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Lincoln Town Car problems - gas odor
Hi there. I have a 1992 Lincoln TC Exec with the 4.6L V8, around 120K miles. A couple of months ago, I started to notice a gasoline smell coming from outside the vehicle when it's running, like when I lower the windows. There are no puddles or other evidence of a leak. I ignored the problem for a while, even though the 'check engine' light came on intermittently (the dealer said not to worry about the light unless I experienced driveability issues).
Now, the problem is worse. In addition to the gas smell, the car runs very rough at idle after it is warmed up; it tries to stall with every engine revolution, and sometimes succeeds. It now also spurts and hesitates around town, the check engine light usually comes on after it does this.
The problems are worse on hot days, esp. when the car has been sitting in the sun. I don't really notice any symptoms when the engine is cold. I thought that using fuel injector cleaner lessened the problem, but I could be over-optimistic. The check engine light seems more apt to come on when I use the A/C.
My questions:
If the evaporative emissions canister is to blame, where is the canister located? (The Haynes manual shows a pic of one...from a 1976 Continental)
How expensive is it to replace this canister?
Is changing the fuel filter on this vehicle something I can do? (Said Haynes manual talks of 'relieving fuel pressure'...how is this done?)
Could the problem be the catalytic converter?
Any advice or help from fellow TC lovers would be VERY welcome, thanks.
Now, the problem is worse. In addition to the gas smell, the car runs very rough at idle after it is warmed up; it tries to stall with every engine revolution, and sometimes succeeds. It now also spurts and hesitates around town, the check engine light usually comes on after it does this.
The problems are worse on hot days, esp. when the car has been sitting in the sun. I don't really notice any symptoms when the engine is cold. I thought that using fuel injector cleaner lessened the problem, but I could be over-optimistic. The check engine light seems more apt to come on when I use the A/C.
My questions:
If the evaporative emissions canister is to blame, where is the canister located? (The Haynes manual shows a pic of one...from a 1976 Continental)
How expensive is it to replace this canister?
Is changing the fuel filter on this vehicle something I can do? (Said Haynes manual talks of 'relieving fuel pressure'...how is this done?)
Could the problem be the catalytic converter?
Any advice or help from fellow TC lovers would be VERY welcome, thanks.
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Comments
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It would stall after warming up and then would not start unless I literally revved the engine upon trying to start it. When I revved the engine after starting when this was occurring , it would rev but not smooth ... like it was misfiring. When I would rev the engine at any time( when it was not stalling and running just fine), it would rev smoothly like a regular engine. This would occur intermittantly...much more frequently in the summer... and always after the car had warmed up.
I also would smell a strong gas odor if I ran the air conditioned for a while in the summer.
I suggest looking up www.alldata.com . These are service bullitans sent to the dealers for service updates ... as people use their cars and develop similar problems... these problems are identified and then the dealers are notified. I couldn't find an obvious bullitan from the ones listed for your car, however #30 listed for my old car (1990 Continental) suggests that this may be a recurrent problem.
I am now convinced after reading your identical problems that this is not an isolated incident. Also, you have a 92 Towncar with a V-8 engine and I had a 1990 Continental with a V-6 engine. Therefore it probably isn't the engine itself but probably one of its shared components such a a sensor or the like. I recently read about a similar problem and the solution had something to do with the idle oxygen something. I'm sorry I can't remember where I saw this. Try reading all of the lincoln postings in the other area.
Note...the dealers will charge you $70.00 to attempt to diagnose the problem...whether they can figure out the problem or not. If it was like my car, it doesn't happen frequently enough to show the dealer and it will not happen when the dealer keeps it for the day. It a very frustrating problem... good luck!!!
If any know the cure for this problem please help us out, I hate to waste more money to find out that "We don't think there is a problem with your car".