FN10 | Precautions

Vicinity

Vicinity

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96 4.6 LX, 98 LSC
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Im slowly but surely going through the user manual for the Mark. I see the section regarding disabling the air suspension before jacking/lifting. Are there other maintenance precautions that we wouldn't necessarily find from MN12?

Edit:
One example I can think of, is the memory seats. It's starting to look like I can disable that "easy entry" feature where the seat moves back until you get in the car. I will likely disable that, especially if doing so won't provide more wear than is necessary. Quite frankly, I'm willing to disable a lot of things to bring it closer to the bird
 
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The air suspension is probably the biggest one; you don't want one (or all) of the bags to completely deflate when you lift the car and wear out the compressor as it tries to inflate everything from zilch (which will require more than one time-out cycle).

Be aware of the blend door. Unless it was previously repaired and reinforced, it may be prudent to take care of it before it's a critical item.

Be sure you have at least 2 keys (one you drive with and a spare). It's much less hassle to program a spare PATS key with a working one than it is without.

Doing a coolant drain/flush and fill isn't as straightforward as it is on the 2v, I think there's a writeup for that if needed.

Memory recall I leave on. "Easy entry" I definitely leave off. I also turned off the feature where it scrolls the sideview mirrors down when you put the shifter into reverse.

No way to disable traction control permanently except via a tune; you have to go into the information center/vehicle settings to disable it every time you start the car. But that's not much different than in the MN12 where you have to push the button (aside from the extra buttons, lol).

If I think of more I'll add them later.
 
thank you much.

That blend door, how do I stay on its good side? I don't need climate controls until I have a passenger

Track control is indicated off like it would overdrive off, the message center says "check track traction control" also. Not in a hurry for that, so long as it its simply disabled by the car and if its fine being in that condition. Don't know what its like to have and would probably disable it anyway
 
I would investigate that traction control message. I mean that's a brake-based system, no?
If traction control is inoperative (not just turned off, but actually inoperative), that could indicate a brake problem. At least that would be my worry.
 
If you disable the air suspension at all times as the bags lose air you'll lose ride height it wont readjust for, I wouldn't do that unless you were doing a coil spring conversion. If it's working leave it be.

Likewise disabling the memory seat. There are some things in cars where I've reliably found if you don't use it you lose it, and unused power seats are the number one reason the tracks rust and gum up, grease hardens and you see failures. Same with stuff like moonroofs and windows. These things almost never fail from use, they fail from lack of use and then sudden use out of the blue.
 
Traction control on the 97-98 FN10s is completely different than the "traction assist" system on the MN12s.

The FN10 system has a connection between the ABS and PCM, where the PCM pulls timing and ABS applies the rear brakes when wheelspin is detected. The MN12 system is wholly controlled by the ABS which provides rear braking only.

As far as it already not working, I wonder if there's an ABS issue. Might be worth checking to see if the ABS light is on/bulb out/pull codes from the DTC just to be sure.
 
Id only disable the bags before a lift and the switch it back on afterword

I do occasionally see the ABS light stay on. If I could, I'd just disable the ABS because again my particular bird doesnt use it. Im not sure how yet, either unplugging it at the equipment, or at the fuse

The braking is a pisser right now, it will shake the steering wheel left and right a couple of degrees when braking at a higher speed. I was hoping to chalk that up to rotors replacement but now Im not so sure

Matt, thats always the million dollar question for me. for any car. Deciding whether to keep the feature away or exercise it
 
Sounds like it may be a seized caliper or stuck slide pins. I'd pull each wheel and remove the calipers from the brackets, and check the slide pins and pistons. Whichever direction the car initially pulls towards is going to be the front grabbing and the opposite rear, so it's probably one of the other two wheels that's the issue. E.g. if you hit the brakes and the car pulls to the left, it's probably either the front right or rear left that's acting up. But... YMMV.

I'm OCD, so if any feature on my car isn't working it gnaws at me until I fix it. If you don't want the heated sideview mirror, I'll mail you my mirror glass if you mail me yours! :tongue:
 
Check the tone rings and pickups (rear are on the halfshafts next to the diff, front on the hub/spindles). Most ABS issues on the Teves IV system are as simple as that. If you pull the fuse you'll get a permanent light on the dash
 
:zwthstupid:

Twice I had an ABS code for a wheel sensor. Once a rear sensor pickup was rusting away, and the other time a front pickup got mangled.

There is a tech article out there that details how to read ABS codes. If anything's in memory, it might be worth a shot.
 
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