89 Towncar questions.

[Dibly74]

Ok I have a few questions about what my car is doing and other stuff. I have tried 2 differnt caps and rotors and they both get carbon tracked within a week or two. It gets to the point where it runs like crap and or diesand puts out black smoke for a few seconds. Both were new and one brass I think. Will the rear disc brake setup from a 91-94 towncar fit on the rear of an 89. Because we have what I think is a stolen 91 Towncar flipped upside down and trashed in the woods near my house. This is amongst several cars dumped back there. How they flipped it in such a small space I don't know.

[gadget73]

What condition are the plugs and wires in? If either are really bad, the cap could be taking an excessive beating.

Yes, the rear discs will go on. There are some minor changes needed for the brake lines as the 89 has one rear line with a hose from body to rear and a hard line across the rear. The 91 has two lines along the frame and a hose on each side. The easiest way to do this is to use the hose from the caliper and shorten the line across the rear to attach the hose to it. You'll also need to attach the bracket for the hose to something. The axles need to come out of the differential to swap the backing plates over but its not that big of a deal. You'll also want the E-brake cables from the 91, and they'll need to be slightly modified in order to hook to the front cable from the 89. I believe one needs to be shortened a little with a cable clamp.

Also, since you'll have the rear axles out of both cars, snag the left axle from the 91. If the right axle on your 89 is worn (most of them are), just use the 91 left axle. They're identical side to side but the right axle takes more of a beating in the bearing area due to torque load.

[joedogg]

Because we have what I think is a stolen 91 Towncar flipped upside down and trashed in the woods near my house. This is amongst several cars dumped back there. How they flipped it in such a small space I don't know.

Not to get off topic, but YES! That's the most f**king awesome thing I've heard today!

[wewsnu]

lmao! How exactly does one go about flipping a towncar??
I was in one when it was destroyed while being hit by a electric-company bucket truck got 50 mph, it was more damaged than I've ever seen a car before, but one thing it didn't do was flip.

[87 town]

Ok I have a few questions about what my car is doing and other stuff. I have tried 2 differnt caps and rotors and they both get carbon tracked within a week or two. It gets to the point where it runs like crap and or diesand puts out black smoke for a few seconds. Both were new and one brass I think. Will the rear disc brake setup from a 91-94 towncar fit on the rear of an 89. Because we have what I think is a stolen 91 Towncar flipped upside down and trashed in the woods near my house. This is amongst several cars dumped back there. How they flipped it in such a small space I don't know.

i agree, check out plugs and wires and your ignition "timing" may be off also.

[Dibly74]

It must be the timing because the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and coil were replaced in April. The plug are just autolite coppers. I guess I will check the timing this weekend. i have one question, how hard is it to see the "ring" piece near the crank to get the timing light in?

[87 town]

It must be the timing because the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and coil were replaced in April. The plug are just autolite coppers. I guess I will check the timing this weekend. i have one question, how hard is it to see the "ring" piece near the crank to get the timing light in?

copper plugs are the "best".
i had problems doing my own timing, (couldnt find the marks and got frustrated), but others on line here who have done it can direct you easily.

[Dibly74]

Oh I have another question. When the car is in park, or idleing in gear. Well just running and stopped, it make a loud buzzing noise. The only way to make it go away is to shift manually through the gears. But its only gone when im actually moving the gear shifter. Has anyone had this problem before? Also can anybody give me some tips on setting the timing.

[gadget73]

Pointer isn't that hard to find. There are pics of my car's engine front with the timing pointer here:

http://www.lincolnsonline.com/tech/00166.html


the buzz is probably nothing to worry about. Make sure the trans fluid is full but a lot of AODs make that noise. Mine was recently completely overhauled, and it makes that same buzzing noise. There was actually a thread over on GMN recently and many of the box owners report the same sound in park.

[87 town]

Pointer isn't that hard to find. There are pics of my car's engine front with the timing pointer here:

http://www.lincolnsonline.com/tech/00166.html


the buzz is probably nothing to worry about. Make sure the trans fluid is full but a lot of AODs make that noise. Mine was recently completely overhauled, and it makes that same buzzing noise. There was actually a thread over on GMN recently and many of the box owners report the same sound in park.

yeah, almost like a faint buzz of an electrical engine going on. like a buzzing purrrrr. been having that all along on my car too.

[Dibly74]

Ok, the timing is right on 10 BTDC. Already had the marks painted for me, guess the last owner had it done. Im gonna go pull the plugs just in case they are worn. Also the car has a noticeable loss of power when it is running smooth.

