I do remember a discussion about tire construction and the differences between how Firestone molds their tires versus Michelin. IIRC Firestone uses a sectioned mold (like a grapefruit) and Michelin uses a clamshell type mold. The result was that Michelins tend to be "rounder" and easier to balance than the Firestones. Now this was second hand info from the explorer newsgroup debating the firestones vs. michelins (this was prior to the wilderness fiasco) so I can't back it up but it seems to make sense. That doesn't make the Firestones inferior, just different. But that may explain why some folks have had problems with balancing.
Motor Trend just finished their long-term wrapup of the LS and it mirrors the Car Connection article. Don't know if the article is online yet but I got through the paper version yesterday. And not once did either article talk about needing a squarer mirror or not being able to know that the reset button also got rid of the low fuel warning message LOL
Like Leadfoot's, my LS had the 16" Firehawks as original equipment and I had no vibration issues, at all. They seemed to wear quite well, too. My complaint was excessive noise on coarse road surfaces, like the crumbling concrete here in Minneapolis. I switched to Michelins about a year ago and the noise reduction was amazing. I know road noise isn't an important factor to many of you but, for me, the switch has greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the car.
Okay, I can't resist commenting either. An acquaintance is a Chemical Engineer with 20 plus years with a major tire manufacturer. He has worked with all auto manufacturers of any significance (US/Asia/Europe) on mostly high performance OEM and aftermarket tires. The first thing you would get from a discussion with him is the complexity of design and resulting performance characteristics that they know how to build into tires. The second thing you would get is that, generally, tires designed with the auto makers for OEM use are optimized to do nothing great and nothing bad for the lowest cost possible. They are "appliance" tires. Aftermarket tires, I'm talking about special purpose like ultra high performance or winter tires, designed by the tire engineers to do the intended job are usually not compromised by seeking the lowest production cost. So the $70 stone hawks are probably better than most as touring tires go, but remember the tirerack is way under priced on these. Ignoring this price anomoly, IMHO, the price of a Michelin Pilot Sport A/S is peanuts more than the hawk price anywhere else and the pilots are way more than "touring" tires. As others have said, its the USA, make your own choice.
I agree with everything except for one thing. The LS was not intended to be an appliance and as such the tires are intended to be performance oriented. But like the Engineers at Lincoln said (Backing up your point which is good for the LS), the tires give a balance of noise, road feel, grip, and steering. That being said they are a well rounded tire (Well except for when the car has been parked for a long time ) The noise doesn't bother me but lack of grip or center feel being traded off for one of the other such as reducing noise would. The Tire was designed for a Sports Sedan so it is what it is with all of its compromises, which actually fit me quite well. But like you said it is America!
Also you are right the Stones would be about $150 on the street in which case for about 40 dollars more I might be willing to try the Michelins. I whole heartedly agree. The thing is the Michelin is not tuned for the LS, so I wonder if it really is better in all respects, because I am sure some of it is psychological. I know it would be for me.
Can someone check with Jonathan on his input regarding the New MXM4 (Not the Pilots) on the LS Vs. the Stones. Would be nice to have someone that has tested both and is a SME. At least more than we are. Also which one would he pick in a purely performance (cost is no object) situation and also with cost as a factor. At which pricepoint would most people pick one over the other (without brand Stigma of course, just on the performance, and build quality issues)?
If pure performance was your goal then I would look at the Pilot Sport (without the All Season designation - treadwear 220) or Dunlop SP Sport 5000. These are pure performance tires that don't do great in the wet or snow and won't last very long (15K probably) but they're the best of the breed for dry performance. I'm sure there are a few more in that category as well like Pirelli. Tirerack has several comparison tests with hard data for comparison - including lap times on a test track.
I think you have it backward. Michlein uses sectional on all their tires and have for years. The clamshell design has a tendency to produce more out of round tires.
