Wanted to document my low buck build on the Lincoln MKX I recently picked up. I little backstory on how I came to acquire my latest project. One of my co-workers recently bought a new Ford Maverick and just wanted the MKX gone. I half joking asked him what he wanted for it. He said $200 and it's yours. So now I am the owner of a rather well used MKX. The car has 260K miles on it and are mostly highway miles as a work commuter. He has done a lot of maintenance over the ~8 years he owned the car. New CVs, PTU, struts, etc. He also did the oil every 3K miles. So it runs and shifts just fine and the motor is clean with good compression. Of course it has some issues; AC has a leak, oil light is on, front seats no longer heat, a very loud banging from the suspension.
The first thing I did was detail the entire car. I know this is backwards but I am more motivated to work on a clean vehicle. I attached a shot of the car as I brought it home and then some shots after I cleaned it up. I extracted a fair bit of dirt from the carpets but overall it cleaned up very well. There is a missing CD unit on the passengers headrest (not sure what to do here, I may 3D print a little storage box or build a wood box of some sort.
I have now started the mechanical work. I changed the oil and replaced the oil pressure switch (replacement was included in the sale). The switch was a bit tight and took about an hour but after I got it in the light went out and stayed out (it would go out after the car ran for a bit so I assumed it was a bad switch).
Next I took a look underneath to find the banging issue. I have the three-piece driveshaft with two carrier bearings. Both bearings are shelled out with one of them completely gone and acting as a driveshaft hoop (think NHRA rules). Driveshafts are a bit pricey but I can get the carrier bearings alone for about $50. I did a little digging and I am pretty sure I can separate the driveshaft and rebuild it. I have rebuilt several "unserviceable" components in the past (it helps to have access to a full machine shop). I hope to pull the shaft tonight and get the parts on order for the weekend. After that I will check the wheel bearings (the PO thought at least one of them was bad), then tackle the AC.
Overall it seems like a decent car and everything works in it aside from the front heated seats and AC (I will T/S the seats at some point if I keep the car). I am not sure if I am going to keep or flip it when I am done. I am keeping the cost low regardless. This is something I bit newer than I usually work with so the lessons it will teach me are worth the admission price. I am more of a GM guy and I think the sun rises and sets on SBCs and BBCs, but my daily driver is a '92 Grand Marquis that has been stone cold loyal. I don't know much about the MKX/Edge platform but that may change as I get further into this one.
So far my costs are:
Purchase price: $200
T&L and title: $98
Cleaning supplies (I can use these elsewhere): $24.24
Oil and filter (Supertech 5W-20 and a Napa Gold filter): $37.91
Quart of 75W-140 (for the PTU): $16.56
So at this point I am all in for $377. Will see where we go from here.