Looking at buying a new Daily driver

[4eyedstang]

I went and looked at a 93 lincoln mark 7 very nice car for the money but i have never herd of the motor that is in it. the person selling the car said it has a 4 cam 32 valve cobra motor in it are these motors dependable? and is that a 5.0L or 4.6

[RanJer]

I went and looked at a 93 lincoln mark 7 very nice car for the money but i have never herd of the motor that is in it. the person selling the car said it has a 4 cam 32 valve cobra motor in it are these motors dependable? and is that a 5.0L or 4.6

Mark 7's ended in 92... If it's a Mark 8 it's a 4.6. If it's a Mark 7 it's a 5.0.
Mark VII
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Continental_Mark_VII
Mark VIII
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Mark_VIII

[4eyedstang]

sorry it is a mark Vlll

[03CVLX]

Motors are fairly reliable it is the 4.6 32 valve V8. One of the biggest things you should check closely is the air suspension!!!! Some people have done coil spring swaps already but if its still has all its airbags check them out close. Thats not a cheap fix if they go.

[4eyedstang]

it still has the air suspension they said the car will lower itself above 55 mph sounds cool but expensive anything i should pay extra attention too like the bags themselves or is there some kind of onboard compressor/computer

[Windsors 03 Cobra]

One benefit would be that it is faster than your 347 Stang. :rolf

Basically you need to be a mechanic to own that Mark.

[Car Guy]

Either the bags are holding air or they're not, and then you have the compressor which also can go bad. The real test is to let it sit for a week and see if it drops in height at all.....

If (when) they do go completely out you WILL have to do something as you can't drive around on blown bags. Technically you can but you won't want to.....:goof






:3gears: :3gears: :3gears:

[03CVLX]

Either the bags are holding air or they're not, and then you have the compressor which also can go bad. The real test is to let it sit for a week and see if it drops in height at all.....

If (when) they do go completely out you WILL have to do something as you can't drive around on blown bags. Technically you can but you won't want to.....:goof

:3gears: :3gears: :3gears:



Yeah, pretty much whats already been said is accurate. It will be quite obvious if one or more bag is already blown. as the car won't sit even to save its life. Im not really up on all the components of the air suspension, I would probably suggest taking it to a mechanic you trust that is familiar with those cars. I have heard it costing well in upwards of 1k to fix that air suspension when it does go.

[Windsors 03 Cobra]

You can get aftermarket bags, valves and height sensors for a reasonable price online and the stuff is not really that hard to diagnose or replace components on.
Its a first model year car tho, probably with half a million miles on it with a sophisticated engine that is 15 years old.
Early 4R70W trans in there that is not really known for being that reliable either.
Its possible the interior is turning to goo and that the car has alot of of little quirks that, if you don't mind dealing with nickel and dime crap and have a little common sense on fixing junk you can probably get by. But just look at the car eyes wide open there is alot to them.

Its entirely the thing is a low mile cream puff too, I dont know but I do know that there are not many good shape ones around tho there are alot of abused bad shape ones around.
Guys buy them for the 32v DOHC 4.6 litre Cobra Motor and beat the piss out of them.
I would like 8 but would only settle for a decently nice gen 2 Mark VIII (97-98) :thumbsup

The interior in my 91 7 is goo and the air suspension works flawless with me only having to replace the air dryer and a height sensor to keep it going over the last 5 years. It lets out a bunch of air when you park and get out, it sounds kinda cool bleeding down as you walk away.

[4eyedstang]

[QUOTE=Windsors 03 Cobra;397961]One benefit would be that it is faster than your 347 Stang. :rolf

wow it must be waaaaaay faster then a mark Vll then:rolf

[STANMAN]

What everyone else said, the airbags are the biggest downfall of these cars. As also stated earlier, if they are bad, you can swap to a conventional type suspension, but usually it's just cheaper to fix the air ride. I had one for about a year, great car, Cobra motor (put in sideways and it looks funny), quick enough to be fun. But yeah, the more I read about it, the more I saw how the car could nickel and dime me to death, the more I wanted out. Someone at work LOVED the car and made me a great offer, so I sold it. It's now almost 3 years later, and he has had ZERO problems with it. Go figure:rolf

[Windsors 03 Cobra]

Less than half the HP of the family truckster, call me when you want a piece. :thumbsup

[STANMAN]

Rated at 305 if I remember correctly? They are not forged BTW, only the Termy's and Mach's got the "good" 4 valve 4.6:rolf

[Windsors 03 Cobra]

What everyone else said, the airbags are the biggest downfall of these cars. As also stated earlier, if they are bad, you can swap to a conventional type suspension, but usually it's just cheaper to fix the air ride. I had one for about a year, great car, Cobra motor (put in sideways and it looks funny), quick enough to be fun. But yeah, the more I read about it, the more I saw how the car could nickel and dime me to death, the more I wanted out. Someone at work LOVED the car and made me a great offer, so I sold it. It's now almost 3 years later, and he has had ZERO problems with it. Go figure:rolf

The sidewinder cobra engine is in the 1995+ Continental.
The Mark 8 is RWD Coupe, the Continental name was removed from the Mark series about 1985 tho the Mark series always had the signature "continental kit" hump on the decklid, tho very subtle by 1997/8

[Windsors 03 Cobra]

93-96 280hp
97-98 290hp

[STANMAN]

I had a Continental, sorry for the confusion. It is neat to see it stuffed in sideways:rolf

[MurphysLaw88GT]

didnt think the machs got the good bottom ends...

i was under the impression that the auto equipped ones did not even get a forged 8 bolt crank

[Windsors 03 Cobra]

didnt think the machs got the good bottom ends...

i was under the impression that the auto equipped ones did not even get a forged 8 bolt crank

That is correct.

[easytoremember]

i remember my first car was almost a 93 mark VIII... thank god it wasn't