I'm just about to turn 20k on my 2000 LS Manual with the Stones. The rears are almost to the wear marks and I've thrown everything at them I can. I've had two tires patched with nail holes, gone a little "off road" some times, taken off ramps at almost 2.5x the rated speed, been up to over 100mph with no vibration, and burned just a little rubber. I have no complaints. I'm about ready for the $69 recharge. The tires that impress me the most are the Yokohama AVS Sports with that totally awesome tread pattern. When you see that tire, you KNOW the driver is serious. But at $190 per copy, I don't think even I could get that much performance difference from a $69 Stone. And if I hit a curb and lunch a Stone, I won't have to take out a 2nd on my house to replace it. Hello Tire Rack...
and the coffee analogy is excellent. But I'd probably buy the Firehawks even at "street" price, simply because they're a good all-around performer and the closest thing to a true all-season tire I've ever driven. Now, "all season" tires are definitely not snow tires, but these are adequate. With a 90 mile daily commute and lots of dry weather between snows, I'd eat up a set of Blizzaks in a season, easily. Snow season is 7 months long in Colorado, even if winter isn't. So it's very fortunate for me that Lincoln chose to use this tire. The dirt cheap price is just icing on the cake.
I saw an interesting infomercial last week about a product that you put in the air intake hose just after the airbox. It's suppose to "swirl the air and increase air velocity that results in increased gas mileage and HP.
Every report that I've ever seen on these says they're bogus. If a company like Ford will switch to 5w-20 to save a few tenths of mpg, why wouldn't they put this simple and inexpensive device in every car?
Never tried it, but can almost guarantee that its a snake oil product. If it wasnt, dont you think at least one car manufacturer would use it stock or at least an option? Now you want some REAL power, look no further than here:
As part of a package for the LS on the Steeda website they mention exhaust tips for a stock car or one without their exhaust package. Does anyone know anything about these? What they look like snd what they cost? Thank you.
This AM the Ext Temp in the dash showed 39 degrees as I drove my daughter to school. Pretty darn cold here in tha Bay Area of California. (Sorry, Artie et al :>) So as I'm driving along, I see an amber light on the HVAC display I've never seen on before. When I get home, I pull out the Owners manual, brush off the cobwebs and find out that my LS has an automatic supplemental heater for the bottom of the windshield where the wipers are parked! It comes on if Ext Temp is 40 or below. Hey! I didn't know that. Must be a boon for all you northern LS owners. (I also read that the rear window defroster also heats the side mirrors. Cool. I mean Hot!)
Also, as I'm scanning the book a bit, I find an entry for speed-sensitive volume control. I thought my radio (the Alpine in-dash changer model) had that feature, but never found how to use it. I can actually excuse myself on this one, cause the explanantion was not in the section on my unit, but rather it preceeded the cassette unit section. So I set that up (hold Volume control pushed in for 5 seconds then use up/down arrows). That'll be nice.
A fellow traveler pulled up beside me at a redlight yesterday and powered down the pass. window of his black LSE with all the effects. Looked real nice. He yells over "how do you like yours? We *love* ours." Me too.
It was interesting to see that the eastern half of the US is under a "heat wave" and the western half on a chill down. Quite opposite of most of the summer weather we had. (I'm not complaining!)
Yes, George - I rather enjoy the little luxuries that make the LS great in the winter - UNFORTURATELY - Mine gets parked to avoid the salt! (How I will miss those heated seats that I've been using religiously over the past couple months!!)
WINTER WARNING:
For those LS owners with the "Covenience Package - ala the Moisture Sensitive Wipers" Be warned: never leave the wipers in the "Auto" position during the winter - unless you enjoy cleaning snow off of your seat.
I learned this lesson hard last winter - when i was cleaning off my car for a quick spin on the freshly fallen 5 or so inches of snow. I cleaned off the door - opened it - reached in and started the car and almost instantly - the wipers sensed the covered windshield and soon COVERED the inside of my car with a couple inches of snow!
Another nice touch is the heating ducts under the front seats. Very cozy for backseat passenger's feet.
