I purchased a 1990 lincoln continental in december 2002, and noticed that driving on the highway, the engine revs very high and the transmission does not engage the overdrive. I also noticed that shifting from reverse to drive or drive to rverse, there is a delay in the transmission engaging the appropriate gear. Before I decided to take my car to a dealer to get the transmission repaired, I checked the fluid to ensure that the level was correct, and to check the color of the transmission fluid. Both were found to be in good order. Then I checked www.alldata.com and found that ford was aware of the transmission problems through a check of the following service bulletins: atratb331; atratb267; 94247; atratb029; and 89225. Because of the service bulletins mentioned above, ford was aware of the problems and failed to take corrective actions. As a consumer, I would like ford to correct the problem with the transmission at no cost to myself. The other problem is the engine cooling fan. On 12 december 2002 while sitting in traffic, I noticed smoke coming from under the hood and smelled wires burning. I pulled over in a parking lot of a shopping center right when the computer signaled that the engine temperature was higher than normal. I turned the engine off and open the hood to look for the burned wired. The electric engine fan had seized up and started to melt the wires. The fuse had failed to blow, and I had to unplug the fan from the wiring harness to keep the wires from burning more.
1990 Lincoln Continental engine problems
40 complaints (25% of all complaints for this car).
- owner complaints
- 40
- of this car's complaints
- 25%
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Engine25
- Engine: gasoline13
- Cooling system3
- Exhaust system: emission control: catalytic convertor2
- Exhaust system: emission control: crankcase (PCV)1
- Engine: gasoline: belts and associated pulleys1
- Cooling system: radiator assembly1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Lincoln Continental engine problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 1990 Lincoln Continental engine
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Engine mount failure
There is no summary currently available
PE92014
What 1990 Lincoln Continental owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
On the internet it stated ford had callbacks for all3.8 engines for headgasket problems but only recalled a few VIN numbers. How could they get away with that? You and I and every mecchanic knows the problem with the 3.8 engine by ford why cant some thing be done. I wasnt told of anything about this. Lucky I was driving not my daughter. She would have diven till it burned the motor up. And the air shocks at $ 4,000 for the 4 of them thats another farce. Cant you make them at least install at cost ? My engine overheated as I was driving on the pa. Turnpike lucky I pulled over and got towed with a $350 bill.
While traveling heater would not work. Also, notice white smoke from tail pipe. Technician stated head gasket needed to be replaced. *ak the blown up gasket caused the engine to faile and the manufacturer is unwilling to issue recall.
Engine was taken in for overheating and failure to cool. Dealer checked out and rleased the car. Immediately after leaving the dealer (within 5 miles) I noticed the engine was heating way above normal. I stopped at a gas station and raised the hood. I noticed there was no coolantin the reservoir. I bought a gallon of antifreeze and poured over half of the gallon into the tank. I continued home about 5 miles and noticed that it was still overheating. I raised the hood and put over a gallon of water into the radiator. The next day my wife and I drove the car to check it out assuming that the ford dealer garage had simply failed to check out coolant and water and it would be okay. The car heat gage would rise and fall depending upon pressure on the engine. We took it back to the garage and left it for moring repair. We got a call that the engine had locked up and the block was cracked. The gaskets had failed and leaked coolant into the engine.
The temperature and system check system on my dashboard gave me no indication that the car was overheating. The mechanic who worked on at the madison tn bp service station said my car said that he was having several lincoln having the same type problem one was in right next to mine at the time it was working acording to his computer my gauges worked they just didnt sense any overheating I have spent two thousand dollars to correct a blown head gasket two fuel injectors and a thermostat waterpump and two spark plugs and two oxygen sensors all due to the car overheating I constantly ran a system check with my on dash system check and had all system normal now due to the car overheating with no notice the gauge on the dash read temperature was in the center not hot nor too cold even with the new parts the car is now hesitating and cutting off the gauges show check engine charge system bad and the car cuts off constantly and the mechanic can't seem to fix it each time it cuts off he keeps finding something else wrong and is associating each with the original problem of the car overheating leading me to believe that there is a major cooling system problem also it has a new radiator so it seems that the problem is due to the original manufacturers design for the cooling system not to mention the minor braking and steeering problems I seem to have here lately help please I am at the end of my rope here. Thanks.
When driving on a busy highway consumer noticed steam coming from the engine compartment. Managed to get off to the side of the road, and contacted the dealer. Dealer determined the cause to be a blown engine head gasket. Please provide any further details. 8ak
The ford 3.8l v6 has known high incidence of premature failure with this component -- the head gasket. My expenses to repair this component were 1371.77 since the car was out of warranty for 9000 miles at the time of the incident. They have extended warranty coverage and/or sales incentives to 1994/1995 owners, but will not extend the same consideration or compensation to owners of older vehicles experiencing the same condition. I am seeking the same inclusion of my model year under the same settlement. I do not believe that ford denies the existence of the problem, but rather feels that the purpose of this cmpensation is to influence future purchases, and that consideration made on any vehicle purchased before 1994 no longer represents a significant owner retension / marketing opportunity.
Engine mounts have been a problem in this vehicle since it was new. They were replaced twice under warranty and then in1 995 again under the recall 92m77, the federal safety agency# sbo30958. It seems as if the ford motor company decided to keep replacing the sympton(broken mounts) until all the warranties ran out rather than fix the initial cause of the problem.
Engine fire. Mjs
Passenger side seat belt failed prior to recall notice causing passenger to hit head on windhield when involved in an accident. Nlm
Questions about the 1990 Lincoln Continental engine
Does the 1990 Lincoln Continental have engine problems?
Owners have filed 40 complaints about the engine of the 1990 Lincoln Continental, 25% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 1990 Lincoln Continental engine problems start?
Not enough complaints include the mileage to tell.
Was there a recall on the 1990 Lincoln Continental engine?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Lincoln Continental have bad engine?
The Lincoln Continental model years with the most engine complaints are 1994 (87 complaints), 1993 (72 complaints) and 1991 (55 complaints).
Other 1990 Lincoln Continental problems
Suspension 28Seat belts 25Steering 20Electrical 18Acceleration 14Body 14Transmission 12Airbags 10Visibility 9Brakes 8Fuel system 5Lights 2Locks 1Tires 1
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