1993 Lincoln Mark Viii

BOTH CYLINDER HEADS FAILED WITHIN ABOUT 5,000 MILES OF EACH OTHER. THE FAILURE IS SPARK PLUGS BLOWING OUT OF THE CYLINDER HEAD, TAKING THE THREADS WITH THEM. FOMOCO RECOMMENDS SPARK PLUGS BE CHANGED AT 100,000 INTERVALS. HERE IS THE PROBLEM: MECHANICS UNDERSTAND THAT AN ALUMINUM CYLINDER HEAD AND STEEL SPARK PLUGS CAUSE A DISPARITY. THE CONSTANT HEATING AND COOLING OF THE CYLINDER HEADS OVER 100,000 MILES CAUSES THE STEEL SPARK PLUGS TO PARTIALLY BOND TO THE ALUMINUM THREADS IN THE HEAD. WHEN THE OLD PLUGS ARE REMOVED, THEY EXTRACT A PART OF THE CYLINDER HEAD THREADS AT THAT TIME. NEW PLUGS ARE THUS INSTALLED ONTO WEAKENED THREADS. EVENTUALLY, THE THREADS GIVE WAY AND THE PLUGS EXPLODE OUT OF THE HEAD. IN MY CASE, THIS OCCURRED ABOUT 25,000 MILES AFTER THE PLUGS WERE CHANGED. I DON'T FEEL OBLIGATED TO FUND REPAIRS TO A DESIGN DEFECT IN THIS ENGINE. THIS ENGINE SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAD EITHER HEAD FAIL, MUCH LESS BOTH OF THEM. TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY, THE SECOND HEAD BLEW AT THE NORTH CAROLINA-VIRGINIA BORDER ON INTERSTATE 85 (VIRGINIA WELCOME CENTER). SINCE A MARK VIII CAN ONLY BE WORKED UPON BY A LINCOLN DEALER, I HAD TO PAY A 135 MILE WRECKER BILL TO TRANSPORT THE CAR TO THE NEAREST LINCOLN DEALER IN PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA. *AK

THE FIRST INCIDENT HAPPENED WHILE I WAS ON THE ON-RAMP TO THE MASS. TURNPIKE AT 11:00 P.M. I WAS DRIVING APPROX. 35 MPH AND MY HEADLIGHTS SHUT OFF AS WELL AS THE DASHBOARD LIGHTING. I IMMEDIATELY HIT MY BRAKES SO THAT THE CARS BEHIND ME WERE AWARE OF MY EXISTENCE. IT SEEMED LIKE THEY WERE OFF FOREVER, IN REALITY IT WAS PROBABLY ABOUT 20 SECONDS. IT PROCEEDED TO HAPPEN AS I DROVE THE SPEED LIMIT ON THE PIKE, AND MANY TIMES THEREAFTER. IT CAME TO THE POINT THAT I WOULD NOT DRIVE AT NIGHT UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. I PROCEEDED TO LOOK INTO VEHICLE RECALL INFORMATION, BECAUSE TO ME THIS IS DEFINATE RECALL STUFF, THIS IS NOT NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR OF AN AUTOMOBILE. I WAS NOT SURPRISED TO SEE IN THE CONSUMER GUIDE, THAT IT WAS IN FACT A RECALL ON 1993, LINCOLN MARK VIII VEHICLES. HOWEVER, WHAT I WAS SURPRISED ABOUT WAS THE TREATMENT I RECEIVED FROM LINCOLN. I GAVE THEM THE INFORMATION, AS WELL AS THE RECALL #98V009000, THEY TOLD ME THAT RECALLS ARE VEHICLE SPECIFIC AND THAT THEY WOULD NEED MY VIN . *AFTER PROVIDING THEM WITH THIS INFORMATION, I WAS TOLD THAT THE HEADLAMP RECALL DID NOT PERTAIN TO MY CAR. WELL, OBVIOUSLY THERE HAS BEEN SOME KIND OF A MISTAKE!?!????? I AM NOT UNDERSTANDING THE LOGIC OR REASONING IN THIS, LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT, O.K.: THERE IS A RECALL FOR HEADLAMP FAILURE ON 1993, LINCOLN MARK VIII'S, I OWN A 1993, LINCOLN MARK VIII, I AM HAVING HEADLIGHT FAILURE, BUT MY VEHICLE IS NOT LISTED AS PART OF THE RECALL??????? WELL THEN SHOULDN'T IT BE? WHAT IS THE EXPLANATION THEN FOR THE PROBLEM AND WHY DOES LINCOLN FAIL TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND REINBURSE ME. MY LIFE WAS IN DANGER UNTIL I COULD GET THE FUNDS TO REPAIR THIS PROBLEM, AND LINCOLN JUST SIMPLY KEEPS SAYING" I AM SORRY MAM, THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO, YOUR CAR IS NOT PART OF THE RECALL" I ASK , " WELL THERE IS DEFINATELY AN ERROR. AND WHAT CAN I DO NOW?" THEY GAVE ME A COUPLE OF TOLL FREE NUMBERS TO CALL, BUT NO-ONE IS BEING HELPFUL, AND NO-ONE CAN JLOGICALLY ANSWER MY QUESTION.