Several posts back, someone asked how to tell if they had the 3.58 or 3.31 gear. I think there is a tag on the rear end "pumpkin" but I haven't had a chance to crawl under there to look. On the sticker just inside the driver's door (where the build date is posted) there is a section marked "axle." The code for mine is UBC and it has the 3.58 gear. I don't know what the code is for a 3.31 or even if the code UBC refers to the axle ratio, but I presume it does.
Good advice, gkarg. I learned my lesson a different way. Part of the morning routine in the summer is cleaning yesterday's dead bugs off the windshield. One day I had the wipers left on auto from the day before, blades lifted up vertically off the glass. Sprayed the glass cleaner and the wipers instantly went flopping around on high speed, scaring hell out of me and putting a small scratch in the rear edge of the hood.
I nearly always turn the heated windshield strip off unless it's actually snowing. Another handy feature is that, when you shut the engine off, it "remembers" that it's turned off for a short time (either 5 or 15 minutes?), and won't come back on when you restart the car. Another nice touch is the defroster ducts on the rear window shelf. So, driving to work the other morning with the temp at 3F, glass clear, buns warm, heater cooking along nicely, I noticed how cold the steering wheel still was. Amazing what occurs to a person when they're so otherwise coddled.
On the speed-sensitive volume control: Mine is set at 1 or 2, forget which; not much compensation needed in a quiet car. But it only seems to affect the volume of the radio, not the CD player. I've never used the cassette player, so don't know about that. Has anyone else noticed this? Mine is the non-audiophile, in-dash cassette, CD changer in the glove box.
ya know, sometimes it almost pays to read them thar owner's manuals...it almost makes ya think the carmaker might know sumthin about how the car's controls work...:):>):)
Mine's a 2000, but I doubt there's any difference in this regard. As far as I know, the heaters will come on automatically below about 40ºF. The only way to shut them off is with the button. Pretty annoying!
Artie Charter Member LLSOC Delivery Date-12/01/99. Happy 2nd Birthday
With all the luxury accomodations this car has we have become spoiled and notice the little things that "ordinary" people wouldn't give a passing thought to. I mean, the engineers gave such concern to the heating of so many different areas of the car that it is amazing that an unheated steering wheel attracts our attention (which BTW the new Infiniti I35 has). Is this the kind of pampering that got Marie Antoinette (sp) in trouble?
<<<<<Mine's a 2000, but I doubt there's any difference in this regard. As far as I know, the heaters will come on automatically below about 40ºF. The only way to shut them off is with the button. >>>>>
Where is that button? LOL....... I didn't notice a button for wiper heaters.
Since it never gets below 40 degrees in San Diego,I'm going to carry around the weight of this windshield heater thingy forever. In unrelated news, my yellow air bag dash light was at first intermittent and now stays on continuously. Is this the result of high G cornering damaging some sensor? The car goes in for its 20k this Wednesday and I guess it's not too hard to fix. Anyone have the same problem?
Let's see - all you need to a postive .5 lb of pressure. Leaf blowers put out lots of cfm. If we get an inverter for the right amperage for a good electric model, and the amp draw doesn't load down the alternator more than the additional hp produced...hey, it's alot cheaper than that electric supercharger that's advertised...just need some sort of switch to turn it on under load. Hey this sounds like a good LLSOC project.. HEY BRIAN....
Artie: There is another surefire way to turn the wiper heater off. Just wait til ext temp rises a couple degrees above 40, then they go off automagically. Though now that it's Dec in NY, you may just have to take my word for it :>)
rgnmstr: It's the button that looks sorta like this: ^^^^
The switch is next to the rear defroster switch. If you look at the right side of the HVAC controls, there are 3 defrost buttons, One for the front (towards the top), and 2 on the lower right. The rear defroster looks like what heyjewel said with an R in it. The other is the wiper heat.
Stan, the heater is electric. The weight is insignificant.
