Lincoln LS

dcls · May 2004

There you go - a classy name: Cosmopolitan. Or how about Capri - the one that won the Pan-Am road race for 3 years in a row in the early fifties?

cdnpinhead · May 2004

There is no air suspension pump on any LS I've ever heard of, certainly not stock.

Please tell me it wasn't someone at a dealership who gave you this information.

sniemietz · May 2004

My high mount brake light went out on my 2000 LS. I'm at a loss on how to get to the bulb. It appears that the cover should just pop off from the deck lid but it sure does seem to be stubborn. Has anyone replaced this bulb and what is the secret to gaining access to the bulb???

lobsenza · May 2004

I believe the cover should just slide off toward the front of the vehicle. I watched the guy do it when my tint was installed.

the_necroscope · May 2004

Suspension Pump?! :crazy:

The 3rd brake light cover slides toward the front of the car. Push down while sliding to disengage the "teeth" that keep it from rattling loose.

The Capri was (since the early 70's) a Mercury coupe. I own a '73. No way could that be used for Lincoln.

gunnersmate · May 2004

do you hear any prononced mechanical sounds like a linkage clunking?

gunnersmate · May 2004

not that heard of.

gunnersmate · May 2004

yep... just slide it toward the nose of the car while pressing down and it should lift away.... I would say that the total travel is about 2 inches max.

bob550k · May 2004

Lincoln made a Capri throughout the 1950's. By the late 50's the car was wild in design with a big V8 I think the line ran into the 1960's. Other names were Cosmopolitan, Mark II (hand made and priced out of the market), Continental, Premiere, Lido (I've never seen a Lido but I understand they exist), Custom, I think the Zephyr discontinued around 1949? Go further back into the early 30's and Lincoln used letters, like L, then the K, or KB when the V12 was introduced.

dcls · May 2004

Yeah, it was the service rep when I checked in at the LM dealer.

sniemietz · May 2004

Thanks guys for the help. I was able to get the cover off using the method ya'll described.

nvbanker · May 2004

Some service advisors are morons, who know nothing about cars and just bluff you if they can. I could tell you stories...........

gunnersmate · May 2004

No doubt. I feel fortunate to have this venue where I can communicate with fellow owners and shade tree mechanics. Sometimes it helps just to get your concerns or questions out in the open.

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank all of you for listening and more importantly for replying. Sometimes it is hard to troubleshoot a problem objectively becasue automobile ownership can get quite emotional.

koury · May 2004

My '00 LS8 is having flaky problems that the dealer can't fix. While running the AC, hot air will blow from the right side and right middle vents, warm air blows from the left middle vent, and cold air blows from the left side vent. This is intermitant, but is happening more frequently, and even occurs when the AC is off. My local dealer hooked it up to a machine today (tried to charge $73 diagnostic fee)and said they couldn't see anything wrong (of course it worked fine while there).

Any insight?

ezaircon4jc · May 2004

This has happened to others. IIRC, it is a sticky blend door valve.

dcls · May 2004

Well, you guys were right. I called back the dealer to question the service person, and when he checked, aploigized for not realizing that the '01 LS does not have air suspension. (Don't know about later models). Thanks for the feedback.

v8lincolnguy · May 2004

No LS has(or ever had) an air suspension unless it was aftermarket. The guy must have been mistaking your car for a Town Car as they do have these and yes, you can hear it when you first start the car. I had an 89 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Touring Sedan that also had this feature and made a similar noise.

nvbanker · May 2004

I guess it's expecting a lot for the service advisor to know the cars he services and the dealership sells. But we do......

cdnpinhead · May 2004

additional evidence that not even dealership personnel know what an LS is. It's no wonder their customers don't. It's only been five years.

Interesting owning a car that's so well known & respected. . .or not.

Talk about a sleeper. The LS is more like a coma.

nvbanker · May 2004

so much as "underrated by the masses". It has more of a niche following (even on these boards) than about anything else I know. If you have one, you love 'em. Hell, I don't even have one, and I love 'em!!

leadfoot4 · May 2004

Right on!!

rayainsw · May 2004

"can hear it when you first start the car. "

Soooo - that was the sound I heard when I started the TC I am driving today. From Enterprise - LS is in for service.
- Ray
Glad for a free loaner - not so happy driving a TC in Atlanta metro traffic . . .

akirby · May 2004

I used to hate getting TCs. I'd rather have a Focus.

