Need help

[Easebedo]

Hello, I recently inherited a 98 Lincoln Mark VIII and have had several issues. Love the car and not getting rid of it so I need to get educated and quit throwing parts at it. The issue Im currently dealing with is when Im coming to a stop the car stutters a bit. What I mean by that is it feels as if Im trying to stop a stick shift withoit engaging the clutch. Ive some work to this car in attempt to fix other issues as well as this one. Ive replaced:
Crank and cam position sensor
Fuel filter
IAC
Fuel pressure regulator
PCV
Emission tee
PCM
Fuel pump
And recently transmission filter, which was sitting at the bottom of the pan. Ive also noticed that when shifting the car jumps (for a lack of better words) at times. The codes Im getting is closed IMCR and O2 sensors. Any suggestions?

 

[steve]

Try cleaning your IMCRs to see if that frees them up and replace the O2s, how many miles do you have?

 

[Easebedo]

113,000ish

 

[billcu]

Welcome!

It might be the torque converter not unlocking. An easy test is to take the car up to speed, check the tach, tap the brake, then give it gas again. You should see the tach go higher than before, then drop down again when it locks up.

 

[Easebedo]

Thanks, how do I fix that?

 

[Roadboss]

I suspect that the shutter is a result of lack of maintenance. I know you said you found the trans filter laying on the bottom of the pan, which is troubling, but did you also drain the Torque convertor and use Mercon V fluid (about 14 qts).
Have you taken the car to a chain Auto parts store and had them plug into your OBDll port to see if there are any DTC codes in your computer's memory?

 

[Easebedo]

No, did not drain torque converter and I did go back with mercon v. I did some further research and found that the tcc solenoid could be causing the converter to stick. The only codes that were pulled were the manifold runners stuck closed and o2 sensors.

 

[billcu]

Did you test it to see if the converter unlocks at all when driving?

 

[Easebedo]

No, can't get to it until tomorrow, I'll let you know. Thank you sir.

 

[steve]

At 113k it may be time to replace the O2s. I would address the codes first and go from there.

 

[Lownslowlsc]

If the code is for the passenger side imrc you can try to wiggle it free. Grab the lever that the wire/cable attaches to and move it back and forth until it frees up. I don't know if you can access the D. side imrc lever. I know my fat hands couldn't.

*Do note that the controller box on 97-98 M8 is bolted behind the D. side head, not under the intake like this picture so the cable routing is a little different.

These are the levers, 1 on each side.



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They will open past 3k rpm. They should move freely by hand with the car off. You can also locate them by hand and rev up the motor to check if they're operating correctly.

 

[Easebedo]

I took it out today, tapped and pressed the brake at 65 and 45 mph with no change with the tach. Gonna replace the sensors and the runners this weekend. Would the sensors affect it that much?

 

[Easebedo]

I traced it and it moves freely.

 

[steve]

At lower RPMs the O2 sensors are used to help determine the air/fuel ratio, so they may make a car run rough. Try clearing the IMCR codes first then disconnect the battery and see if the O2 codes come back after a few days of driving.

 

[Easebedo]

Ill try that tomorrow, thank you. Ill let you know.

 

[Easebedo]

It moves freely.

- - - Updated - - -

Should I go back with Motorcraft o2 sensors?

 

[Easebedo]

Cleaned both runners over the weekend. No codes and no leaks but the car is running rough. Any ideas?

 

[steve]

You changed a lot of stuff but I did not see plugs and coils, sometimes the coil boots get a tiny crack in them and will cause a misfire that is more pronounced at low RPM. If it is just a coil boot you can buy just that and get off cheap. Plugs are easy to change, also if you pull the plugs you can inspect them to see if one cylinder may not firing correctly.

How old is the air filter, have you cleaned the mass air flow sensor?

Some other things to look at since you say it is at low RPM, is the idle air control valve, you may be able to try to clean it up a bit.

The O2 codes may come back if there is an issue, they take driing around a few days to trigger.

 

[Easebedo]

Changed the plugs a couple of months ago, cleaned the filter and mass air flow sensor. I'll check the boots and idle air control valve tomorrow. It was idling just fine before I cleaned the runners.