Why not consider a gasoline-powered leaf blower? It eliminates the electrical draw on the car in addition to simplifying the installation. It also opens up the possibility for nitrous injection (into the leaf blower, not the LS). Jim Hall's snowmobile engine on the "sucker" Chaparral was a separate, self-contained powerplant, so we KNOW it's possible. Gas mileage calculations would be more complex, though. ;-)
the gas powered leaf blower, if hooked up to an oil derrick in Saudi Arabia (by a very long hose or pipe) could, feasibly, become a perpetual motion machine...until the parts wore out and then you would just leak crude oil all over your lawn and clothes...unless you had a shut-off valve in Saudi Arabia...maybe I ought to avoid thinking out of the box, I get in trouble sometimes...
I can just imagine this "leaf-charger" in gasoline form. It would have to be mounted in the cockpit so I could pull on the starter cord. I'm sure I could find the time between the second and third shift to start the thing. One hand on the steering wheel, one hand on the stick and then trying to start a 2 cycle engine at the same time! Cockpit filled with blue smoke. Sure! Give me the electric model PLEASE.
smwls8 Re: Overheating. There is something to this overheating story. In August (I think), it was discovered that a batch of the hydraulic cooling fan assemblies used on the LS and T-Bird were bad; the fans weren't up to spec, which could cause the car to overheat. Ford halted production until a new batch of parts were obtained, and didn't ship any cars with the bad parts.
When the new parts arrived, the bad ones were replaced--if I remember correctly, this job was subbed out to Bosch--and shipping resumed. I've seen a bunch of '02 V8s on lots here in Central Texas; a buddy of mine took delivery of one several weeks ago.
This was only a problem on a batch of parts that were supplied for '02 production; none reached dealers, and the problem was resolved quickly. '00 and '01 LSs are not affected.
Marsha and Stan Re: Blower. JEEZ, what a couple of Negative Nellys you two are! Here I come up with a perfectly plausible idea that only needs a couple of minor tweaks to be production-worthy, and you're ready to shoot me down before I even secure start-up funding! How am I supposed to float an IPO with this kinda bad press??
It's just this sort of nay-saying that doomed Edison's methane-powered dinner fork. Never heard of it, you say? I rest my case.
As I approach ~31,000 Miles, here are some the problems I have encountered...
After noticing a rattle in the passanger sdie front door around the speaker/winow contol area and a ticking (like valve tap ticking) from the AC compressor, I brought the car into the dealer from whom I bought the car Haddon Licoln Murcury in Hannover, MA. I was not too happy with the response. "...can't find the rattle and there is nothing worng with the AC." These are the same people who put regular oil in at my last change, even though I WROTE Mobil 1 down for them and also left off a lug nut during a trie rotation. Time for a new service station.
Off to the next guy, Sullivan Brothers in Kingston, MA. There was definately a problem with the AC, also found a leaking exhaust manifold and the rattle was the window control unit. The car runs much nicer now. It took a week to fix, but I am very happy with both their persistance in and professionalism displayed by their staff.
The tech said that the exhaust manifold is welded steel and the welds had deteriorated. Has anyone else had this problem? As an engineer, it seems to me that this could easily be a recouring problem every x-miles. It sounds outrageous to me that I may have to replace the exhuat manifold at all. Any comments?
This is a problem that occurs with the 2000 model V-8's. Passenger side mainly. I had to be different and have the drivers side manifold go out.
Yes they are welded steel, just like aftermarket headers. I suspect it was a inferior batch of manifolds from the supplier that has been corrected. FWIW, I have over 40,000 miles on my replacement and have had no problems.
re: leafblowers. You guys have it all wrong. Just use a shop vac. Get more puff for your efforts and when you need it, you can use it to vacuum out the car
Brian LLSOC member (who's wondering who ate the bad turkey to come up with these things!)
Gary - I think that owners would be more likely to thoroughly read their manual if they received it before their LS. Someone did a study, a number of years back, that concluded buyers spent more time reading sales brochures after they made a purchase than before. It was essentially confirmation of making the right purchase decision and also an attempt to fulfill their anticipation if the product was not yet delivered.
