"Honest Abe"

[Piece-it pete]

Yeah, a real clever name for my 1989 Lincoln Town Car.

Some may have seen my introduction thread. It's dark blue/dark blue, a nicely optioned Executive with (I think) 140K miles or thereabouts. The body has 1 little spot of surface rust, a couple minor dings, the bumpers are beautiful, the top is just beginning to split, overall it looks pretty good. The undercarriage is as clean as I've seen. Interior has seen better days fo' sho'.

Engine runs good. Trans, fine. The rear end is whining, I'll try changing the gear oil tonight. I think it was fairly well cared for mechanically, things like, good oil, new hood struts, wires etc... I did drive this 420 miles home, and just yesterday I did 90+ for 4 miles, straight and steady.

I considered it a lemon, just more work than I wanted, but you guys have convinced me to attempt to make some lemonade - dammit!!

I'll at least keep working on it till I find another. The issues:

Heater core leaks a little bit. Auto climate control kinda works, but not on full floor. On the backburner for now.

The tranny had a somewhat hard 1-2 shift. Just changing the fluid in the pan and filter took care of it. (and the pan was very clean inside - woo hoo!).

Needs front hinge pins/bushings.

The gear selector indicator is off.

Alternator belt idler pulley going bad (oil quieted it for now).

Most all the window/seat/lock switchgear is bad, two windows are inoperable and one other thunks a lot. An exterior door latch is broken, one rear door won't open at all. Power seats have limited operation. Power locks don't work.

Radio dead.

The front end looks largely original. It'll need at least tie rod ends and soon.

Drip from the top of the windshield inside. Bad weatherstripping on the trunk. Hood insulation very ugly.

Seats shot. Typical glovebox appearance issue (but has those custom made covers I've seen elsewhere on the front door arm pads, not too bad). Dash top shot.

Crack in the big rear 'reflector' piece (already have the replacement).

Suspension is shot. Not quite at the 'bounce at traffic lights' shot, but getting there in a hurry. I'll get to it, probably grap a couple rear springs off a yard cop car for now, get that back end up a bit.

Things I have questions on:

Speedo reads about 10 mph over. Any ideas?

The temp gauge doesn't work. I'll snag a new sending unit or whatever it's called at the yard. Anything else it could be?

The power antenna works, but the antenna itself is broken about halfway up. Is there a way to change just the antenna part?

Although the engine runs very well, I've noticed a tendency for it to stall after you first start it (it's happened twice so far).

It has the exterior keypad for the power locks. Any way of figuring out the code?

I know I had some more but am having a brain fart. I'll keep the thread updated.

Pete

[Piece-it pete]

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle - the ac works.

Pete

[johnunit]

Look around the underside of the trunk lid, I know later models had the keypad code there.

[marquisman]

the key pad code is in the owners manual, trunk`lid and the control box under the passenger side dash.

[Piece-it pete]

Thanks guys! I checked, the manual says it's on the (nonexistant) owners warrentee card, and there's liners in the way of the trunk lid (which the manual mentions - d'oh)and under the glovebox. I'll find out tonight.

Along with the rear end, and tomorrow the yard - whee!

You guys looking for anything?

This darn thing better run good!

On the speedo problem, I seem to remember changing a little plastic gear on my 87 GM where the speedo cable goes into the tranny, iirc there was more than one kind, I wonder if that's it. I'm going to talk to a dealer about that, I'll report.

Pete

[johnunit]

The speedo gear SHOULD only need to be changed if you've changed rear end ratios at some point.


Overall, that looks like a really solid base.

Most of your problems (heater core, windows, door locks, shift indicator) are pretty much the standard Panther issues with known and relatively cheap fixes.

[Piece-it pete]

Yeah, I'll chip away at the list. It would be much easier if I had a garage, or at least a concrete driveway :boohoo:

My thing really is paint, I'm no bodyman, I'd like something overall cleaner/tighter to start with, a few less miles would be nice too.

I know, I know, grow a pair

Pete

[87gtVIC]

It looks pretty nice to me man.

[Piece-it pete]

Thanks. It does, doesn't it? This particular seller is excellent at making cars look good!

And it's not exactly baaaad.... just not as overall nice as the pic

I am looking forward to seeing it carnuba'd up right.

Pete

[Nathan in MI]

Nice looking car, Pete!

Speedo reads about 10 mph over. Any ideas?

It won't end up being off by a certain number from 0 to top speed, it'll be off by a percentage. So if you can establish that it reads, say, 80 mph when you're actually traveling 70 mph, then you'll know it's off by 14.3%.

Then, you'll want to remove the speedometer gear, which is in the driver's side of the transmission tailhousing. I want to say the hold down bolt for the clamp is 7/16", but don't quote me on that. The gear is held on with a metal clip that slips right out with a screwdriver.

