7th May 2003, 09:40
I also experienced a cracked intake manifold on May 1, 2003. The vehicle is a 1996 Lincoln Town Car with 57078 miles on it. The vehicle was purchased new from the dealer that has been doing all the service on it since the purchase in September 1996. They never mentioned or cautioned about there being this sort of problem with the vehicle. I had to have the vehicle towed to the dealer and rent a vehicle for the weekend while they repaired the Lincoln. The total cost from the dealer was $1099.49 (includes the towing) and the rental car was $180.75 for 4 days of use. There is a Class Action Complaint in the Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama. There is also another firm that is looking into this and they are Levy, Ram & Olson. Mike Ram can be contacted at (415) 433-4949, or mfr@Irolaw.com. I hope we all get some satisfaction from Ford on this issue. I have yet to meet with my dealer, but will post again with those results.
14th Jul 2003, 06:44
I have a 1996 Lincoln Town Car and the plastic intake manifold failed last week on my way to work. I drive 100 miles to Houston daily to work and was left stranded by the failure. I left the car at a mechanic shop and called for a ride to work, thinking I had a water leak. The mechanic called me 30 minutes later and informed me I had a cracked intake manifold and would cost me $930,00 to replace it. I have had many mechanical problems with this car, but I would never suspect that a Lincoln had a plastic intake manifold. Since replacing the manifold, I have had to return the car to the shop two more times to fix things that were a result of the manifold failure.
9th Nov 2003, 20:34
I have a 97 Town Car and my intake manifold cracked as well. Although, having owned several Town Cars I have learned to fix them myself. I was able to buy a new intake manifold kit for $284.72 (List price is $404.12). It took me 2-3 hours to replace the manifold. The dealer quoted me $975 to do the job, and get this, BP Pro-care wanted $1,180. If you find yourself in a jam and have some mechanical skills all you need is a table to organize your parts, a quick disconnect fuel/ac tool ($4.99 at auto zone), a 10mm and 5/16in sockets and ratchet wrench with extension bars and swivel joint, a 3/4in wrench for the sensors, and a 1/2in drive serpentine belt tool or long 1/2 drive ratchet to remove the belt. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in tackling this job yourself. My knowledge is free. jack10@uakron.edu 440-725-2604. Doing this yourself is an easy way to save at least $500. I can also buy the part for you at a discounted price.
21st Apr 2004, 16:33
April 16, 2004 we were approximately 270 miles from home traveling on a toll road. I accelerated to pass a truck and the plastic intake manifold on our 1997 Lincoln Town Car cracked. Mileage on the vehicle was 100,651. The repair bill was $1,249.44 including $60.23 for towing. The cost to rent a car for three days was $279.84 This vehicle had a retail price of over $45,000 when new. It was the first time we knew that the car had a plastic intake manifold.
30th Sep 2004, 10:51
Add one more 1997 Towncar to the list of the cracked manifold ~$1000 repair list. Less than 67,000 miles on a clean Signature. Managed to drive it to the next exit on I-95, and then with 2 gallons of spring water added, drove it to a repair shop. The guy, without looking very closely, said it could be a cracked intake manifold... Ford/Lincoln/Mercury are having a lot of problems with them. So what year Lincolns are affected? Has the manufacturer made a change back to metal. I understand that the kit the manufacturer supplies to its dealers has an aluminum replacement part.
14th Apr 2005, 21:47
I had a manifold on my '96 Mercury Grand Marquis on the so cal 405 freeway - After much expense, towing and such - my investigation with repair shops, technicians, and the so cal ford arbitrator yielded this: On all ford products with this same manifold part number - the part was recalled (especially on police cars), but if it was installed on a Mercury or Lincoln, the same part (number and all) was not recalled. Ater fighting this with ford and their local dealership for over 40 days, I finally had my own mechanic repair the car at an expense of over $800.00. I am still suffering throat damage from the smoke that occurred and still have occasional nightmares over this incident.
MJ.
6th Aug 2005, 19:32
My 1997 intake too. Join the intake club. Ford is not going to do anything. They only recall things which have killed people, or something that is about 25 years old. When they recall something that's that old how many people respond? 3 or 4 they are in it for the money. Ford is not worried, as long as they make a car, any car people are going to buy them. People bought Nissans. Don't they also make noodle soup? People also bought Diahatsus. Don't they also make air conditioners and VCRs.
31st May 2006, 20:01
Ah, there is a God, but I think we missed out.
I also own a 1997 TC, and had the same problem with the same $1,000 cost. But I missed returning the completed form, along with the invoice I was holding for the work done. This information had to be returned to a Lincoln dealer during the 90 days following the proposed settlement. Sorry.
7th Aug 2006, 02:08
What if you purchased a 1997 Lincoln Town Car after the class action settlement and you haven't had an intake manifold problem yet? I was unaware of the problems people were having with manifold cracks, nor was I informed about the lawsuit and settlement when I bought the car at the Lincoln dealership on 6-30-06. Will the dealership cover the cost if my manifold cracks in the future? The car currently has 145K miles. I would have thought twice before buying the car if I knew about the problems other people were having with their intake manifolds.
21st Mar 2008, 23:19
All I know is this little old lady had a 97 TC with 60ooo with the crack manifold and she bought it for 42,000 new & sold it to me for 2500...
20th Oct 2010, 23:16
I'm writing this on October 20, 2010. I hadn't heard about a class action settlement until after I had my cracked intake manifold replaced by a local mechanic. My 1996 Lincoln TC has slightly over 133,000 miles on it. If anyone knows if I'm eligible to file a claim, please contact me on this website. I paid $670, including tax, to the mechanic, although he included $80 for 8 new spark plugs. I had to rent a car for $109 for two days, including the renter's insurance.
29th Jan 2003, 13:26
I am also a victim of the plastic intake manifold. I bought my 1996 Lincoln Towncar from a Lincoln Mercury dealer used in 2001. The intake manifold cracked with 108K miles on the motor. My car was originally bought new and titled as a commercial vehicle. I still was not able to get Ford to pay for the repair. This in spite of the fact that it is an obvious design flaw and my vehicle supposedly falling under Technical Service Bulletin Number 01M02. I have always wanted a Lincoln and I finally got one, but after realizing that Lincoln does not stand behind their product I will be admiring from a distance from now on. This is my first and last Ford.