All of the Lincoln Town Cars of this era use a similar design of shift cable, that runs from a lever at the base of the steering column to the neutral safety switch at the side of the transmission case, passing through a couple of brackets & guides along the way.

Since very little of the cable is actually exposed to the elements, it seems unlikely that lubrication is the culprit. If you do want to lubricate it, you will need to force oil/grease between the inner & outer parts. There used to be pressure devices to do this, but to be honest I haven’t seen one for a long time. The problem you are describing is quite possibly due to a totally different reason though. It is very common for the engine grounding to fail and as a result, the shift cable is a nice an easy path for the electrical system to take. This often results in the cable becoming sticky or even solid. If this is the case, it will need to be replaced and the failure of the earth strap investigated and repaired.

We have a problem with our 120 Lincoln Town car 1998 model. The problem has come totally out of the blue. The vehicle will overheat mainly when laden with passengers and going up hill. The temperature gauge shoots up to hot and drops straight away when you switch the heater on to full heat, so in affect you can play with it a little.

We have had a new temperature sender, thermostat, electric fan, radiator cap and the engine management checked. The gearbox has been checked but still no one can shed any light to the matter. Please help!

The answer lies in the fact that the problem is at least (partially) curable by operating the heater. The heater incorporates a small radiator (heater core) into the system, so when the controls are set to full heat, the engine coolant passes through this additional radiator which allows more heat to be removed from it.

Therefore, the most likely cause is a partially blocked or in some other way defective radiator. Although you didn’t mention it, it’s quite feasible that the radiator could have been repaired or re-cored some time in the past. In my experience, cores sourced in the UK simply do not provide sufficient capacity for the requirement of an American vehicle. A limo conversion obviously puts more strain on the system too. The radiator could also have internal corrosion which will cause it to be less effective at dissipating heat. It is essential that a coolant containing a reasonable percentage (30%-50% should be okay) of good quality anti-freeze is used at all times. Replacing with the correct American radiator using the correct coolant will almost certainly cure the problem.

Hi Doc, Hope you could help me with a few problems I am experiencing with a 1999 Lincoln Town Car.

Problem One. When engine gets warmed up the car seems to stutter in low gears or under load, only when ‘D’ selected. If you select 1 or 2 this problem seems to go away. It is fine at speeds above 40 mph, but runs like a bag of nails when at speeds under that.

Problem Two. We are experiencing a battery vampire. After every trip, short or long our battery seems to discharge itself. Not immediately however, but if you leave it 12 hrs or so and try to start it the car will not turn over. A new battery was fitted recently but the problem has not gone away. The alternator is putting out enough charge as this has been checked, there are no lights on the dash to indicate a charging fault, so I suspect something is draining the battery. Could you please help as these faults are not only annoying they have recently become embarrassing.

A utomatic transmissions used in later model vehicles are a lot more complicated than the older ones, which tend to soldier on forever with little attention or problems. Your description of “stuttering” is a little hard to interpret, but I take it you are experiencing some interruption in drive?

Problem One: Since the problem primarily happens once warm, the viscosity of the fluid could be playing a role. The first thing I would do would be to change the filter and re-fill with the correct fluid for the transmission concerned. I doubt whether this will completely cure the problem, but these transmissions are very pernickety when it comes to fluid type. If this only partially clears the problem, chances are you have some internal leakage around the seals. There are proprietary additives available to help transmission sealing, which again may provide some respite, but chances are you will need to have the transmission tested and repaired by a specialist.

Problem Two: Parasitic current drain is also a major problem on the newer cars as so much electrical equipment is now fitted and much of it requires battery backup at all times. You will need to enlist the services of an auto-electrician who will have the sensitive equipment to find out where the drain is occurring.