Einarviking - The exhaust manifold is a documented problem on early LS V8's, most often caused by too much grinding down of the weld beads. This is the first I have heard of someone claiming it is a reoccurring problem. My LS-8 is 21 monts old with no problem so far.
Shop Vacs are too large for the engine compartment. If we put one in the cockpit, we would have to run long hoses to get cool air to the intake of the shop vac and another long hose back to the engine intake plumbing. I say, don't waste the space. The perfect solution is one of those compact blower units that put air bubbles in a Jacuzzi/Spa. I think they are vacuum cleaner type motors and they have pvc fittings on at least the exhaust outlet that could be adapted to the engine intake pipe. So why pay for dirt reservoirs, filters, power cords, etc. These blowers have more that 1 psi and alot of cfm capacity. Good idea Brian! Now if the spa blower doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Swimming pool/spa equipment is like marine/aviation stuff - real expensive. It may be possible to gut a vacuum cleaner of it's heart but it won't have a housing. But if the cfm's match that of a V-8, why not? I know my Filter Queen vacuum takes about 13 amps. That's about a 120 amp load on the alternator and battery. We may need two batteries if the alternator load loss is too great...
Hey, I JUST happen to have one lying around. I ALWAYS knew I would find a use for it. Now, if one of you engineer types will send me instructions, I'll be happy to let you know how this works
I am not claiming that it is a reaccuring problem, and I am glad to hear that it has apparently been identified and corrected. My thought was (it was interupted by my 4-year old demanding some attention) that such a problem is either a design flaw or a manufcaturing defect. In either case, unless corrected, it would be a reaccuring problem. Very happy to hear that it has been addressed.
Yes, it is a 2000 V8 Sport of course. After a week with a Town Car loaner...gawd do I love this car.
You folks definately ate tooooo much turkey with your thoughts on leaf blowers, shop vacs and such. What about old fashioned Nitro. Guarunteed to add a few more HP. Ah, who cares, torque is where it's at anyway. HP is way over hiped.
I keep reading the manual over and over, but it doesn't say where the switch for the leaf blower is located. I even checked in the shop manual !! What did I miss ??!!
I installed a dash kit and for the most part looks great. I do have a problem with one of the pieces however. It has a blemish and I want to remove the piece from the dash. Does anyone know what I can apply that will help with the adhesive removal so I can get it off in one piece.
There is nothing you should apply to it but, if the piece hasn't settled for too long; use a hairdryer on the pieces to warm it up where it becomes mendable and than slowly pull up on the corner of the piece. I too got a dash kit along time ago and I later on removed some pieces because I did not like the look. Pieces I still have on are: HVAC controls(climate control), Console, door plates or the switches Front and rear but, 86'd the insert that goes on-top of the rear door ashtray covers. IMHO I think this is the best set-up where it looks like its supposed to be there and it looks real exquisite. I think again IMHO that the stereo and/or vents covered with wood looks fake; it does'nt look right in this car or any car for that matter. Have you ever seen a MB, Jag, BMW, Sabb, Volvo, or Audi with the stereo in wood? Or, how about those same cars with wood on the drivers and passanger side vents? Those marques are top-notch euro cars and those companys know better. Again, if you already have those peices on you must like it and it is your prefferance but, IMHO I think its over-kill and Gaudy.
I'm in the process of getting fabricated a pipe that will connect to the front of the airbox(have too modify the front), taking the snorkle out and covering the hole in the airbox up. Running a custom 3" round pipe through the hole in the floor of the fender down too the the lower air-dam with a 4" round scoop just like a venturi. I will keep everyone posted on the progress. Looking for more juice for the LS, Mike
Comments
I do remember a discussion about tire construction and the differences between how Firestone molds their tires versus Michelin. IIRC Firestone uses a sectioned mold (like a grapefruit) and Michelin uses a clamshell type mold. The result was that Michelins tend to be "rounder" and easier to balance than the Firestones. Now this was second hand info from the explorer newsgroup debating the firestones vs. michelins (this was prior to the wilderness fiasco) so I can't back it up but it seems to make sense. That doesn't make the Firestones inferior, just different. But that may explain why some folks have had problems with balancing.
