Want to pull a small travel trailer with my 94 Lincoln Town Car.

Sorry, but, the Lincoln Town Car was down rated in towing capacity around 1990 to 2,000 pounds. See this discussion. Written by a post on fiberglass RV- "UPDATE ON THE LINCOLN TOW VEHICLE IDEA: I actually forgot that I made this post almost two years ago. But I'm glad I asked the question when I did. Since then, I did discover the tow rating of the Town Car was suddenly downrated from 5000 lbs to 2000lbs around 1990, though the engine/drivetrain was the same. We can thank American lawyers for that change. Found out much more info from talking to people and asking questions. There are several folks pulling various trailers with the Panther platform Ford cars, the Crown Vic, the Mercury Grand Marquis and the Lincoln Town Car. Can-Am RV in London, Ontario helps modify various tow vehicles and creates hitches for special purposes". So, you decide, also, I would be very careful to check your ground clearance. Cars from the 90s are lower than newer cars today. And, you're going to need trailer brakes, although, you probably know that.

Question, when you pulled the 1,500 pounds, did you notice a lot of downshifting on grades? And, what mileage did you get with the 4.6 V8?

We got around 15 mpg instead of the usual 22-23 mpg highway. We get 18.5 in town. While pulling the 8' u-haul, we put the transmission into tow/haul and did not notice anything unusual except that the engine light came on occasionally. Does this answer make a difference in your thinking? We have some towing experience, by the way. We towed a 5400 pound trailer with a 1998 E-150 van. Didn't know it was back there. We towed a 14,000 pound fifth wheel with an F-350 diesel dually, but I guess that doesn't count since that will pull almost anything. The hubby is betting on the manual guidance, but I would hate to ruin this gorgeous old Lincoln, hence the question.

I'm sorry, but I cannot find the discussion you referenced: RV- "UPDATE ON THE LINCOLN TOW VEHICLE IDEA: Can you copy the url into an answer? Thank you!

Yes, here's the link, read down to see the dialog, http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f72/towing-with-a-94-lincoln-town- car-37872.html

You should never be driving with the check engine light illuminated.

So, have you decided to find an alternative vehicle? I would recommend it if you want to tow a 3,500 pound boat.

Yes, you've convinced the hubby. We'll be looking for something else. Thanks for the help!

Great, if you could please mark one of my previous answers, best answer, I'd appreciate that. By the way, here's a vehicle that will easily tow 5,000 pounds. Good luck.

Oops, forgot the link, here it is. http://m.hyundaiusa.com/santa-fe/

Mark - Question - My town car weighs 4500lbs (Long wheel base) you link a 4000lbs santa Fe saying it easily tows 5000lbs Trying to understand your logic in the best answer. I haven't towed a thing yet. Was thinking about putting large brakes on the TC.

further clarification - the Santa Fe weighs a little less than the standard TC you're saying it's crazy to tow 5000lbs because it's weight being soo light. I do understand a Truck/commercial Van is not the same engine/gearing/brakes/transmission as a large car but the CUVs like Santa Fe/Pathfinder and the like are all less solid Car based vehicles than a solid panther car.

94 town car has 210hp/ & 270 ftlbs torque 7 weighs 4000lbs you might get away with 2500 to 2700 total trailer weight , on level ground ,Invest in a transmission cooler with a shutoff valve for winter & use fresh transmission oil & synthetic engine oil.,

You might want to consider removing the rear air bag suspension & replacing it with one of the many available kits that use coil springs .They are a direct easy swap for any mechanic to do.The air bag suspension will leave you completely stranded with a trailer "when " it fails ! It has a finite life , coil springs don't .

the Lincoln Town Car was down rated in towing capacity you you couldnt

Again people - the parts and weight of town cars (example yr 2000) are the same or bigger/stronger (bigger engine, solid frame of stronger materials, more heavy duty transmission, more body weight - if anything brakes and suspension may not be quite as strong in some cases. Upgrading to limo airbags or a heavy duty coil and some large brakes fix that) than vehicles rated to pull 5000lbs plus today. So how are we justifying they can't. Just because a manufacturer downgraded capacity doesn't necessarily mean anything (to sell another vehicle instead - explorer, f150 etc/ to get out of any warranty repairs etc...) In fact the specs of the vehicles in more heavy duty frame, more body weight, more beefy suspension, better breaks, more HD transmission went UP in model years between the higher and lower town rating That's like saying we rate an f150 at 5000lbs towing but our f350 can only town 2000lbs. - yeah not quite like it's an exaggerated likeness