At World in Alpharetta I've gotten a 4 door F150 and an Expedition the last 2 visits. We used Billy Howell in Cumming for the Aviator and got a LS.

nvbanker · May 2004

I LOVE getting a Town Car loaner or rental. Last Town Car I rented had 40 miles on it. I think I was the first, or at least second driver it had. Although it was not the Ultimate, which is the one I like, it was a nice ride, and new is a beautiful thing. They are quite nimble in traffic, IMO, but then, I'm used to a Navigator, so they are small to me I guess. Just wish they had more blower in the A/C and the DOHC 4.6L 300 HP motor in them. IF they did, I'd buy one.

akirby · May 2004

Nimble in traffic? Compared to what - a school bus? You need to get out of that Navigator every once in a while.......

ANT14 · May 2004

If you haven't looked at the Town Car recently, look again... Hehe...

Actually it's not as bloaty as it previously was. The fine tuning in the suspension last year won't leave you with that bloated, bulky, behemoth feel. The rear end won't twitch back at you, when your doing evasive manuevers. If anything, it's suspension feel will be as that of a Taurus for example... NOT that the Taurus excels in nimble feel, but I'm giving you an example of how it feels relative to it's size.

Granted, the Marauder's suspension tuning would be greatly appreciated but reality, do we really want grandpa/grandma to feel THAT confident in their Town Car?

I second the 4.6L 3V, don't be suprised to see such a revision in the next 2 years.... Ahem...

lobsenza · May 2004

I was given a 2003 when my LS was in for service. I didn't think much of it, but it was an improvement from the prior generation and was tolerable for a day or 2.

nvbanker · May 2004

Admittedly, the T/C is no LS by any stretch (no pun intended there), but I seriously like the handling of the Town Car these days, and for the size (akirby, note the qualifier) I think it handles quite well. I drive one aggressively, and it's there for me. Not at all, the land yacht of yesteryear. That's what I'm saying.

And since you brought it up....I drove an 04 Escalade my Lincoln dealer happened to have on the used lot today for an errand while he was washing my Navigator up. I was amazed at how much better the Navigator handles and rides. Add that objective opinion to the lack of features and style inside, and I am at a loss to understand why an unbiased buyer (some people are just plain Cadillac folks, you know) would chose the Escalade over the Navigator.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled topic

rgnmstr · May 2004

I had the car back the other day to get the new front brakes and since I did not see any wet areas at the ends of the steering rack while under the car in my driveway I asked the service writer to show me the leaks while the car was on the lift. This is the same guy who told me my steering rack was leaking out both ends when I was complaining about valve cover gasket leaks. We went over to the car and there were no leaks at the ends of the rack and the guy working on the car confirmed this. The mechanic got a mirror from his toolbox and checked the valve covers and VOLA he said the valve cover gaskets were leaking. I'm thinking was this @#%$ service writer jerk trying to sell me a $700 steering rack replacement job? Where did he get his leak info from? Suppose I just said OK to the job and still had the leaking valve covers? I have sort of lost my faith in the dealership service dept.
There was a very small amount of wetness around a big nut located about 1/3rd of the way across the steering rack from the driver's side. If anything came out of here it certainly couldn't make it to the exhaust manifold to cause smoke in front of the driver's windshield. Does anyone know what this is and if it might be a problem? The mechanic said it was an adjustment for steering play and that there was an 0 ring used to seal it. The service writer said he had to find out if there was a kit to replace the 0 ring. The mechanic said to not worry about it but to not tell anybody he told me that.
In conclusion the mechanic who is also an LS fan told me the valve cover leak problem is caused by a defect in the passenger side valve cover which causes pressure to build up and since the two valve covers are connected by a hose the pressure causes the driver's side valve cover to leak. So the fix (TSB) calls for the passenger side valve cover to be replaced and the driver's side gasket to be replaced. Very time consuming job. Around 4-5 hours because of all the stuff that has to be moved out of the way. It's a $600 job. The service writer being aware of the fact I knew about the TSB has offered to knock all but $250 off the cost of the repair. Sorry for the lengthly post but I've gotten a lot of good information off this board and felt I wanted to leave some for once. I won't be buying a steering rack.

funkcity · May 2004

rgnmstr

I cannot find that TSB anywhere.

What is the date and TSB number?

<<<< the two valve covers are connected by a hose >>>> Not true.