Brian
LLSOC mixmaster
Also you are right the Stones would be about $150 on the street in which case for about 40 dollars more I might be willing to try the Michelins. I whole heartedly agree. The thing is the Michelin is not tuned for the LS, so I wonder if it really is better in all respects, because I am sure some of it is psychological. I know it would be for me.
Can someone check with Jonathan on his input regarding the New MXM4 (Not the Pilots) on the LS Vs. the Stones. Would be nice to have someone that has tested both and is a SME. At least more than we are. Also which one would he pick in a purely performance (cost is no object) situation and also with cost as a factor. At which pricepoint would most people pick one over the other (without brand Stigma of course, just on the performance, and build quality issues)?
Regards,
Airwolf1000
Scott
LLSOC Charter Member
Any body ever tried it?
http://www.electricsupercharger.com/
Ron (tongue planted firmly in cheek)
Thank you.
This AM the Ext Temp in the dash showed 39 degrees as I drove my daughter to school. Pretty darn cold here in tha Bay Area of California. (Sorry, Artie et al :>) So as I'm driving along, I see an amber light on the HVAC display I've never seen on before. When I get home, I pull out the Owners manual, brush off the cobwebs and find out that my LS has an automatic supplemental heater for the bottom of the windshield where the wipers are parked! It comes on if Ext Temp is 40 or below. Hey! I didn't know that. Must be a boon for all you northern LS owners. (I also read that the rear window defroster also heats the side mirrors. Cool. I mean Hot!)
Also, as I'm scanning the book a bit, I find an entry for speed-sensitive volume control. I thought my radio (the Alpine in-dash changer model) had that feature, but never found how to use it. I can actually excuse myself on this one, cause the explanantion was not in the section on my unit, but rather it preceeded the cassette unit section. So I set that up (hold Volume control pushed in for 5 seconds then use up/down arrows). That'll be nice.
A fellow traveler pulled up beside me at a redlight yesterday and powered down the pass. window of his black LSE with all the effects. Looked real nice. He yells over "how do you like yours? We *love* ours." Me too.
George
Yes, George - I rather enjoy the little luxuries that make the LS great in the winter - UNFORTURATELY - Mine gets parked to avoid the salt! (How I will miss those heated seats that I've been using religiously over the past couple months!!)
WINTER WARNING:
For those LS owners with the "Covenience Package - ala the Moisture Sensitive Wipers" Be warned: never leave the wipers in the "Auto" position during the winter - unless you enjoy cleaning snow off of your seat.
I learned this lesson hard last winter - when i was cleaning off my car for a quick spin on the freshly fallen 5 or so inches of snow. I cleaned off the door - opened it - reached in and started the car and almost instantly - the wipers sensed the covered windshield and soon COVERED the inside of my car with a couple inches of snow!
Don't make me say - "I told ya so..."
Several posts back, someone asked how to tell if they had the 3.58 or 3.31 gear. I think there is a tag on the rear end "pumpkin" but I haven't had a chance to crawl under there to look. On the sticker just inside the driver's door (where the build date is posted) there is a section marked "axle." The code for mine is UBC and it has the 3.58 gear. I don't know what the code is for a 3.31 or even if the code UBC refers to the axle ratio, but I presume it does.
I nearly always turn the heated windshield strip off unless it's actually snowing. Another handy feature is that, when you shut the engine off, it "remembers" that it's turned off for a short time (either 5 or 15 minutes?), and won't come back on when you restart the car. Another nice touch is the defroster ducts on the rear window shelf. So, driving to work the other morning with the temp at 3F, glass clear, buns warm, heater cooking along nicely, I noticed how cold the steering wheel still was. Amazing what occurs to a person when they're so otherwise coddled.
