92 continental; various issues

[kmddma]

I bought a 92 from my husband's uncle for $500 the body and interior are is super shape (after I spent 2 days detailing it). We drove it for 2 days then it had a serious tran leak, probably about 1 quart, then it seemed to quit (so he says, I'm sure that it didn't just quit leaking). I also have the typical dash problems that need to be taken care of and it also seems to chug when the fan kicks on. It has 169,00 miles on it and I have seen many people use the words "money pit" refering to the lincolns. My question really is should I just get a crate motor and replace it or fix the things that are wrong? Oh yeah, I forgot supposedly it has a fairly new transmission. Did we make a bad buy? I tried to post 2 pics w/ this. We'll see what happens. Thanks for listening/helping!!

[pro-five-oh]

They are money pits, but they are the best luxury car out there for $500 I assure you. So its really up to you. If you have an honest mechanic, you can fix the car on the cheap, after all its mostly a Taurus underneath the fancy interior. If not, I suggest you buy a Camry ASAP.

The dash problems probably will be fixed with the TECH article given (clean the connections) and the transmission is probably toast with that big a leak and that mileage. If you don't know a good rebuilder of Ford FWD transmissions (most places aren't) your best bet is to get a Jasper transmission shipped to you. Its a peace of mind thing.

Never, ever let the car overheat. Keep the cooling system at 150% percent effectiveness, otherwise you'll be putting a new motor at that mileage. (blown headgasket + old motor)

Good luck with the car, we can offer good advice when needed. Welcome.

[MichiganTeddyBear]

if the tech article don't fix your dash problems, let me know.. I am in the slow process of making some updates to the article, that will almost guarentee a quality fix in the cluster... but that process is not for the faint of heart, or shakey hand..

[brasolt03]

Transmission may just be the seal to the engine that is what mine is(tranny will need to be pulled to replace(800 dollers estimated labor) all I do is put transx in every month and it has the leak slowed to down to maybe a quart every two weeks (unless I take it on long trips then things can get hairy) Listen to MTB on the dash and it will have no problems!

Good Luck and congradulations on the great buy!

[Steve Moran]

Yup to all the above and nice car.
it looks like it has had care taken for the most part.
Did the car sit for a year or so? If so a seal could have been dry and the fluid brought some new life in it. if you decide to do a tranny flush use Mercon 5 fluid it will save you problems in the long run, and any time now if you want to add a bottle of Lubegard "Red Bottle" it is advisable.

And welcome aboard LoL. I hope you stay for a while.

P.S Cool beans another woman on the site, it is good to have diversity and another person to keep me in line.

[kmddma]

Thanx for the help. I'm not sure if had been sitting for a while or not...I assume by the dust/dirt build up on everything inside that it had. I thought that it was a good buy but just a little scared when I read the "money pit" thing so many times. I fell in love with it the 1st time I drove it. My husband says even to put a brand new motor in it was worth it. I guess I needed a little reassurance. I saw the tech article about the dash...just putting it off. The dings are quit annoying though. I guess since the car is down until I take care of the leak I will tackle. I certainly do not want my husband to attempt it. I love him but he has a firecracker temper when it comes to tedious work. ;) I know a mechanic but he is mostly Chevys, I'll talk to him and see what he can do. Again thanx guys for the input.

Michelle

[MichiganTeddyBear]

The dash work is not hard, as long as the procedure posted is all you need. my updated process is much more involved, but not needed in many cases

I like my 91 so much, I went out and got a parts car (90, so some stuff don't interchange :( ), and drove 800 odd miles each way to get it!

[pro-five-oh]

I know a mechanic but he is mostly Chevys, I'll talk to him and see what he can do. Again thanx guys for the input.

Michelle

If he's a good mechanic, you can tell him what to look for using the information you gather here from Essex Conti pros like Steve and MTB. (and everyone else, you guys are great)

If you like the car, I think you'll find its worth the money to fix. Hard to get air suspension, leather, nice stereo etc for $500. :) Don't worry about the engine until it shows signs of problems: it may already have a fresh engine because very few Contis last 160,000 miles without a worn out cooling system causing a blown head gasket.

Have your mechanic verify the cooling system is good, fix the tranny leak, and enjoy the car. :)

[MichiganTeddyBear]

I would hardly call myself an expert on the Essex conti.. experienced, yes, expert, no...

is it a reflection or something in the one pic that shows the left rear corner.. im talking about the reflector on the left side of the trunk.. looks broken??? if so, I got one from the 90, lemme know if ya need it.

and you got the wheels I like on there..... I hate my current ones on the 91...

btw, my parts car has a whopping 44k miles on it.... shame I can't put more parts from it into my 91 (like tranny). or the low mile engine to replace the one in my 92 cougar (also a 3.8)....

[kmddma]

Yes the left rear reflector is broken, I just figured I could pick one up at the "mall" (that's what my husband and his friends call the junk yard:D Anyway if you have one to get rid of I'm interested. I'm glad I was referred to this site.
Michelle

[MichiganTeddyBear]

you probably can get one in a junkyard, I dont know how well stocked the yards near you are... there are basically NONE in the yards up here by me.

I will send you a PM letting you know how much (it wont be a bank buster).

[Fordace]

The trans leak may be a cooler line fitting, hope so for your sake......;)

[kmddma]

Would it be possible that the tran fluid was overfull and spilled over? It hasn't leaked one bit since the initial leak, shifts ok, tran fluid is reading full, strangest thing I ever saw. Anyway I just thought I'd leave an update.
Michelle

[Steve Moran]

Hi Michelle.

Yes it could very well be the problem.
Transmissions have vent tubes to help compensate for expansion and contraction of fluid as it heats and cools.
I once was told by a tranny guy that it is hard to over fill a tranny by much due to the fact that the fluid would blow out the vent hole as it is designed to do. I have never seen it happen due to the fact that if you work on cars for any length of time you tend to watch fluid levels and add the specified fluid to the correct level.
I have seen people pull a dipstick from a tranny that is in a vehicle that is not running, read it and add fluid. This could be the problem at hand from prior attempts of someone trying to get the car to go.

My vote is drive it, watch it for another week or so and you should be golden.