I would change both valve covers, all the gaskets, o-rings and grommets, spark plugs and rubber boots if I had to do it all over again!

whitton · May 2004

i get steering vibration and computer mysterious beep for the second time dealer told me to change tire i change tire and still vibration.
the spring in the rack was change still the vibration he change the rack and pignon still the vibration in the steering and the car seem to go right and left i drive them it shake at all speed
it was dificulte to take the car right in lane
one you can felt the steering going right and left a little
alignment is good balance good
when i took real bounce or hole the
vibration disappear four 1km worse when accelerating and when it very cold minus 20 it almost no vibration
when is hot vibration is worst
someone can told me what is the
isolinear dampers in the lower control arms
like div2 in 13609 message.....
dealer know noting about it
my last visit to the dealers
cost me 258$ for the time he spend on the car lincoln dont want to pay for the service anymore the car is still on warranty for the beep he re program the computer but the beep is still there most of the time when accelerating the first tire was
firestone fire hawk lh wearing out by the inside and the second one is falken
st115 still wearing out by inside the falken guy where i buy the tire re balance it and the vibration was still there i spend over 1000$ in lawyer and now i would
like to go with mechanical engineer am very lazy
dont know what to do need serious help........ poor Canadian with
serious problem pretty close to buy japanese car.

lobsenza · May 2004

Do not worry about the beep. It occurs occasionally and is a small communication timing error that will not cause any harm.

Your vibration issue sounds like a tire or wheel or balancingb issue. Try the Hunter Road Force balancer to solve the problem. The Hunter web site has details along with where you can find one in your local area. This should pinpoint any wheel/tire problems.

rgnmstr · May 2004

<<<<

<<<<What is the date and TSB number?>>>>>>>>

<<<< the two valve covers are connected by a hose >>>> Not true.>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dealer told me the TSB has been removed from system. Both the service writer and mechanic remembered it though. Maybe someone on here of the LS owner's club website can supply the number.
As far as you saying "not true" to the crossover hose all I can say is I trust the Lincoln mechanic who explained the problem to me. He owns an LS, he is a fan of the car and he did the mod on his own car.

funkcity · May 2004

The job is a pain in the [non-permissible content removed]. I did it 1 month ago.
They probably removed the TSB because they were wrong and they (Lincoln) would have to pay the high labor costs.

All Data, LLSOC = no TSB

My car 2000 LS8 Sport. The hose that crosses over is a fuel line which if you don't have the correct tool to remove will potentially result in a bad experience ( I know this for a fact!

There is no equalizing hose connected directly into the valve covers.
Maybe somewhere else in the intake system, head etc...?
Good luck and make sure they remove all the caked-on oil in the spark plug holes while they're at it! (Now THAT takes some time! Grr...

dcls · May 2004

So where is the best source to obtain specs on the LS so I can be a little more knowledgeable when dealing w/ service advisors who are 'winging' it??

slunar · May 2004

My '00 LS had the exact same vibration problem that whitton is describing. The conditions are identical, worst when hot, goes away for a short time after you go over a bump. It is NOT the tires! I had 3 sets of tires and 2 sets of wheels on that LS. Between all the tires and wheels,they were balanced 4 times by the dealer, and 2 times by me on a Hunter 9000. If anything, the balancing with Hunter made the vibration more noticable. I also had the steering column spring changed, it did nothing. The drive-shaft was balanced 2 times, it did not get rid of the vibration either. The rear half-shafts were also replaced 2 times to no avail. I had the Ford regional service engineer involved 2 times and still never got a resolution on the problem.

The vibration seemed to really a resonance and it seemed like it was in the suspension. What Div2 posted - isolinear dampers in the lower control arms - makes a lot of sense. It would explain why it goes away when you go over a bump and why the smoother the road, the worse the vibration (resonance) is.

The question is that if what Div2 says is the case, why was there never a TSB on this and why does no one at Ford know what is going on (including the regional field engineers)?

Good luck on getting a resolution, whitton. I would suggest that you keep fighting, keep calling Lincoln HQ until you can get to someone who will help you. Hopefully Div2 can come back with some more information on the LCA dampers and who in the Ford organization knows about this.

vhkat1 · May 2004

I have koury's problem except driver side two vents blow hot & passenger two blow normal. Took to dealer & he couldn't find problem 1st time either - does come & go. Few days later, & after reading here, I was near dealer & AC was acting up. He saw problem & I told him of these comments. Getting fixed next week - I hope.