[Dibly74]

Well the plugs looked really good when I pulled some out. I pulled the TPS off and saw one of the plastic parts were stripped so it wasn't actually moving with the throttle, so I put a new one on. Have no idea if this helped out or not because the missing and dieing are random. I was wondering if the module on the distributor could be going bad. I heard they fail all together at the worst times, but can they start to go bad and make the car run like crap intermitedly?

[Dibly74]

Come on, someone has to know if the TFI module, I think thats whats on the distributor, can be intermitent or make single cyliners randomly not fire. Their relatively cheap at the auto parts store, so if people can help me out I might as well buy one.

[gadget73]

Its possible but 99% of the time when they get like this, you'll find it happens only when its warmed up or has been running for a while. Its a heat related failure.

[Dibly74]

It is usually when its been running for awhile, but every once in a while when im leaving work right when I start it it runs bad and puts out black smoke till I rev it up a little. I was just curious if they can be intermitent or an all at once thing. Also is there anything that can be going bad inside the distributor. Its getting scarey driving it cause it can idle great then when I hit the gas to turn out into traffic or cross an intersection it will sputter and or die right in the middle of a lane.

[87 town]

It is usually when its been running for awhile, but every once in a while when im leaving work right when I start it it runs bad and puts out black smoke till I rev it up a little. I was just curious if they can be intermitent or an all at once thing. Also is there anything that can be going bad inside the distributor. Its getting scarey driving it cause it can idle great then when I hit the gas to turn out into traffic or cross an intersection it will sputter and or die right in the middle of a lane.

I have had my TIF module changed a couple times over the years. It can cause those problems and they usually fail from the heat. You could change it, but...till you get a code testing you may just be throwing money away.
I imagine you checked the rotor and distributor cap connections also?

[Dibly74]

Yes all the connections are good on the cap and rotor. I guess maybe I will pick a few up from the junk yard just for fun and free to see it any of them help it. Also I got pictures of the stolen Townacr today. The hunk of metal in the back of one of the pictures is a 2005 Ford Focus that was brand new and the guy coulden't make the payments on it and brought it out here, now its "stolen". The Lincoln may not look nice but before it sat out there for a while the interior was flawless maroon leater.

[87 town]

Yes all the connections are good on the cap and rotor. I guess maybe I will pick a few up from the junk yard just for fun and free to see it any of them help it. Also I got pictures of the stolen Townacr today. The hunk of metal in the back of one of the pictures is a 2005 Ford Focus that was brand new and the guy coulden't make the payments on it and brought it out here, now its "stolen".

worse looking tc i ever saw...lol...
you can also just get some fine metal sandpaper and go over the top of the rotor and the side round part that hits the contact points within the inside of the distributor cap. and you can also sand clean the center top spot within the cap along with all the (8) inside contact points. If any of these contact points are jagged or black with carbon, this is a free way to clean em up and see if it runs any better. Just wanted to be sure, just in case you didnt know, what the important parts of the cap and rotor were. The metal contact points. Also, on the dist cap, the metal tower like contacts where the plug wires fit into. They can also be cleaned up and I would also use some "dielectric" grease on those. Also, be sure the center coil wire has a good connection into the ignition coil. A bad connection or corroded tower on the ignition coil can also cause lots of problems.

[Dibly74]

Oh trust me I have sanded them many times and about a week or two later them are crapped up again.

[87 town]

Oh trust me I have sanded them many times and about a week or two later them are crapped up again.

hmmmmmmmm. i am a bit stumped. "thinking out loud"......
what could be causing premature carbon deposits?.....running too rich........ too large of a gap in the plugs. (.050 to .052 is proper gap) not proper spark/current through wires.... bad connection on ignition coil........too much air coming through intake.....manifold gasket leak.........bad fuel (maybe try higher octane and maybe injector cleaner to get consistent flow).......:confused:

[joedogg]

hmmmmmmmm. i am a bit stumped. "thinking out loud"......
what could be causing premature carbon deposits?.....running too rich........ too large of a gap in the plugs. (.050 to .052 is proper gap) not proper spark/current through wires.... bad connection on ignition coil........too much air coming through intake.....manifold gasket leak.........bad fuel (maybe try higher octane and maybe injector cleaner to get consistent flow).......:confused:
I dont think that running rich or lean would hurt the distributor cap or rotor. It would the plugs.