Hesitation

[1CM]

It's a long story.

Basically, I've had 2 Towncars and have just recently purchased a 3rd.
The first one was a 1988 TC Signature. After about 90,000 miles, It needed a new tranny so I took it to AAMCO. It ran fine for a few years and then later developed a periodic hesitation. A sort of yo-yo effect at speeds between 30-45 mph. I went back to AAMCO where they told me it was "engine miss". A local Lincoln dealership started replacing parts to find the hesitation, but after quite of bit of $$, they still couldn't determine what was wrong. New distributor cap, new plug wires, new fuel filter, and possibly the ERG Valve - but I'm not certain. The bills started becoming astronomical. That car was finally wrecked by a hit and run driver that didn't leave a note after he hit my parked car in front of my home. I sold the car shortly thereafter.

The 2nd TC I bought was an 1988 Executive model. Same problems. New tranny at about 120,000. It now has 246,000 miles on it and runs excellent except for the yo-yo hesitation affect. This is very puzzling and frustrating. Someone out there has a million dollar answer for people like me who encounter this problem with the 1988-1989 T.C.'s

Finally, I just purchased another 1988 TC Signature with 85,000 miles on it and will be selling the other one with 246,000. If someone can help me discover what the heck this yo-yo hesitation is, I'd eat my hat! Obviously, I can't be the only one experiencing this problem.

I've read the other threads on hesitation but they didn't sound exactly like what I'm experiencing. I wondered if anyone else has this problem and what can I do to fix it. I love my Lincoln's and want to preserve them!

[Mikeri]

I can think of 2 problems of hesitation I have had with my 89. First is clogged fuel injectors, which are easily cleaned by using either Techron fuel additive (which is very harsh and you should change your oil after the application) or Marvel Mystery Oil. The second is to check your TPS. Use a multimeter to make sure there are no dead spots in its travel range. Even is you swap out this part, which is very easy, you must still make sure that it is calibrated correctly with the multimeter. It should be between .91 and .99 volts. Both of these fixes have cured hesitations in my high mileage 89.