Mark VIII

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Mark VIII

September 13, 2006, 01:53:22 PM

I am lookig at buying a 97-98 mark VIII 40 large brand new less than 10 years later some are going for under 7 grand. My question is I want traction control and the HID headlights is 97 the cut off. Also does anyone know of any major mechanical issues besides the air struts.

Mark VIII

Reply #1 – September 13, 2006, 02:12:59 PM

My suggestion is don't.....

Mark VIII

Reply #2 – September 13, 2006, 02:46:32 PM

All 97-98 have HID's, as well as 96 LSC's.

Traction control, i dunno about, but who cares about traction control. Id rather have a posi.

I take it you dont like maintenance nightmares chuck?

Really all it is is the air ride and trans that sucks in them, and the trans problems were fixed by 98. Other than that its just overall cheap plastic interior pieces you have to worry about. I have a problem with that in my Tbird so its not like its a Mark VIII only thing.

Slap some boltons like exhaust on and you have a nice sounding comfortable rice killing 'grandpa car'.

Mark VIII

Reply #3 – September 13, 2006, 05:16:36 PM

Quote from: bhazard;103779

All 97-98 have HID's, as well as 96 LSC's.

Traction control, i dunno about, but who cares about traction control. Id rather have a posi.

I take it you dont like maintenance nightmares chuck?

Really all it is is the air ride and trans that sucks in them, and the trans problems were fixed by 98. Other than that its just overall cheap plastic interior pieces you have to worry about. I have a problem with that in my Tbird so its not like its a Mark VIII only thing.

Slap some boltons like exhaust on and you have a nice sounding comfortable rice killing 'grandpa car'.

This grandpa drives a stock one and it's good to about 15 flat. Exhaust and a chip will net you mid to high 14s, good enough to take care of most imports at the track.

Marks are not maintenance nightmares if you know how to turn a wrench. As was said the 2d Gens have the transmission bugs worked out, you'll probably need to change to Mercon V but the 1-2 accumulator was taken care of in the 98s. I'd look for one that's had the springs replaced (make sure they used something other than Arnott) or you can get spring conversions for them around $400. Check the blend door too... Gen 2s are famous for that breaking. Check http://www.markviii.org for other info.

You'll find the 96s with HIDs to be very scarce, only the LSCs came with them. You'll also find that the bulbs and ballasts are getting to be in short supply for any of them, they're DC based instead of the newer AC ones and Ford is trying to stop supplying them.

Mark VIII

Reply #4 – September 13, 2006, 05:16:57 PM

Quote from: bhazard;103779

All 97-98 have HID's, as well as 96 LSC's.

Traction control, i dunno about, but who cares about traction control. Id rather have a posi.

I take it you dont like maintenance nightmares chuck?

Really all it is is the air ride and trans that sucks in them, and the trans problems were fixed by 98. Other than that its just overall cheap plastic interior pieces you have to worry about. I have a problem with that in my Tbird so its not like its a Mark VIII only thing.

Slap some boltons like exhaust on and you have a nice sounding comfortable rice killing 'grandpa car'.

Mark VIII

Reply #5 – September 13, 2006, 06:23:38 PM

im pretty sure you can get eather trac control, or trac lock but not both. the trans problem can be fixed by modifying it almost like a shif kit. and like mensioned before, some of the buttons in the interior break. a few of my friends have them and i love em. i see em around hear between 2-5K depending on condition.

Mark VIII

Reply #6 – September 13, 2006, 06:37:27 PM

a buddy of mine has a 94 mark VIII, he doesnt have traction control...he has traction assist, it only works at speed under 30 miles an hour, and im pretty sure he has trac lock, cus he turned off the assist and laid out 2 pretty sweet lines-o-rubber, but the 94's could be different

Mark VIII

Reply #7 – September 13, 2006, 06:41:58 PM

I'm waiting for Karl to chime in about his experience with his Mark.

Mark VIII

Reply #8 – September 13, 2006, 07:50:48 PM

Both my mom and my dad have Mark VIIIs.

My dad has had his since around 99. Its a 94. The only maintenance problem he has had is the alternator going out. He replaced it with an autozoo alternator which went out a couple weeks ago, and that was replaced under warrenty. The front air struts now leak. It has also developed a coolant leak, and I think either the cats or the o2's are going bad, as it has the egg fart stink after WOT. Other than that it has been his reliable transportation in all seasons except winter when he parks it. He doesnt really take care of it. The clearcoat has gone in many spots, it has plenty of dings and scratches, but it still goes and probably will for a long time. IF anything the trans will go out since he has never replaced the accumulator springs. The car will turn 160,000 soon.