Count the teeth on the speedometer gear. Let's say the gear has 20 teeth. You'll want to increase the number of teeth by 14.3%. 14.83% of 20 is 2.86, which we'll round to 3. So, you'd want to get a 23 tooth speedometer gear. Just redo the math for your actual numbers.

Take the old gear with you, and pay a visit to your friendly local Ford dealer. Proceed directly to the parts department, never making direct eye contact with any of the sales staff. Those folks are like vultures.

When you get to the parts counter, sit down on the vinyl covered stool. CAUTION: The vinyl on the stool has a big split in it, so whatever you do, DO NOT wear shorts unless you'd like to scream in agony when it pinches the back of your thigh. You can't buy something from a man after he's seen you scream like a girl. Don't ask me how I know.

Tell the parts guy you're working on a 1989 Lincoln Town Car. Wait until he stops laughing. This may take anywhere from five to fifteen minutes. After he stops, tell him you need a speedometer gear for it. Don't worry, the blank, confused stare you'll receive is completely normal. Note that he may mumble a few unintelligible phrases that seem to contain words like "obsolete" or "haven't carried those in 10 years". Just keep talking to him, and eventually he'll snap out of it and realize that he either a) has them in stock, or b) can get them.

He'll charge you around $10 for a 5 cent piece of molded plastic, and you'll be on your way. Reinstallation is the reverse of removal.

The temp gauge doesn't work. I'll snag a new sending unit or whatever it's called at the yard. Anything else it could be?

Sender is a likely problem, but make sure that you have 12 volts at the sender. At least that should be the case assuming those things work like I think they do.

The power antenna works, but the antenna itself is broken about halfway up. Is there a way to change just the antenna part?

Easiest thing would probably be to snag the entire power unit from a junkyard car if you can find one, and swap it over.

Although the engine runs very well, I've noticed a tendency for it to stall after you first start it (it's happened twice so far).

Sounds like an idle air control problem to me. Others can give you more detailed information on how to clean that - I've never had an EFI box, so the details are fuzzy for me at best.

Hope this helps.

[Piece-it pete]

Excellent, thanks! I'm heading to the yard today, perhaps I'll pull a couple of those gears out and see if they're different.

I've had IAC problems with the 97 GM 4.6, hopefully that's it, nice and simple.

I changed the pumpkin fluid last night. No change, still whining like a female dog in heat

I'll just go ahead and change the axle but it'll be at least a week. Any guesses on how long it'll last (it isn't that loud). Taking bets

I also noticed that, when I turned the wheel with the engine off last night to grease the front end, it leaked a fair bit of power steering fluid out the gearbox :dammit:

Found the code under the dash! And it makes a sound when I try to unlock the doors (backburner problem) and does open the trunk - cool beans dudes.

Thanks again guys, I'll keep reporting back!

Pete

[Nathan in MI]

Oh yeah, forgot about your whiney rear end. Between that and the fact that the speedometer is off, I'm guessing someone probably put different gears in it at some point, and installed used gears, which have a tendency to whine anyway, and/or didn't set them up right. As long as the whine isn't too loud, it's probably okay, though it might not be a bad idea to pull the cover off and at least check the backlash, and perhaps the gear contact pattern as well if you're feeling ambitious. Backlash should be 0.008"-0.015" if I remember right, and you can find pictures on teh interwebs about what the contact pattern for a rear end should look like.

Another thing to check is the torque on the pinion nut. If that has come loose, your rear end is definitely on borrowed time. It should be at around 150 ft./lbs. If you find it loose, tighten it up and see if the noise goes away. If it does, you're golden. If not, plan on rebuilding the rear very soon.

[cadfan64]

antanna replacement mast 86-91 E6AZ-18A886-A around $50, I found one at a local dealer

[Piece-it pete]

Thanks Nathan, cadfan!

But it's the wheel bearing, dangnab it!

I'll stick a yard axle in. I've come to the conclusion that I'm kidding myself, this thing is just too far gone and I keep trying to make it work, now I've gone and used up a good car name for nothing

In the meantime I need to keep the car running. That this thing runs at all is a testament to just how durable these cars are. I still love driving it and I've learned a ton about them.

I sold my 97 G.M. yesterday, RIP my car of 10 years and 140K miles :cry:

I'm currently looking for awesome Lincoln #2, I'm going to try to NOT buy from a shady eseller this time!

cad, I picked up a yard unit. But that's good to know! That is just the antenna itself, not the motor part?

Pete

[cadfan64]

Yep, just the replacement mast, you don't need to pull the motor, all changes out thru the top.