ebodell67

Well almost two weeks since I did the driveshaft delete and all is well. I even picked up a bit of fuel economy. I did rotate the tires so that I could extend the life a bit. I am gaining a lot of confidence in the Lincoln and may take it to Colorado Springs to see my daughter in August. The left rear wheel bearing is making a bit of noise so I will change that out. At this point I will put tires on it once these wear out as the engine and trans seem just fine. I may also replace the driveshaft. I have the three piece unit but it seems as if that was upgraded to a two piece sometime after 2007(?). I need to research to see if I can make that change without a lot of fabrication. Pretty confident at this point that I will see 300K+ miles. Even with tires and a driveshaft I am money ahead over finding a replacement. Also, sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you don't.

Well I pulled the rear driveshaft Thursday. Was not sure what to expect, I was kinda halfway thinking the system would act like an open differential and I would have no movement at all. But, the car drives just fine with no ill effects it seems. I drove it around this past weekend and into work this morning with no issues. Good news is that the vibration at 25mph is all but gone so it does appear to have been the driveshaft. I think that maybe the splined connections need to be staked or upset such that they do not slide in/out. Instead of that motion being taken up by the flexible connection at the PTU the relative in/out movement was happening in the splines resulting in limited engagement. At least that is what I think. Pretty sure FMC never intended anyone to rebuild the driveshaft. I would like to have AWD at least for next winter so I will noodle on this a bit and hopefully come up with a cheap fix. Not a lot of room to get in there and stake the splines. Anyway the bad vibration is gone for now. However, every time I fix something another noise that was masked comes to the top of the spectrum. I am getting a howling noise at speed. it's not bad at this point so I am not overly concerned. On another note, the right rear tire has significant cupping on the inside, a product of worn out bushings. Not sure I want to tackle that as it could put me down the rabbit hole of multiple parts replacements. Might just rotate the tires and spread that joy around to the other three tires. New goal is to get through summer with the car, stretch goal is to hit 300K. Gonna get my $200 initial investment back out if it kills me.

Well I have rolled off 277K+ miles on the MkX as of this morning. Even took it on a 200 mile round trip with no issues. However, the past week I have a significant vibration at ~25 to 30mph and it is progressively getting worse. Last night I put it on the ramps and put a pry bar on various components to check for excessive movement. Nothing really stood out. I checked the motor mounts and while I get a bit of movement it is really nothing that I would not expect. I am somewhat leaning towards the driveshaft at this point. Not sure what my next course of action will be so any thoughts would be welcome. Has anyone ever pulled the shaft on an AWD and drove it around? Kinda wonder if I could do this. I would just drive through those speeds but we have some construction on the way home and I inevitably end up having to dwell at that speed. I would really like to keep this car alive at least until the Fall before I think about replacing it. I just don't want to drop any cash on a new daily at this point. I am always on the lookout for certain vehicles but the pickins have been a bit slim lately.

I still had a clanking noise that would get worse at times. I got it up on ramps and found that one of the dust shields was not pressed on to the driveshaft. I had to push these off when I replaced the carrier bearings and one of them has lost its press fit. I did not want to drop the shaft and take it apart again so I tried some JB Weld on the shield. Drove to work this AM and it is much better now. Not sure how long it will hold, worst case I will got in and cut it off. I would rather leave it in place as it helps keep debris away from the bearing so not sure that is the best plan. But is does kinda "hang up" once in a while and sounds like the drivetrain is grenading itself. Other option would be to simply pull the driveshaft and run FWD only. Not sure if this would cause other issues though. I don't really need AWD in the spring, summer, and fall. Liking the Lincoln more and more, it owes me nothing and every day I get out of it is a bonus. I have the fleet down to a reasonable number now and my insurance has dropped quite a bit.

Not sure, I have not priced 20" tires (never owned anything with them) so not sure what that cost would be. My concern is that I put $800 worth of tires on it and then something lets go then I am stuck with oddball sized tires with no use for them. I suppose I could try and find a used set and mount them up myself but they don't look to be as easy to mount as say the 245/65 R16 that I run on my pickup(s). Not something I will have to worry about until the fall so I will make the call then. As I gain confidence in the Lincoln I may be more comfortable putting significant money into it. I know that 20" and 22" are common these days but nothing in my fleet uses them. But again, maybe used ones are common and reasonable $. I did fix the coolant leak (more like a seep through a parting line) with JB Weld.

Been a while since i posted the MkX. Since then it has become my daily driver as the Mercury is now gone. I drove it all winter, she started right up at -15F and I drove it through some pretty bad weather. It has even been used for some light choring and driven through the pasture. I am gaining a lot more confidence in it. Not sure I would drive to the coast but I would probably take it anywhere in Iowa at this point. I have put a bit over 6k miles on it. Gave it an oil change last weekend, it only used a pint in 6K miles so the motor seem pretty tight. Still some vibration and clanking but I am just living with it. It now has about 275,600 miles on it, averages about 20-21 MPG. Best part is that I have $658.60 into it (with the latest oil change, not counting fuel and insurance). Picked it up on August, it's now March so that is about $82/month. Once of the plastic radiator lines is starting to seep so I need a cheap fix for that. Still need to change the fluid in the PTU as well. At this point I am just going to run it until something major happens or it needs tires.

Pull the plugs and see if they are oil fouled. As mentioned above might be a PCV. One quart in 1200 miles is not that "bad". How many miles do you have on it. My previous chore truck was a battered '73 K20 with a 350 that burned about a quart every 200 miles or so. Did this for years, I just installed anti-fouling inserts in the two worst cylinders. I would not have hesitated to drive it across the country. But, that being said I don't mind driving marginal vehicles from dubious sources. What is the worse that could happen? Would I let my wife or daughter drive one? Heck no!