Can i just add or amend that...frankly Markw...has some seriously uninformed ideas about literally everything having to do with lincoln towncars! (Probably of any era, based on what he's posted). The weight he quoted is incorrect for 94 or especially earlier town cars. Hes quoting weights of post panther town cars that are of unibody construction and 4.6 modular powerplants. Just as he is quoting capabilities of the same structures and engine capabilities. This is uninformed and indeed dangerous! HE is indeed uninformed and dangerous as is his advice because of his misinformation! I could not be more serious. And this could not be more dire as a result! If you indeed own a unibody lincoln town car that is of the weight (thereabouts) and engine capability that he is speaking of, you should definitely Not try towing much of anything with your town car. However if you have a panther (body on frame) 1990 (5.0) or 1991 and later (until unibody frame replaced it) 4.6 with lower compression levels (the 4.6 1st generation engine) you have the capability, without major modification or the need for larger brakes (the rear brakes were f150 size brakes), or modification to (at the time) special order "limo" "heavy duty" equipment, tow at least 5000 lbs. You will need a Non- bumper hitch! Like a Reese with drilled bolts in the frame. Your engine AND transmission are more than strong enough especially if kept in Non- overdrive mode to tow (in fact) larger weights than this! The major issue to worry about is one thing only!:: the rear suspension system. From 1990 forward, Lincoln imployed air bag rear suspensions. They are frequently problematic and cumbersome and weak (as far as rear "ball weight" is concerned). All you have to do, AND SHOULD!, is contact Strutmasters and buy and have your rear air bag suspension replaced. Instead of the cost of replacing the entire orgininal air bag system including air compressor and lines etc.....for well over 1200$, pay 250$ +/- for the replacement conversion [i do not work for them] and then you will have an inexpensive, luxurious, surprisingly powerful, cheap to fix, old-school solid vehicle with an axle clearance that in fact is comparable to an F150! (Surprisingly!) With a ride height that is comparable to a minivan! That can safely tow most anuthing you need! Remember people: before about 1985, nobody bought trucks for anything other than Hard Labor. They didnt need to! Large sedans and station wagons did everything in this country!! It wasnt uncommon to see Buicks and Cadillacs in the middle of fields pulling trailers. As long as you have the torque, ground clearance, and suspension strength, you have the same ability. By the way, amost none of the current new Crossovers or CUVs or indeed most SUVs have the same capabilities as 1980s or early 90s full size sedans! To say nothing of the sedans in the 70s or before. But if you want to pay 50k for a new toyota nissan ford chevrolet or dodge suv or pickup with an industry standard 3.5 or 3.6 litre v6 engine and alluminum unibody "frame" with less torque horsepower frame rigity tongue strength endurance brake power repair record and still has worse crash test results,? please, replace your older car truck or suv with something (anything) NEW...cause, as we all know, newer is always better. And if you worry about the cost of replacing an engine in a say 1990 town car its 3000k for a remanufactured one guaranteed for 5 years. Or a transmission? 2500k remanufactured with a 5 year guarantee. Have you looked at what replacing a front ball joint on a new Chevy Tahoe is? How about a transmission on a new Ram is? Or have you looked at crash tests of any of the new ford trucks?? How about the nissan family of automobiles including the trucks? Have you looked at what the gas mileage ratings are on the new Toyotas or honda trucks? To say nothing about lack of towing capacity or hauling capability? I have. Buy an old Lincoln And try not listening to idiots who have personal bias. They'll get you into trouble in every part of life. Control IS their goal! To prove it, I'll say this: Prove me wrong! I challenge you to do the research. I have. Automobile towing capacity and safety went down when unibody frames came into being. Mpg went up. Thats why they invented them. The 4.6 modular was not introduced because it was a stronger platform than the 5.0. Indeed they jyst brought it back because they reached the limit to what they could get out of the 4.6. It was about mpg. Thats no problem as long as you get one that could handle the increasing compression of the 4.6 over its lifetime... ....

But btw, if you really want a strong platform to tow with, and would like better power, endurance, repair price, gas mileage, weight balance for braking during towing, braking power and frame rigidity than pretty much everything you can buy new right now except for maybe 2500 or 3500 full size trycks and the expedition or suburban, it would be a 1993 to 1995 cadillac fleetwood or Buick roadmaster or chevy impala ss. The last of the full body on frame large v8 350 ci (lti corvette engine) sedans ever made in the US. Truck brakes. Optional 7000lb towing package (better than ANY mid size and most new full size suvs) and without having to worry about replacing a rear air bag suspension as in the lincoln. Overall weight and tire size that can safely handle braking heavy tows. A heavy duty factory transmission (that with the towing package is comparable to having gear vendors like a commercial truck!) ...its really a no-brainer

Oh did i mention the lt1 v8 cadillac, buick, and chevy full size sedans are also the most fuel efficent vehicles of their size and weight that the usa has Ever produced?! How about a 5000lb car that has the best ride ever that also gets 28 mpg on the highway?! You can literally tow a boat and still get better than 20mpg on the highway! This is NOT an exaggeration

I own a clean 2002 Lincoln town car with 4.6 liter engine. After swapping out to rear cargo coils and heavy duty air shocks in the rear I surely tow more than original suspension. My air shocks are deflated to 10 psi for routine use. Class 2 hitch. All upgrades came in under $500. DIY on hitch and shocks.

This thread gave me hope for my 08' Town Car, but a search of the manual shows that they only tow 1500lbs now.