1993 Lincoln Mark Viii

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1993 LINCOLN MARK VIII. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ODOMETER, SPEEDOMETER, AND CRUISE CONTROL ALL MALFUNCTIONED ON HIS VEHICLE. SINCE THE FAILURES, THE ON-BOARD COMPUTER ALSO FAILED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT, BASICALLY, THE ENTIRE DASHBOARD FAILED. THE AIR RIDE SYSTEM ALSO BEGAN TO LEAK. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE PARTS FOR THE SPEEDOMETER WERE NO LONGER AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT ALSO TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR TRANSMISSION SERVICE AND IT CAME BACK WITH A TRANSMISSION LEAK. HE REPLACED A SCREW, BUT THE LEAK STILL EXISTED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE PAID APPROXIMATELY $7,000 FOR THE REPAIRS AND THE FAILURE STILL CONTINUED. THE CONTACT WAS SENT A RECALL NOTICE FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 07V336000 (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) AND BELIEVED THAT THE RECALL CAUSED THE OTHER FAILURES WITH THE VEHICLE. THE PURCHASE DATE WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 161,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 159,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1993 LINCOLN MARK VIII. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED WITH THE ENGINE SHUT OFF, IT CAUGHT FIRE UNDER THE HOOD. THE WIRES CONNECTED TO THE FIRE WALL AND THE DASHBOARD WERE AFFECTED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO SPLICE THE WIRES ENOUGH TO START THE VEHICLE. THERE ARE NO PHOTOS AVAILABLE. THE VIN WAS INVALID. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 55,000 AND APPROXIMATE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 110,000.

BOTH CYLINDER HEADS FAILED WITHIN ABOUT 5,000 MILES OF EACH OTHER. THE FAILURE IS SPARK PLUGS BLOWING OUT OF THE CYLINDER HEAD, TAKING THE THREADS WITH THEM. FOMOCO RECOMMENDS SPARK PLUGS BE CHANGED AT 100,000 INTERVALS. HERE IS THE PROBLEM: MECHANICS UNDERSTAND THAT AN ALUMINUM CYLINDER HEAD AND STEEL SPARK PLUGS CAUSE A DISPARITY. THE CONSTANT HEATING AND COOLING OF THE CYLINDER HEADS OVER 100,000 MILES CAUSES THE STEEL SPARK PLUGS TO PARTIALLY BOND TO THE ALUMINUM THREADS IN THE HEAD. WHEN THE OLD PLUGS ARE REMOVED, THEY EXTRACT A PART OF THE CYLINDER HEAD THREADS AT THAT TIME. NEW PLUGS ARE THUS INSTALLED ONTO WEAKENED THREADS. EVENTUALLY, THE THREADS GIVE WAY AND THE PLUGS EXPLODE OUT OF THE HEAD. IN MY CASE, THIS OCCURRED ABOUT 25,000 MILES AFTER THE PLUGS WERE CHANGED. I DON'T FEEL OBLIGATED TO FUND REPAIRS TO A DESIGN DEFECT IN THIS ENGINE. THIS ENGINE SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAD EITHER HEAD FAIL, MUCH LESS BOTH OF THEM. TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY, THE SECOND HEAD BLEW AT THE NORTH CAROLINA-VIRGINIA BORDER ON INTERSTATE 85 (VIRGINIA WELCOME CENTER). SINCE A MARK VIII CAN ONLY BE WORKED UPON BY A LINCOLN DEALER, I HAD TO PAY A 135 MILE WRECKER BILL TO TRANSPORT THE CAR TO THE NEAREST LINCOLN DEALER IN PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA. *AK