Well, I drove the Lincoln this past weekend much more than I have previously. There is a "small" vibration at about 20mph that goes away at higher speeds. It may be the worn out bushings in the rear, a marginal motor mount, or the driveshaft is a bit out of balance. For the time being I am just going to monitor it. My wife drives it 60-70 miles daily and tells me it's better than it was. It has rattles, but, with 270K miles it has earned them. Seems ok for now. I just want to get through the winter and early spring at this point then I can try and either really tear into it or find a replacement. My fleet is made up of older vehicles; the Lincoln is our newest car at this point. I have a severe aversion to car payments so I am not in any hurry to find another car at this point in time. I am sure there will be more repairs, but, in the 1000 miles we have put on it so far it does not use any oil and runs and shifts just fine. Stay tuned.....

I would definitely pass on any rental. When I was younger and had to travel for work you would not believe the things I did to rental cars. And, I know I am not alone in the wanton abuse of them. Oftentimes I had to scab trim back on and run them thru the carwash multiple times (hey they were 4WD for a reason, well some of them were). Run, don't walk from a rental....

Got the torque mount changed out. Vibration seems to be gone and the car seems quieter now. I did tighten a couple items under it as well to eliminate some of the clunks that it has. I also noticed that about every bushing in the rear end needs changed out. Not sure I am going to tackle that at this point as I don't really want to drop the entire rear end out of it at this point. I may change a few of the "easier" ones though if the parts are reasonable. Torque mount was a bit more than I thought it would be. I should have supported the trans when I first pulled it. Lesson learned.

Well the next little issue I have now is the torque mount (?) is shelled out. Probably explains the vibration at low speeds. It started banging and making the wife think she had a wheel about to fall off (her words). Got the part coming from RockAuto so I can get that in on Saturday and give the drivetrain a once over (again). I know with 370K miles I will be replacing parts that normally one never has to touch. Overall I am still pleased with the car. The interior and comfort features are nice, seats are comfortable. I did get the final verdict on the wife's car: total loss. But, I got a lot more for it than I thought I would so that is good. Trans was starting to slip and the engine was using a bit of oil. Probably better in the long run and I had performed some redneck bodywork on it when the wife backed into a tree. Lucky for me we live on gravel and it had a nice thick coat of dust so my craftsmanship was masked.

Whelp, the Lincoln is now a daily driver. My wife smoked a deer with her car so I had to press this into service a bit before I wanted to. I wanted to drive it myself for a week or so to sort out any new issues that might arise. So I insured it, charged the AC and let her drive it. After a couple of commutes the right front caliper was sticking so I had to replace that in a hurry so I could not bargain hunt for one. So with the caliper, DOT3, and a can of R134a I now have $583.03 into the car. Kinda frustrated with the caliper as I had to pay about double over RockAuto for it but I was stuck and had to buy it from a chain store (which I really do not like). Well, anyway it is up and being used as a daily for now. Wife's car is likely a total loss so I will take that money and start looking for another hooptie to have as a backup; 3.8L Buick, 4.3L Blazer, Ford Panther, something along those lines. Will not post much more than updates here as I have to fix a couple things on the MkX as they break. I do need to drain and fill the PTU before winter. I have the fluid just need to stop thinking about it and just get it done.

Finally got back on the MkX. Finished the replacing the ball joints on the Grand Marquis and finally got it aligned. Pretty much a new front end under it so it should be good for 200K+ miles now. I replaced the third brake light and got that functioning now. I pulled a vacuum on the AC for about 6 hours to boil out any moisture. It pulled down just fine and after I unhooked the pump it held the vacuum for another 4+ hours. Not sure what to think now. Earlier I injected some UV die into the system and pressurized it with nitrogen. After doing that and running the system I was never able to find a leak anywhere even though it bled down some pressure. After this time I am wondering if I just did not run the pump long enough to really dry the system out. My next step is to simply replace the Schrader valves in the high and low pressure ports, pull another vacuum and if it holds, put a couple cans of R134a in it and go from there. At this point I am more or less done with the car. I just need to add it to my insurance and drive if for a bit to make sure there is nothing else. The wife wants it so I will give it to her to drive for at least the winter and see how it works out. It has great tires on it so we might as well run it for a while. The current total I have into it, before any R134a and insurance, is $493.17. So if I can get 6 months of use it will not really cost me much. The dang thing is starting to grow on me. Always starts right up with no engine or trans noise. I have not driven it much aside from on the gravel (no insurance and I am paranoid about that) but it seems to handle just fine with no vibration or whining. Will get some insurance and some drive time in it. Few little things to look at; heated seats don't work but it may be a switch and the sunroof has a tendency to drop off the tracks. Minor things that don't stop us from using it.

Well, this one is on hold again. Broke a ball joint on my daily driver ('94 Grand Marquis) so that needs to get fixed first. Pretty much going to have a new front end on it when I'm done. Just waiting for the rest of the parts to show up. Tow was covered under insurance (fortunately). Shredded the tire as well but that was replaced with my road hazard policy. I was only going about 5-10 MPH when it let go so I could limp into a parking lot.

Been a couple of weeks since I have been able to work on the MkX. Over the long weekend I put a vacuum pump on the AC system and pulled it down. I was then able to inject some UV dye into it. After that I charged it with nitrogen and ran the system for a bit to circulate the dye. Unfortunately I really cannot see the connections on the compressor very well, but it looks like there is a leak at the compressor when I shine the black light in that area. I ordered an o-ring, desiccant element and expansion valve kit. I will get all of this installed and change the oil in the compressor and cross my fingers. It definitely has a leak as the vacuum drops from ~28"Hg to ~10"Hg in about an hour. Pretty much the last thing I need to take care of before it is ready for the road again. The third brake light is still out but that is an expensive part so I am going to rig up something there.