Lincoln Mark VII Air Suspension - The Complete Repair Guide

Matthew shows you how to replace the air springs and rear shock absorbers in a 1990 Lincoln Mark VII. Topics discussed include an overview of the car, removal of the air bags and rear shocks, reconditioning air solenoids, preparing new air springs, installation of new air springs and shocks, and pre-filling new or empty air bags.
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[@ef9087]

More mkvii content for sure!! Keep doing what you're doing, we appreciate it!

[@tecmotiondyno]

You are welcome. Shorter term I don't think the Mark VII stuff is a popular as the Fox Mustang stuff, but there are many fewer good sources out there and I drive one of these cars so I will put a little bit out on them from time to time. I have a short series coming up with respect to Mark VII right now, so stay tuned!

[@paralyzes]

This presentation is invaluable. I’m in the process of finalizing a purchase of a 1991 LSC with 27,000 miles. Always knew the air suspension could be problematic if not maintained properly, but your tutorial alleviates any apprehensions. I too am a purist, leaving it original and putting in the extra effort keeping it that way. A big thank you!

[@tecmotiondyno]

That's a really low miler. Good luck with it, and thanks for watching.

[@juanm.ramirez7878]

Beautiful car..working on mine..blown front air spring...very good video..

[@tecmotiondyno]

The air suspension is traditionally one of the weakest points of these cars, but there are still parts out there. If you work carefully and pay attention, the air spring replacement isn’t all that complicated. Good luck with it.

[@Justin-ex7gg]

Great vid, thank you!

[@tecmotiondyno]

Thanks for watching!

[@ef9087]

Great video boss!! Very informative!!

[@tecmotiondyno]

Thanks for watching!

[@rhealbrisson1773]

Thanks for the video on the mk VII, my mom owns one and I have a foxbody myself, but the slight differences do throw me off, more videos would be greatly appreciated.

[@tecmotiondyno]

You are welcome. I have a little series of technical videos currently filmed and ready to edit on this car, so stay tuned for a little more.

[@ThePSO51]

Great video!! I love your content and feel this really helps the community so Thank You!! I have replaced all of mine and the pump and dryer already but I think for preventative I should do the front soon. I have to say I am blessed with this Mark (thus far) my car sits for 5 months of the year here in Canada and it only goes down 1 inche max after sitting for 3 months as I do a mid winter check in (pump works for less then 10seconds). Some info for others incase they want to bump up the handling of the Mark with parts. My set up is thicker rear sway bar (Adcco Part Number: K1-677-0U-556), Front swaybar from a T-bird (much thicker), KYB Gas a just rear and KYB strut in the front. With this combo you still have comfort but it is much much better on the nice windy roads. Note all busing are poly urathane. One piece of advice I would also give is spring for the new solidoind when buying and changing the air spring, that way all is new..

[@tecmotiondyno]

Some of the replacement solenoids are junky, so while I would normally agree with you I am a little on the fence as to whether it’s the right move. I did replace solenoids on this car a few years ago when I bought it and went through it all, so I reused them this time. Thanks for your other feedback too. What part of Canada are you in?

[@ThePSO51]

@@tecmotiondyno oh great to know thanks for the info on that!! I am from Toronto Ontario here in Canada I have some clips of my Mark on the chanel..

[@TheBadasspony]

These were beautiful cars

[@tecmotiondyno]

I sure like mine and with the suspension and heater core fixes this fall, hopefully it is set up to give me a lot more service. Thanks for watching!

[@DudesWithWrenches]

Ok im a subscriber great video

[@tecmotiondyno]

Welcome aboard!

[@mistersecret88]

My sister had that exact car. I was eyeballing it when she was done with it but somebody hit and totalled it. STILL MAD.

[@tecmotiondyno]

Sorry to hear that. I can say that after cruising with the 93 hatch a little this year while my Mark was laid up with a heater core failure (which is a way worse fix than the same job in the Mustang), I gained a renewed appreciation of how great the Mark VII is as a nostalgia cruiser. I have been through the car this fall and fixed the outstanding maintenance items that I know about, including this aging suspension, and can't wait for Spring to start driving it again!

[@92vanguard]

How great that when you were showing us what you did to ground the system in the trunk you weren't pointing the camera at what you did. So I have no idea what happened.

[@tecmotiondyno]

Try the 6:30 mark where the grounding of the system is clearly shown and explained.

[@NGG1983]

Super cool car, I didn't even know these were a Fox platform car untill your videos on it. I always liked the more rare Fox platform vehicles like the Capri, or the LTD LX, and this one to the list. Does it ride signifigantly better with the air suspention than other Fox cars? Love to see a driving video in it some time.

[@tecmotiondyno]

Yeah, the air suspension gives a very smooth ride, and it adjusts constantly based on ride height sensor feedback, so if you load up the trunk, it automatically compensates. Like every air ride vehicle though, they have problems with the air suspension, and guys convert them to springs. The purists don't like the spring conversions, and frankly it does take away from the more luxurious nature of the car. In years gone by lots of guys did a five lug conversion with the rotors off the Mark VII as they are direct fit on the Foxbody Mustang. As a nostalgia cruiser, I think these cars are really the ultimate Foxbody, but parts are harder to come by so you have to consider that before jumping in on one. A driving video will have to wait for spring now I think, but I will put it on the list!

[@Kevin-so9lx]

Hi Matthew, this is an excellent video. I am pulling my Mark VII LSC out of storage and planning to rebuild the entire suspension. My first thought was to install Arnott's C2224 coil conversion kit, but that is on back order with no ETA. Arnott discontinued the front air springs, and only their rear air springs are available. In your video, you mentioned Dorman, I also see a few other brands on eBay; Suncore, Westar and some other brands I never heard of. Do you have experience installing those other brands of air springs? Thank you

[@tecmotiondyno]

I ordered the Cardone front springs from Rockauto. Honestly, I don’t remember what it said on the box when I got them, but they are depicted in this video. They went in mostly ok, and have been holding up over the winter. The retainer tab on the bottom was not long enough and I had to grind a little of the lip off the bottom of the control arms to get the clips to seat. I hear guys say the non arnott springs don’t last, but for sure if you don’t do a preinflation like I show here you will damage them so some of the guys reporting problems may have just damaged them during the install and didn’t realize it. At this point I think you are basically a taker on whatever you can get.