My mom got her 96 LSC last year. Its a michigan car and the guy lived on a dirt road. It has some body rust that needs fixed, as well as a nice rust hole in the oil pan than I have patched up with JB weld twice so far. Ive also replaced the front air suspension with coilovers. The rear spring replacements are still sitting in the garage. The HID's work well too...

As far as my mark experience goes, Ive experienced nothing more than I have experienced with any other car. It all depends on how the car has been treated in the past.

Mark VIII

Reply #9 – September 13, 2006, 10:46:26 PM

Quote from: bhazard;103824

It all depends on how the car has been treated in the past.

Mark VIII

Reply #10 – September 14, 2006, 10:22:11 AM

Quote from: Nate;103810

im pretty sure you can get eather trac control, or trac lock but not both. the trans problem can be fixed by modifying it almost like a shif kit. ...

No Mark came stock with a TrakLok differential but one can be fitted if you like. Costs about $250 from Ford iirc and about the same to get someone to install it for you, most bump the gearing up at the same time. Many have traction assist. It works a little different in the 97-98 in that it pulls timing from the engine in addition to using the ABS to apply braking which is all the Gen 1s do. I've never lived in a cold climate but if I had to guess I'd say if you're wanting t/a strictly for winter driving up north you'd probably get better results from one of those water bags or some sandbags in the trunk, or a front wheel drive Conti.

Mark VIII

Reply #11 – September 14, 2006, 12:46:08 PM

But a conti isnt two door and four door cars don't accept my 6'4 370 pound frame very well, I want a coupe. I'm not worried about the air strut i can swap that out myself NAPA makes a kit to do it, I was worried about the drivetrain tho thanks for the heads up on the tranny stuff it would probibly be flushed immediatly and i would put AMS oil or royal purple in it. Maybe have those springs changed too at the same time. The traction assist was another question i had most of the 97-98's i see for sale say they have traction control which is what that assist is. It would be my daily driver so i can park the cat tear it down and get down to the business of turning it into a real bow-tie killer. I would probibly put a cat back on it just for sound, maybe do the whole exhaust but as far as performance mods go that, and gears, maybe a posi too would be about it. It has to get better mileage than my cougar this 12mpg in town in a freaking car sucks, I do get 18mpg at 85 on the highway though.

Mark VIII

Reply #12 – September 14, 2006, 01:21:31 PM

Understood - Not 6'4" but I used to be 400 lbs. (still almost 300) and I can see why you don't want a Conti. The drivetrains are essentially the same but the fwd transmissions are even weaker from what I hear.

Guy you want to talk to about suspension conversion or repair is Eddie Spinks at American Air Suspensions - http://www.americanairsuspension.com/ . Best there is.

Trans fluid - Make sure whatever you put in it is Mercon V equal. No additives or anything else is required to get it to perform as a daily driver. Most of the transmission issues were related to the originally installed Mercon III breaking down. Anything you buy now should have enough mileage to be showing the signs if it hasn't been refilled with V. You'd probably want to do a j-mod (http://tccoa.com/articles/tranny/index.html#) while you've got the pan off.

My 93 Mark has averaged 25.2 mpg on this latest tank in mostly 2 lane hwy driving at 60-65 with some around town. It's chipped but only gets me about 1 mpg better. That's pretty typical of it's highway performance, I dont' drive it in stop and go city traffic much but it'll drop the overall into the high teens when I do. I also have a heavy foot... One thing to consider is the Mark is one of the 6% of cars that requires premium gas.... unless you chip it to run on 87. I can say for a fact you'll have a good bit of pinging on 89 since I ran some through it on a trip once.

Mark VIII

Reply #13 – September 15, 2006, 12:49:33 PM

Not a problem i run 91 octane in my cat but thanks for all the advise guys.

Mark VIII

Reply #14 – September 16, 2006, 02:05:47 PM

As long as you stay away from the '93-'95s they are great cars, '97-'98 when they finally worked out all the bugs and fixxed the horrible engine problems that the earlier ones had. I'm still mad at Lincoln for not continuing the Mark series(unless you count the Mark LT)truck