will do nothing. The service write offered to change all 20 nuts for me if I bought new ones and brought them in. They have a 'special tool' they created for just this purpose he says.

    akirby has kindly informed me that he has had success using a 6-point 20mm socket. At this time I don't have one so can not verify this. If anyone else has any info about this, I'd love to hear it.
  • finiclefinicle Member Posts: 2
    I have an 01 LS and have the same problem. I just discovered about a week ago when my lug nuts were actually loose and I couldn't use the lug wrench. Replacements are approx. $8/ea which means the whole set is like $200!!! FOR FRIGGIN LUG NUTS!!!! the lug nut actually has a chrome cap on top of the lug nut and corrosion results in between causing the caps to swell in size...it has nothing to do w/ them being soft...but it is ridiculous, not to mention the fact that they aren't recalled. Try sending a letter to ford...the squeaky wheel gets the grease!!!
  • ezaircon4jcezaircon4jc Member Posts: 793
    My 2000 V6 has 124K miles and running strong. I do need to replace the coils, not unexpected considering the environment in which they live. While I'm in there, I'll also replace the plugs. The last thing to break was the inside drivers door handle last September. The part was ~$60 and I installed it. Before that was the solenoid pack at ~105K miles. That was rather expensive. I installed the $200 pack, but had the dealer flush the system for around $150. Overall, the LS has been a very reliable car. Things break, afterall it is a machine.
  • mwdreammwdream Member Posts: 91
    Thanks. I'm considering a 2004 LS. Also going to look at the CTS cadillac and Nissan Maxima.

    I think I will find a LS for the best price. I'm not sold on Nissan product quality. And the CTS, just not sure about the look and plastic interior for $19,000 ???...

    I am leaning to the V8 LS, because I like the extra power. But with price of gas ?

    Does LS require premium gas? I wouldn't put anything below 89 in my car anyway.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    Both the V6 and V8 LS require premium (91). But in GA, the price difference between 89 and 93 (we don't have 91) is only 10 cents, no matter what the actual gas prices are. So that would be around $2 per week, or about 5%.
  • ezaircon4jcezaircon4jc Member Posts: 793
    In my experience (I have a 2006 [V8 only] also) the V6 doesn't get any better mileage than the V8. In some instances (freeway driving), fewer miles per gallon. My green V8 will give 25mpg+ at 75+, my V6 will be in the upper 23's to low 24's. It has always been that way with the V6 so the high mileage isn't a factor.
  • aiutoaiuto Member Posts: 46
    Well I have 70k on the beast and I figure it's time to change the plugs. It appears fairly simple to do and I'm wondering for those that have done the replacement, what type of plugs are you using? The book says Motorcraft AGSP-32F. Anyone using anything else that is getting decent performance?

    Thx.
  • aiutoaiuto Member Posts: 46
    My V8 LS has 70k and I figure it is time to change the plugs. I can go w/ the Motorcraft AGSP-32F or something else. What else has anyone used w/ good results? Thx.
  • aiutoaiuto Member Posts: 46
    It has been a while but my link to the Ford Parts Network, place where I used to buy parts in St. Augustine, FL I think, is no longer working. Have they gone out of business or do they have a new web address. thx
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    The OEM plugs are just fine. Ford made Torrie change the name (just change ford to fast). You can also get parts from Bill Jenkins at Team Ford in Las Vegas. Great service and prices.
  • brucelincbrucelinc Member Posts: 815
    Yes, the plug replacement is quite straight forward. The left (drivers) side is a bit tight but nothing major. I used Motorcraft plugs but the number in my owners manual was no longer available. I have a 4/99 build V8. I used the Motorcraft site to confirm the correct plugs that replaced my obsolete number.

    Please check the gap on your old plugs. I originally changed mine at around 58,000 and again at 104,000. Both times, the gap had eroded from the recommended .042 to about .052 or so. I would be interested to see if yours showed that kind of erosion.
  • funkcityfunkcity Member Posts: 100
    Hi gang, Long time ;-)
    The LS die hards are way cool !!

    The OEM plugs are platinum tipped and rated for 100,000 mile usage. So go stock I'd say. Bill Jenkins at Ford parts has it all working.

    My car..... I'm wondering how loud the differential bearing noise has to get before I break the bank and get it fixed?

    But other than that, all is cool.
  • aiutoaiuto Member Posts: 46
    Bruce, The gap was .49. Thx for the info
  • mtnhmtnh Member Posts: 19
    HI, I am about to change my 2000 LS manual's plugs, I have 97.x K miles and the spark plug change is quite involved for the typical shadetree mechanic. While in there, I will change the PCV valve as well. I just wanted to pass along that in case you didn't already know (for OC alumni, I reckon) the foglamps for stock non LSE cars are now available in Sylvania Silverstars as H9145-ST. I found a pack of them a week after I changed my fogs out with another pair of H9005 Silverstars, in a Pep Boys store in New Hampshire. I was mildly surprised, since I have really backed off my fog lamp usage while running 65 watt hi-beams in them. I may have to pull them out so that I can go back down to the 45-watt shaded tip bulbs that are supposed to be used in the fog lamps.