Issues starting to build on my 2000 Sport V8 with this & leaky valve cover. 56k. But still joy to drive.

whitton · May 2004

i call falken in California mister onell connel
told me it was impossible my tire give me that
kind of problem the tire start wearing out by inside at only 3000km he told me the direction have a problem i return to the dealer where i buy
the tire after rebalancing the tire the vibration was still there and he told me it was not normal
he feel something wrong with the direction the car
was going at right when you remove your hands of
the steering and vibration go off after bumps and
hole and in big cornering at highway speed i explain
to him the faq the car was almost not shaking
when cold temperature -20 and in hotter temperature the vibration was worst i took my car to the lift to find out the font suspension busing
in the lower control arm was moving twice in comparison to the rear one and the right one was worst you can see the tire going right and left in lateral movement he told
it was possible that cause my problem after a search on internet i fond jaguar has a tsb on it Some early cars might suffer a tire and steering wheel vibration which might be corrected by replacing the front suspension forward mounting bushing (TSB S204-07, May 2002).
http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/jc/00-02s-type_a.htm am going back to the dealers with that
on Thursday he told me noting was loose in direction and give me a report on it he charge me
258$ to told me again my tire was not good the
dealer of my tire charge me noting to re balance
and test drive the car and cheek the direction
am gonna sue the dealer is sure i saw the bushing
moving and its abnormal i was installing for gec alstom electrical turbine for 10 years am not stupid in mechanic i buy this car in February the vibration was not there the bushing are to loose at front when it cold it fo sure vibration go off
the bushing is rubber and the rubber is way stiffer in minus 20 condition .......im gonna told
you whats happen when the bushing gonna be replace

lateralg · May 2004

Evaluate with tires inflated to the specified 30 PSI. Cars come from the assembly plant at ~40 PSI & some dealers fail to adjust. Also, some dealers believe they're more knowledgeable than Ford engineers & inflate the tires to 32, 34, & even 36 PSI.

v8lincolnguy · May 2004

When I had my LS in for service in March(valve cover gasket) I got an 02 Town Car Signature Series Touring sedan. I think I posted about the driving experience then. Maybe the 03s are better, but I wouldn't call the T-car very nimble in traffic. I will say, it sure felt stately driving the thing looking out over that long hood. What really surprised me about the T-car was the ride. It was soft as I suspected it would be, but things like speed bumps and large pavement cracks were more noticeable than in my LS. And the way the rear end danced around when taking a bump at higher speeds really bothered me. Otherwise, it was a nice driving big car. And pretty much sums up Lincoln's tag line of "Travel Well". If Lincoln would put the DOHC version of the 4.6 or even the 5.4 liter V8 in the T-car and upgrade the interior to Navigator levels, they really would have the ultimate "Travel Well" vehicle. And with the profits they make on it, they could build a high performance LS for us:)

nvbanker · May 2004

What he said, exactly!!

Sadly, the Town Car is primarily now relegated to livery status, and the retail sales are just sauce for the elderly and dying goose. I hear Lincoln is not going to be putting a lot of R & D into the Panther cars, particularly the Town Car.

congarobert · May 2004

I have a oo V8 and am having trouble with the
A/C . If I stop the car, turn off key and restart it blows out cold again. If you know what this is, what is involved in the repair, time and cost etc..
Thanks in advance!

koury · May 2004

I took it back to the dealer and they told me the flow valve was sticking. Is that the same as the Blend Door Valve? In any event, they quoted me $700 to fix. After picking myself up off the floor, I asked why so much, and he said it's a very labor intendive job to get to the valve. Does that sound right?

vhkat1 - what were you quoted for a price to fix?

nvbanker · May 2004

Not the same thing. But sounds like the right diagnosis. You may want to try an independent garage, to see if they will do it for less. It's not a common problem, from what I've seen.

akirby · May 2004

It's more common than you think. Mine went out last year right before warranty was up.

Ask your dealer for an AWA - After Warranty Adjustment. This will pay for all or part of your repair. It's at the dealer's discretion and Lincoln allows 2 of them per vehicle. Good luck.

nvbanker · May 2004

Great idea, akirby. Is this problem unique to the LS?

akirby · May 2004

I don't think it's unique to the LS - any car with dual zone climate control would be susceptible. It's not widespread on the LS either - I know of maybe 5 or 6 instances over the last 2 years.

grizzleydad · May 2004

You can add my name/number to the list. It has only happened once but it did occur. Cool/cold air out the drivers side and hot air out the passenger side (2003). Never occured on my 2000.

nvbanker · May 2004

I did test drive a Mountaineer with that problem too, but since I didn't buy it, I didn't have to deal with it, and had forgotten.....

pab5 · May 2004

My Lincoln LS 2000 V8 has 61K. The maintainence schedule says replace @ 100K. My dealer says I need to service now and they want $175 to replace fluid and filter. Now that's a luxury car price. Any comments?
I also have had to replace 1 back and 1 front window requlator since the warranty ran out about 8 months ago. My first lincoln. Maybe my last.

Lincoln LS

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