Lincoln Mark VIII Doesn't Have Struts!!!
Hello all! I finally got hold of a Ford service manual and scanned a page from that manual that clearly states that the Lincoln Mark VIII does not have McPherson Struts in the front suspension. According to Ford Motor Company, the folks who designed and engineered the car, the Mark VIII has an "Air Spring & Shock Assembly" up front. I am completely baffled at the persistence with which people use the term "strut" to incorrectly describe the Mark VIII's front air shocks. There are many different types of suspension designs. In my experience during my short-lived career as a mechanic, I worked on just about every type of suspension known to man. Everything from the simplest straight axle with transverse leaf spring to struts, to control arms, to DeDion axles, to complicated multilink setups. Each design is different. They may share components, but the overall design varies. In the case of struts vs. control arms, there are several distinct differences between the types. In a strut design, there is no upper control arm. The strut is bolted directly to the spindle and acts as a damper, steering kingpin, and upper suspension locating link. Because the strut is bolted to the spindle, it turns with the steering, requiring a bearing cap on top of the spring so it doesn't scrape against the strut tower. In a UCA/LCA design, there is an upper control arm and the shock bolts to either the upper or lower control arm. In this design, the shock acts only as a damper, nothing else. There is a major difference between strut and control arm suspension designs. The Mark VIII does not have a strut-type suspension by any stretch of the imagination. That fact is clearly visible when the Mark's suspension is compared to more plebian strut designs. There's absolutely no ambiguity or vagueness. The differences are clearly visible to anyone with eyes. It can be (and has been) easily proven that Mark VIII's don't have McPherson struts, yet people still call them struts. It makes absolutely no sense at all. The two types of suspensions are so distinctly different, I don't understand why it's even an issue. And what's interesting to me is that any time a thread on this site starts talking about the differences between struts and control arms, when I clearly demonstrate the differences and prove beyond a shadow of doubt that the Mark VIII doesn't have struts, all activity on the thread just stops. I think the pro-strut folks are in denial. Oh well. They just can't admit that they're wrong I guess.
1998 Lincoln Mark VIII LSC Start Up & Rev With Exhaust View - 103K
1998 Lincoln Mark VIII LSC
This has a Intech 4.6L 32 Valve DOHC V8 making 290 HP while paired to a 4 Speed Auto. It's essentially a Cobra V8 & also the same engine from my 2002 Continental only in my car it's detuned & in FWD.
This model began in 1993 until the Final year made in 1998. The Mark is known to be the first Production Vehicle to offer HID ( High Intensity Discharge ) Headlamps.
The Marks biggest issue was with the 4 wheel Air Ride suspension which was prone to early failure & it is a costly repair. Many owners resorted to Coil Spring conversion but it really killed the Marks Smooth ride.
2006 GTO 1995 Lincoln Mark VIII
Going through tunnel at WOT 2006 GTO with catted Kooks LT's, Corsa Sport. Lincoln Mark VIII Kooks LT's Flowmasters
1995 Lincoln Mark VIII
Stinkin Lincoln, air suspension on 18's. Kind of boring to watch. Put a new comp in it.
lincoln mark VIII's
a bunch of mark VIII's i have ripped apart and fixed and owned
Allroad air suspension Height Adjustment
After replacement of valve block and compressor unit height adjustment is again as it should be.
Happy there was no air spring leak ...
1998 Lincoln Mark VIII
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1995 Lincoln Mark VIII Start Up, Exhaust, and In Depth Tour w/ Bass Demo
I FINALLY got a chance to find a Mark VIII, you just hardly see them anymore, on of my personal favorite cars from Lincoln back in the day. In this video I give a full in depth tour of a 1995 Mark VIII with custom Exhaust, sound system, and lowering kit. I take viewers on a close look through the interior and exterior of this car while showing details, over viewing of features, and noting unique styling cues to the vehicle itself. I also show the engine and the details of it, start it up and see how it sounds under acceleration. A thorough tour/review of this car designed to give others a greater overall appreciation of the vehicle.
Lincoln Suspension Parts - Fix Your Air Suspension Problems
SuncoreIndustries.com The Lincoln air suspension systems are the softest on the road. That comes at a price. When the Lincoln struts or the Lincoln air springs go out. The car is nearly impossible to drive. Suncore provides all the solutions for your air suspension repair. Whether you maintain the air suspension. Or, if you convert to one of our Lincoln conversion kits. Your satisfaction is our guarantee!
1999 Lincoln Navigator Rear Suspension Problem
Right Rear Suspension Air Bag is leaking air www.blvdautorepair.com
Questions given to us about this youtube video:
1) Can we just install regular rear suspension springs instead?
The problem with putting springs versus bags, is that if you load the back of the SUV with very heavy stuff, the springs will not compensate for the additional heavy load whereas the OEM air bags do. The SUV air suspension bag was designed for added weight load especially with towing in mind, and you are in a sense reengineering something that was never intended to happen because the load characteristics of springs versus bags is simply not the same when the SUV is put under very weight conditions. If it were the same the SUV would have come with regular rear suspension springs to begin with.
What will happen with rear suspension springs, is that, the back end of the car will drop (almost to the floor) when you tow something heavy, or when you put people in the SUV and load it to full capacity. The SUV will look like a lowrider because the rear suspension springs installed are not designed for load on this vehicle.
The ride of the vehicle will be comprimised and it wont be safe to drive at full capacity load or towing conditions.
