2005 Lincoln Towncar

[poppy42]

I like those Towncar's. My dad had several of them. I was always a GM guy till Mercury came out with the Marauder and I had to have one. Wish I still had it. Hope they get it fixed for you. You can't find anything with that much room and as nice a ride in the current lineup. Everything has gone to the Euro feel with the suspension, which means stiff for some of us.

I owned a 69 marauder mx100 that was used on the ice Capades! For a big full size car, that sucker was fast! Really fast! Got lots of tickets to prove it lol

[Battis]

Got a call from the dealer this morning. Your Towncar is all set. They closed at 4PM and I knew I wouldn't make it by then so I paid over the phone. They left the key under the mat and locked the car.
I got a ride and arrived at 4:15PM. Opened the car, found the key, put it in the ignition, turned it... nothing but a few clicks. The battery was dead. How did they not know that when they put it in the lot?
Of course we didn't have jumper cables. Luckily, the sales people were still there and a salesmen jumped it. Drove it home, let it run for 15 or so minutes, shut it off, tried starting it..nothing.
Now I gotta wait until Monday. How did they not know? What did they do to kill the battery?
When it was running, it ran better than ever.

[nseries]

Problem is, it does not have either of those items. You are stuck in the 80s.

Yeah, I thought about that after I posted it. I forget what year my Continental was with a 3.8L. '95 I think. It was a great 10 year old $500 car except for the air ride suspension.

[TyGuy]

Got a call from the dealer this morning. Your Towncar is all set. They closed at 4PM and I knew I wouldn't make it by then so I paid over the phone. They left the key under the mat and locked the car.
I got a ride and arrived at 4:15PM. Opened the car, found the key, put it in the ignition, turned it... nothing but a few clicks. The battery was dead. How did they not know that when they put it in the lot?
Of course we didn't have jumper cables. Luckily, the sales people were still there and a salesmen jumped it. Drove it home, let it run for 15 or so minutes, shut it off, tried starting it..nothing.
Now I gotta wait until Monday. How did they not know? What did they do to kill the battery?
When it was running, it ran better than ever.

Possibly left the battery cable(s) loose? I’ve seen it more than once. No juice until you attach a jump to the cables but that’s usually pretty obvious when you attach the clamps.

[varmintpopper]

A possibility : Fuel filter is normally mounted on the car frame somewhere, Condensation/water in Your gas can freeze and plug the filter, thus , starving the engine for fuel.


Good Shooting

Lindy

[MaryB]

One thing to watch for if you have the 5.4l engine is wetness or what looks like it has been wet on he coolant crossover tube on the passenger front cylinder(#1). Staining on the head is a sign the intake is cracked(stupid plastic intake) where the coolant crossover tube O ring sits. It can seep out the front but it can also run into #1 cylinder and do nasty things to the engine. Same if there is a really faint smell of antifreeze on starting. It can sit there and just barely seep then the lip the O ring sits in cracks all the way and falls off... KNOWN issue with those engines, seems to happen between 130k and 150k miles...

[Nobade]

One thing to watch for if you have the 5.4l engine is wetness or what looks like it has been wet on he coolant crossover tube on the passenger front cylinder(#1). Staining on the head is a sign the intake is cracked(stupid plastic intake) where the coolant crossover tube O ring sits. It can seep out the front but it can also run into #1 cylinder and do nasty things to the engine. Same if there is a really faint smell of antifreeze on starting. It can sit there and just barely seep then the lip the O ring sits in cracks all the way and falls off... KNOWN issue with those engines, seems to happen between 130k and 150k miles...

Not just the 5.4, the 4.6 in that car is subject to that as well. Luckily it is new enough to probably have the improved intake.

[Battis]

I brought the battery to the dealer. They tested it - it was toast. Very dead. I bought a new battery, brought it home, put it in, turned the ignition - nothing. First thing this morning I tried it again - started like a brand new car.
Starter maybe? Or is it haunted?

[brass410]

Its a sometimes car!! sometimes it does sometime does not

[MaryB]

Not just the 5.4, the 4.6 in that car is subject to that as well. Luckily it is new enough to probably have the improved intake.

that "improved" intake was just as subject to cracks... who the heck puts plastic on aluminum and expects it to live with 2 wildly different expansion ratios when hot...

[redneck1]

I'd be inclined to put new battery cables on it just for peace of mind .
They don't last forever ...

[Finster101]

that "improved" intake was just as subject to cracks... who the heck puts plastic on aluminum and expects it to live with 2 wildly different expansion ratios when hot...

No it wasn't. The updated design had an aluminum coolant cross over. I have done many of them and never replace one with the metal cross over.

[MaryB]

No it wasn't. The updated design had an aluminum coolant cross over. I have done many of them and never replace one with the metal cross over.

My 2001 had the aluminum crossover and it ate #1 cylinder... the aluminum corossover ona plastic intake IS the problem. Different expansion rates...

[myg30]

My 96 was all plastic and cracked. The replacement was the aluminum/plastic. Never leaked while I had it but from this post I guess it wasn’t the best fix either.
I was told the poor engineering design by ford using one of the alternator mounting bolts through the intake was the real issue because of flex and stress. I also agree with Mary expansion rates of both materials were not the best choice, but probably the least expensive band aid.

To the OP, hows that baby running now ? Starting up ok ?

[Battis]

Well, I put the new battery in it and it wouldn't start. Called for a tow, the driver arrived, and it started. I had it towed anyways to my local mechanic (not back to the dealer) and he kept it for a day. He called and said he started it 20 times during the day, no problems. I drove it home and it's been fine since. I'm sure whatever it was will be back (starter, cables, parniffalin pin?). But, for now, it's good to go. It runs like a new car.