Differences between Cougar/Thunderbirds and the Marks

[MindyMark]

I'm new to owning a Mark and I am surprised at some of the issues that Mark owners say are typical problems in the Marks. I have owned a couple Cougars (96 and 90) and am pretty familair with their common problems.

Recently a member posted the following:

This will have to be replaced or was replaced already by 10 years or 100k miles
93-98 Mark VIIIs
Alternator
Front Airbags and maybe the compressor
Blend Door (97-98)
Rear neon ballast (97-98)
Steering column if the easy entry wasn't turned off (97-98)
At least 1 HID bulb (97-98)
Warped Rotors
Transmission (93-97)
Entire front suspension.

I'm curious mostly about the transmission and the alternator. I assumed that for the most part they were the same in the Cougar and Thunderbird. In 1996 to 1997 the transmissions were by far the best, typically going to way beyond 100k before any issues.

Also the alternator was an infrequent repair.

Are these parts different then what would have been on a 96 to 97 Cougar or Thunderbird with the 4.6?

 

[whiplash15]

Trannys 98 or newer are ok. These cars use much much more electric power than a bird or cougar either one and can abuse an alternator readily, and they just dont survive much abuse. Birds and cougars dont have blend doors, HID's, Neons, or air ride - all of which are electrical intensive.

 

[driller]

There is quite a bit of interchangeable parts to the MN12 chassis cars and the Mark VIII. On top of that, a few Mark VIII parts are upgrades to the MN12.

 

[maxmk8]

I'm new to owning a Mark and I am surprised at some of the issues that Mark owners say are typical problems in the Marks. I have owned a couple Cougars (96 and 90) and am pretty familair with their common problems.

Recently a member posted the following:



I'm curious mostly about the transmission and the alternator. I assumed that for the most part they were the same in the Cougar and Thunderbird. In 1996 to 1997 the transmissions were by far the best, typically going to way beyond 100k before any issues.

Also the alternator was an infrequent repair.

Are these parts different then what would have been on a 96 to 97 Cougar or Thunderbird with the 4.6?

The valve body was upgraded in 96 and again in 97 but overall it is still a very bad design compared to 98 and so on.

My estimate was an approximation there are plenty of ppl that got 200k miles out of their transmissions. My 93 cougar went 110k miles on the OEM tranny.

My 1996 Mark VIII transmission failed at 70k
A good friend of mines 94 Transmission failed before 100k as well.
California has a warmer climate than most states and heat being the #1 killer combined with the Mercon III recommendation for pre 98 transmissions is what is exaggerating an already bad situation. Mark VIII did NOT come with a cooler the one in line with the radiator is an outrage because all it does is HEAT up fluid.

Also most people don't even know that FORD Auto transmissions need servicing every 30k miles.

Currently I have a 97 T bird with 80k miles on the 4R70W and a 1998 Crown Vic with 160k miles on the 4R70W.

Alternators are a wear item and only cost about $200 and changing them every 10 years or 100k miles only takes 15min so really no big deal.

The alternator failed at 80k or so on my Mark VIII and at 100k on my 93 cougar. The Crown Vic alternator lasted until 130k.
.