    I also wanted to comment that I bought some Avon Tech M550 AS 245/45-17s last summer. The price I got was around $116 a tire, not bad for V-rated or better tires. I had them road-force balanced immediately before using them. One tire was at around 32 lbs of road force and was succesfully replaced. They started off nice, but not even a year into them, and running snows for 3 months of that year on my 16 inch rims, the rear tires are getting noisy. Far-fetched thinking has me wondering if my rear shocks with 97K on them are partly responsible. Oh, those will be changed this year. I did the fronts at around 50K when I had to replace both steering knuckles due to leaking and corroded ball joints. The car is still very stable, but the shocks may not be dampening the subtle imbalanced conditions as well, allowing the tires to develop a chop. I still have my marauder, too, which is just shy of 4 years old by 2 months. That car has turned out to be very nice, a real workhorse with no mechanical failures in 60K miles.

    I get some freaky problems with my LS, like the right side heat goes crazy and can't shut off, and something is not 100% in the multifunction switch (the wiper/washer/turn signal stalk). Sometimes the one-shot wiper will fire, others not. The wipers run during a storm, then they stop. They quickly fire off 2 sweeps and stop, then start up again, seconds apart. All in speed position 1. I also had most of last winter (it's finally over, right?) where the washer would run when asked to, but no automatic 2 or 3 sweeps of wiper would occur. That went away when the weather got warmer. I also had false alarms in the washer fluid low indicator, where even a full fill would not shut it off. When it warmed up out, the washer began working the wipers again, and the low fluid alarm would go off. It still returns a couple of times a day, but I don't know if it's really low or not now! ;)

    LS die-hard Mike
  • mrgdrmrgdr Member Posts: 50
    >>>...I just wanted to pass along that in case you didn't already know (for OC alumni, I reckon) the foglamps for stock non LSE cars are now available in Sylvania Silverstars as H9145-ST...<<<

    Thanks for the heads-up, Mike. I had nearly given up waiting on Sylvania for these lamps and hadn't checked on them in a long time. After reading your post this morning, I stopped by my local Kragen store and bought the only two 9145STs they had in stock. :)
  • lateralglateralg Member Posts: 929
    Half-inch gap?
  • blarson6blarson6 Member Posts: 2
    Where is a good place to get the COP's and what is a good price for these. 00'LS V8.
    B
  • clubairthclubairth Member Posts: 1
    Ebay is a good place to find the COP at a much better price!
    http://tinyurl.com/lmpru

    This auction is over but he had 65 coils! So I am sure you could get them from him. Only $30 plus shipping each.
    .
    .
  • retread1retread1 Member Posts: 1
    If you're still in need, the last time I bought a COP at AutoZone for about $35. Also, it was made by the same mfg. as the OEM.
  • aiutoaiuto Member Posts: 46
    DOes anyone have a phone number or email address of a big mucky muck in Lincoln Sales or Service. I had my LS in the other week for a group of problems, the least which was a noise when I hit a bump. My local Lincoln dealer, Osman LC in Melbourne, FL told me that it was about $2600 to fix, needing knuckles and sway bars etc. Since my extended warranty only cover about $350 of the job I decided to say the hell w/ it and trade it on a Toyota or Nissan.

    They replaced 2 coils, forgot to do the trans flush. When I got home I notice that they had installed 2 Rear Sway Bar Links (which happened to be covered by my Ext Warr). Needless to say this didn't fix the problem. I also asked to be contacted by a regional service tech since the service manager told me that this was a common problem and Lincoln was fixing them up to 75k miles. I have 77k but thought it was worth a shot and they gave me some 800 number and some clerk answered.

    What really pissed me off was the "service shop supply charge" of $20.60. The invoice small print tells you what that is for (just a way to get more money) but it also states that the MAX charge is to be $15.00. I looked at some of my other bills and the charge was always over the $15. I wonder how much the dealership has ripped off customers for in the past years. Probably time to get the state AG involved.