On the speed-sensitive volume control: Mine is set at 1 or 2, forget which; not much compensation needed in a quiet car. But it only seems to affect the volume of the radio, not the CD player. I've never used the cassette player, so don't know about that. Has anyone else noticed this? Mine is the non-audiophile, in-dash cassette, CD changer in the glove box.
Scott
LLSOC Member
Artie
Charter Member LLSOC
Delivery Date-12/01/99. Happy 2nd Birthday
Where is that button? LOL....... I didn't notice a button for wiper heaters.
As a joke, of course....
rgnmstr: It's the button that looks sorta like this: ^^^^
Stan, the heater is electric. The weight is insignificant.
JLinc, LLSOC member, thinking outside the box...
Helm has been doing this stuff for decades.
There's lots of stuff to learn in the manual, whether or not the dealer wishes you to know it.
When the new parts arrived, the bad ones were replaced--if I remember correctly, this job was subbed out to Bosch--and shipping resumed. I've seen a bunch of '02 V8s on lots here in Central Texas; a buddy of mine took delivery of one several weeks ago.
This was only a problem on a batch of parts that were supplied for '02 production; none reached dealers, and the problem was resolved quickly. '00 and '01 LSs are not affected.
Marsha and Stan Re: Blower. JEEZ, what a couple of Negative Nellys you two are! Here I come up with a perfectly plausible idea that only needs a couple of minor tweaks to be production-worthy, and you're ready to shoot me down before I even secure start-up funding! How am I supposed to float an IPO with this kinda bad press??
It's just this sort of nay-saying that doomed Edison's methane-powered dinner fork. Never heard of it, you say? I rest my case.
JLinc, doggedly marching toward the future...
(Note to the literal-minded: Yes, I'm kidding.:))
After noticing a rattle in the passanger sdie front door around the speaker/winow contol area and a ticking (like valve tap ticking) from the AC compressor, I brought the car into the dealer from whom I bought the car Haddon Licoln Murcury in Hannover, MA. I was not too happy with the response. "...can't find the rattle and there is nothing worng with the AC." These are the same people who put regular oil in at my last change, even though I WROTE Mobil 1 down for them and also left off a lug nut during a trie rotation. Time for a new service station.
Off to the next guy, Sullivan Brothers in Kingston, MA. There was definately a problem with the AC, also found a leaking exhaust manifold and the rattle was the window control unit. The car runs much nicer now. It took a week to fix, but I am very happy with both their persistance in and professionalism displayed by their staff.
The tech said that the exhaust manifold is welded steel and the welds had deteriorated. Has anyone else had this problem? As an engineer, it seems to me that this could easily be a recouring problem every x-miles. It sounds outrageous to me that I may have to replace the exhuat manifold at all. Any comments?
This is a problem that occurs with the 2000 model V-8's. Passenger side mainly. I had to be different and have the drivers side manifold go out.
Yes they are welded steel, just like aftermarket headers. I suspect it was a inferior batch of manifolds from the supplier that has been corrected. FWIW, I have over 40,000 miles on my replacement and have had no problems.
re: leafblowers. You guys have it all wrong. Just use a shop vac. Get more puff for your efforts and when you need it, you can use it to vacuum out the car
Brian
LLSOC member (who's wondering who ate the bad turkey to come up with these things!)
Einarviking - The exhaust manifold is a documented problem on early LS V8's, most often caused by too much grinding down of the weld beads. This is the first I have heard of someone claiming it is a reoccurring problem. My LS-8 is 21 monts old with no problem so far.
Mike
LLSOC Charter Member
Yes, it is a 2000 V8 Sport of course. After a week with a Town Car loaner...gawd do I love this car.
You folks definately ate tooooo much turkey with your thoughts on leaf blowers, shop vacs and such. What about old fashioned Nitro. Guarunteed to add a few more HP. Ah, who cares, torque is where it's at anyway. HP is way over hiped.
Enjoy your cars folks, I certainly am.
What did I miss ??!!
Tell me how it goes on the movement,
Mike
I will keep everyone posted on the progress.
Looking for more juice for the LS,
Mike