2003 Lincoln Town Car - Signature Series (TecNickal)

[TecNickal]

I like that cooler - fancy!

Turns out the Town Car already has a factory trans cooler. No radiator cooler is done.

Replaced the Reverse/Park Assist Module behind the bumper. Tested it before everything bolted back together, worked great. Put everything back together, back to "Park Assist Disabled". ARG. More diagnosis needed.

Next, went to do a front end check to find the source of the knocking noise. Tie rods are good and tight. Endlinks are good. Lower ball joints look great. Upper ball joints…boots are cracked, grease is gone. And the play is there in them, so I need either 2 ball joints, or 2 upper control arms with the ball joints already in them. Not sure what people do around here, but I know to look to Moog for replacement parts. Anyone ever pressed in their own upper ball joint?

[TecNickal]

So there is apparently some kind of PAM (Park Assist Module) programming procedure. So I followed it last night:
3. Reprogram the PAM using the following procedure:

a. Start vehicle and place transmission gear selector into Reverse (R), wait a minimum of 10 seconds.

b. Shift the gear selector into Drive (D), drive the vehicle ABOVE 25 MPH (40 Km/h) for a minimum of 15 seconds.

c. Stop the vehicle and cycle the key off then back on.

d. Repeat Steps a, b and c, three (3) more times for a total of four (4) times.

And it worked every time.

Everyday I will go outside and will put car in R with Key On Engine Off and see if I get the Disabled message, or it works, or what behavior i receive. If it does the same thing as before, I am tempted to suspect that a sensor has puked on the bumper or I have a wiring issue.

I ordered Moog ProblemSolver upper control arms with integrated new ball joint. Will try to install those on Friday before I go up to Charlotte on Saturday for the Mustang 50th Anniversary event at Lowes Motor Speedway.

[Piece-it pete]

New UCAs are the way to go! I bought just the ball joints first but after seeing how ugly the old ones looked I said heck on it and bought the arms, and I'm glad I did.

Pete

[TecNickal]

The Park Assist won't work if the car's body is warm/hot. If it sits in the shade w/o sun, it works. Something is wrong still..wonder if it's a sensor?

And I'll pass on pressing in new ball joints into the factory TRW arms. No thanks. I'll just use the arms already done up. Just have to remember to install the washers if your car is built before November 2003 (like mine, April 2002). Installed the new UCAs from Moog ProblemSolver this weekend. There's a cheaters way to do the job where you can leave the brake and sway bar link still attached. Which I did

Greased joint. Clunk is GONE up front. So the ball joint was at fault, even with the split boots. Also tossed a can of R134a in since air wasn't really cold. Now it is.

Would like to get an aux input and tint the windows as my next two modifications.

Otherwise...Next up is…well just general fluid maintenance. Oil, trans, brake, power steering and coolant.

This car is going to Detroit, Toronto and Chicago in a few weeks, so it should be ready to go

[TecNickal]

Had car professionally detailed by a good friend of mine:

https://www.facebook.com/OptiCoatPROColumbiaSC/posts/223844017810794

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=690524571007462&id=137430462983545

I'll take some pics when I get to my friends house in Michigan this weekend. The colors look off in the pictures he took in the sun.

As you can also see, the windows have been tinted. 20%. Legal limit is 27% in SC. I'll just drive normally.

What's left...transmission flush, brake fluid flush, power steering flush, coolant flush. Fix the park assist. Fix the squeak in the driver seat. Drive, maintain and enjoy. I will not be driving this vehicle for work daily, as my commute is only 1.5 miles.

[sxcpotatoes]

1.5 miles isn't long enough to even warm up the car. Ever thought of biking it?

Sent from my XT557 using Tapatalk 2

[TecNickal]

Not on the roads I'd have to use. No shoulder on road, too fast, no sidewalk, not safe at all. Country living...

[red91sit]

Lovely ride! Crazy low miles too, enjoy!

[TecNickal]

Installed the tune from Lonnie at BOC. I Like it

Town Car just completed a trip from Columbia SC to Auburn Hills MI, then from there went to Toronto, back to Auburn Hills. Did a number of miles in and around detroit. Then drove to Chicago from there. Then drove from Chicago to Columbia. It did GREAT.

Unfortunately I hit a HUGE pothole on the road that goes by the GM Lake Orion Facility. Bent two wheels !!! And got a large bubble in a tire, so had to source some rims and a tire to get me home. Oh well.

[TecNickal]

After replacing the Park Assist Computer on the shelf not resolving the issue (returned that thing to Ford!), I replaced the Park Assist Module behind the bumper with a new one from Ford.

Didn't even have to program it for the car. Park Assist works beautifully now in the hot and the cold, in the humid, the arid and the wet. $250 from Tasca

Next up...fix the fault from C1123 and U1262 causing the car to go ding ding ding everytime I start it up.

[SVT98t]

Good deal!

What's the next planned mod?


-ryan s.

[TecNickal]

Hmm...apply touch up paint to the chipped paint on the door edges, gas cap filler door (from people using a key to pry it open not fixing the release mechanism). Will install an HVAC box seal to replace the foam one as preventive maintenance - don't want interior leaks! Need to have the two bent rims unbent. Fix the squeak in the driver seat back every time you lean into the seat. Also need to install some seat track covers that are missing on the car.

Modification - If there's someway to improve the intake/throttle body size to make it larger, I'd like to look into that if it helps the car out.

[SVT98t]

Speaking of that HVAC foam, I had a small piece come flying out of the left passenger vent last week when I turned the air on.
There are a few ways to mod the intakes.
The cheap way is finding a 99-03 E-150. They have 69.7mm tb's on them. As do Lincoln Aviators.
Or but an aftermarket unit from any of the Mustang stores.
Intakes are limited to K&N, police zip tube with 80mm MAF(requires tune), ADTR makes one, or cobbling together your own eBay special.


-ryan s.

[TecNickal]

Nothing to report much on the Town Car. I replaced the radio because Am/FM stopped working. something internally quit. Paid $50 for a used 03 Alpine radio to a guy parting a car out north of me. Works beautifully. Amp doesn't randomly cut out anymore either - but the buttons are definitely feel worn. not as tight but that's fine.

No other issues. It did a 19 hour in one go round trip drive back to Sarasota a few weeks back without a hickup. Smooooth car. I love it. Just crossed 59K miles.

Unf. had my first car accident a few weeks ago. I rear ended someone with a hitch at very low speed and popped a hole in the bumper cover where I used to have a front plate bracket. No airbags deployed. The other guy was fine. Now I have a plate bracket back on and no one would ever know there's a hole in it..

[TecNickal]

Well another checkpoint, i'm at 71K miles. I noted I had water in the car :-(

Found TWO water leaks. One was air intake ducting box from inside the car that meets the body panel. With cowling removed, it was running between the intake and body. So removed the foam gasket and installed a rubber seal between body and duct. Also put one on the bottom of the lower cowling.

Then I found more water driver side. The hood release cable is routed incorrectly and the grommet it rides through wasn't even pushed through the firewall!!! No wonder water was pouring in. So now it's nice and dry

Factory HIDs I installed are NICE. Love them. I'll be installing a new bumper cover with fog lights soon.

I'll flush the coolant out soon and change the PS fluid as well.