    Thanks for reading my venting.
  • couvcouv Member Posts: 1
    Does anyone know the wheel lug nut torque setting ? It's not in the owner's manual
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    100 ft/lbs. This is almost universal for Ford products in my experience.
  • natec06natec06 Member Posts: 1
    I just bought a 2001 lincoln LS and went to give it a tune up fuel filter, belts, and plugs. Well I was in for a surprise with the plugs. I'm pretty sure you have to take off the intake manifold to get 3 of the spark plugs, but i was just wondering if there was a slight chance that somebody would have a trick to get to them. If not about how long will it take me to strip the manifold? Also do i need to put a new manifold gasket?
  • ezaircon4jcezaircon4jc Member Posts: 793
    There is no trick. I've replaced the plugs on my V6 twice and I'm down to about 3 hours, start to finish. The upper intake manifold gasket is reusable. You will have to disassemble quite a bit to get to the passenger side. Get a good manual (or one of those service cds on ebay) and study it before you start. The job isn't really hard, but it is tedious.
  • nomolincnomolinc Member Posts: 2
    I live in New Jersey and basically went through the same thing here. I complained to the national headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, and was blown off by them. They told me the dealer was an "independent" Lincoln dealer and they couldn't do anything about it. Basically, Ford/LM could care less and that's why local dealers will stick it to you. I'll never buy another Ford product. Good luck with the AG.
  • tauruztauruz Member Posts: 4
    I had my 2000 LS,V6 in for the 100,000 MI tuneup. They replaced plugs,intake manifold gaskets,flushed cooling system,replaced transmission fluids,replaced filters including AC cabin filter,tire rotation and associated labor. According to the techs,the intake manifold gaskets leaked and that caused problems with emission control readings. $900 sounds like a stiff bill but I have no other comparison....any comments?
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    What exactly do you expect Ford to do about it? State automotive franchise laws protect the dealers and there's nothing Ford or any other automaker can do about it. Sad, but true and another advantage the imports have - they don't have 50 yr old franchises to deal with.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    That all sounds correct and necessary, but I would have expected somewhere around $500-$700 for that but it's hard to tell.
  • ccicakccicak Member Posts: 13
    Does anyone know where (or if there are any) the fuses are for the heated seats on a '02 LS V8? My driver side won't heat.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    In the fuse box, where else? It's probably the element though and not the fuse.
  • tauruztauruz Member Posts: 4
    that's the price I pay for buying one!
  • ccicakccicak Member Posts: 13
    Thanks, but I checked the fuse panel and the fuses are not marked as to what each goes to. Besides, none looked blown.
    It seems unlikely the element would be bad, but maybe you're right. Might not be worth the expense. My wife will just have a cold tushi this winter.
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    The elements in the early 2000 models failed often. You could feel and/or hear the broken element in the seatback by pressing into it.

    The owner's manual should have a fuse diagram. Check all the fuses and relays.
  • tauruztauruz Member Posts: 4
    After 100000 MI tuneup,check engine light stayed on. Computer codes indicated problems with right side catalytic converter. Service Tech made some type of computer adjustment and that solved problem...for now. What causes the converters to go bad ?
  • kargkarg Member Posts: 20
    My 2000 LS V6 Sport really has been an excellent car. It is hard to believe it is 7 years old and with 97,000 miles on the odometer - running so well!

    My front wheel bearings have been getter LOUDER AND LOUDER. I researched the parts and bought them from the fast parts network (Torrie) for $103 plus shipping and handling for the front one. My mechanic friend told me to order both - so I ended up ordering the other, but it isn't in yet.

    The change out for the first one was a piece of cake! 1.) Remove the wheel. 2.) Remove the caliper and place on the suspension/steering. 3.) Remove the caliper support (or whatever its calle) & rotor. 4.) Loosen the 4 bolts that hold on the hub and it practically falls out on its own. 5.) Remove the 2 bottom clips and inside top clip on the splash guard and pull it forward to unhook the speed sensor cable. 6.) Reverse to install.

    This was the first one that I've done and it was simple. If you can do the repair - save yourself the cash of overpaying a dealer or mechanic.

    I read on different sites where people were paying $800 for one rear hub replacement. I'm sure this is a little more involved since the axle is involved, but the part lists for $48! I can't belive it would cost that much in labor to fix them.

    Has anyone change the rear hubs themselves or had them done? Do you need a hub puller or any special tools?
  • kargkarg Member Posts: 20
    Just posted about the wheel hub bearing...

    Next issue that just started (hope this isn't the beginning of the nickel/dime phase) is either the starter, battery or PATS ignition.

    On a few occasions this past week - when I turn the key to the start position - I get nothing. Most times if I just let off and turn to start again - it will start. It is rolling fast and lights and everything seem bright, etc - so I've sort of ruled out the battery - even though it is 7 yr old original.

    To me, it seems like the solenoid on the starter may not be getting good contact or whatever. Anyone else experience a similar problem and if so - what was your solution?
  • bonniesboytoybonniesboytoy Member Posts: 11
    Any ideas on getting the BLACK PITTING from brake dust off these wheels?? Look bad and am about to grind the damn inside corners to get rid of it...Tom..
  • ccicakccicak Member Posts: 13
    I have painted OEM wheels which don't have this problem, but my winter wheels are aftermarket "American Racing" brand aluminum, and they also pit like you say.
    I use a rubbing compound and a lot of elbow grease. It's a lot of work. I generally do it in the spring when I take the winter tires off before storing them. Then I apply a coating of wax. This helps, but half the pitting still won't come off. I'm afraid to get too aggressive (like using a power grinder, etc).
    ccicak
  • akirbyakirby Member Posts: 8,062
    You could try a clay bar.
  • jodar96jodar96 Member Posts: 400
    I had the dealer replace the three passenger side plugs at 98K miles. I did the driver side. It cost some $180 plus the cost of three plugs and gasket.

    If you have them do the plugs, do the PCV valve AND the rubber elbow with it. It will cost more, but it is worth it. After replacing the plugs only, five months and 5K miles later, the check engine light came on, and the car would run rough and die at idle. The problem was collapsed/punctured PCV rubber elbow. They replaced both the rubber elbow and PCV valve for a whopping $395. I think our only Lincoln dealer overcharges way too much for what they do.

    Joe
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