NEW RIDE 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis

Pewter-Camaro

TCG Elite Member
May 28, 2011
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South of Wisconsin.
Got the tools and parts. Had a chance to work on it a bit today. That ball joint is fucked. Loose and making noise.

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This fucking car has almost no rust. Still soo strange to work on it.
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Hoping tomorrow to put it back together. Have to get it done by Friday regardless.
 

Trinten

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Man... I miss that digital dash layout. That's the same one that was in my '94 TownCar....

I like the Mercs. Getting a Marauder is on my list. A guy I know over in TCCOA has (had?) a really nice one, had a nice supercharger setup on there where he had the original Merc 'god head' CnC'd into it. EVERYTHING in the engine compartment that could be made out of polished aluminum or could be chromed was. It was beautiful. All the wheel caps and custom billet grill to have the god head logo, too. I'm pretty sure he had a meth injection kit, driver seat was swapped out for a racing seat. I don't recall how much power he was pushing.

Come to think of it, I have some suspension parts in my garage I got on clearance for a Crown Vic. I'll PM you the parts/numbers and see if any of it can be of use to you.
 
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Pewter-Camaro

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May 28, 2011
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South of Wisconsin.
alright.. Xfinity was working in the neighborhood so the internet was terrible and cutting in and out. wife has the traverse and could not WFH so I took the morning off and worked on the car. ended up replacing the lower ball joint as well and the sway bar endlink. got it all back together, rotated the tires, and gave it a not TCG approved wash with 1 bucket, dish soap, hard well water, dried with a regular towel. I'll drive it to work tomorrow.
 

Pewter-Camaro

TCG Elite Member
May 28, 2011
5,749
10,965
South of Wisconsin.
Soo I drained and flushed the coolant. It’s running just distilled water and I’ve just been driving it and driving it gingerly and keeping it cool as it only leaks when it gets hot and builds a lot of pressure. i have the $$ for a radiator now but My dad spent the night and offered not only to pay to have someone fix the coolant leak but also buy some new wheels and tires. Going to pickup some 17” crown Vic wheels and probably hit up Ram to put tires on the wheels. Possibly have them fix the coolant leak too.
 

Pewter-Camaro

TCG Elite Member
May 28, 2011
5,749
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South of Wisconsin.
Hmmm… weird. Now it’s not loosing coolant. I let it sit and idle in the parking garage this morning and not a drop. Shut it off and let it sit and started it. Nothing. Since I flushed it the coolant level has not gone down at all. ?

I wonder if there was an air bubble in there causing it? Weird. Fucking Ford. ? I Will keep an eye on it and leave it alone. Just have to remember to drain some of the water and replace it with a couple gallons of coolant before it gets cold.

the 17x7.5 Steel P71 wheels ordered. Total cost $355 shipped for all 4. Now to check eBay for some center caps.
 

sktchy

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I'm a real big fan of dumping half a small bottle of k seal in anything I've had coolant battles with or have had the heads off of.

Leave it in there for an oil change then do a flush with the garden hose and it usually takes care of any little sweat spots and it's back out of there before it plugs up the heater core.
 
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GoldPanther

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Nice, I totally miss mine, will not get back in the panther cars soon with these gas prices though lol. Have you had to replace the blend door actuator yet for the climate control? Have you had the wiper motor syndrome? that hated squeak sound coming from the hood latch? have you fixed the leaking rear axles yet? have you replace the master window switches yet? have you fixed the o-rings from tiny solenoids on the master control yet (air coming only from defrost)? Well air suspension is gone and it makes me sad I loved mine. Have you replaced or fixed the door lock actuators yet?
these are just some of the most prone things that go bad on these cars LOL.

any way, this was mine on the link below, on the marauder engine cylinder #8 started misfiring and it was a valve issue which it also a very common thing to go bad on these dohc 4.6.

your car has a lot of potential to get upgrades, I love the fact that it's a Florida and is not rusted.

 

Pewter-Camaro

TCG Elite Member
May 28, 2011
5,749
10,965
South of Wisconsin.
Nice, I totally miss mine, will not get back in the panther cars soon with these gas prices though lol. Have you had to replace the blend door actuator yet for the climate control? Have you had the wiper motor syndrome? that hated squeak sound coming from the hood latch? have you fixed the leaking rear axles yet? have you replace the master window switches yet? have you fixed the o-rings from tiny solenoids on the master control yet (air coming only from defrost)? Well air suspension is gone and it makes me sad I loved mine. Have you replaced or fixed the door lock actuators yet?
these are just some of the most prone things that go bad on these cars LOL.

any way, this was mine on the link below, on the marauder engine cylinder #8 started misfiring and it was a valve issue which it also a very common thing to go bad on these dohc 4.6.

your car has a lot of potential to get upgrades, I love the fact that it's a Florida and is not rusted.


The mechanic in FL my grandpa used to use did a bunch of work on the HVAC right before the pandemic. Also the axle seals replaced too. I kind of want to put the air suspension back on but I’d have to replace basically everything so that won’t happen. Already replaced the master window switches.

Yeah gas mileage is terrible in this thing lol. Best we have ever had was 24mpg driving to Florida. Luckily with the low miles, no rust, and gifted to me makes it not soo bad. Plus it’s soo nice to cruise in. I get 22-23mpg driving to work. 100 miles every office day almost all highway speeds.
 
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GoldPanther

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100 miles a day is somewhat like in not too bad and not horrible, on my grand marquis I used to get like 15 mpg plus because of the marauder engine I had to pump *93, I got rid of it at the right time. I do miss the front bench seat and the availability to seat a total of 6 people.
 

Pewter-Camaro

TCG Elite Member
May 28, 2011
5,749
10,965
South of Wisconsin.
100 miles a day is somewhat like in not too bad and not horrible, on my grand marquis I used to get like 15 mpg plus because of the marauder engine I had to pump *93, I got rid of it at the right time. I do miss the front bench seat and the availability to seat a total of 6 people.

Ouch yeah. This car gets regular gas and whatever is cheapest. If I drive this thing in traffic I get 14-15mpg… about the same the Camaro I had used to get and that was cammed with a 4000 stall. ?

The spacious bench seats are just great. Wife and I took it last year to the drive in and was great to flip the armrests up and recline in the front seat.


My dad is insisting to have a mechanic work on the leaking radiator. Probably call the mechanic today and have them handle it plus give it an oil change. Have to remember to let them know the rear tire is fucked and new tires and wheels are on the way.
 

Pewter-Camaro

TCG Elite Member
May 28, 2011
5,749
10,965
South of Wisconsin.
If it was a P71, it might also have either the aluminum or MMX driveshaft. With the wheelbase differences between the Crown Vic and Grand Marquis, I think you can swap yokes and (maybe) get the Differential spacer from... ADPT or something?

Did they say what yard they took it too?

He did not say but asked him. I could always use parts from it. I also asked if he can mount the tires on the rims but he said his boss is a dick about any outside work So I’ll just buy the tires for cheap.
 

Pewter-Camaro

TCG Elite Member
May 28, 2011
5,749
10,965
South of Wisconsin.
Tires are here. $350. I gave him $375. Neighbors son could only find 3 of them and ordered the missing one and ate the cost himself. Said I’ve been helping his mom with yard work and checking on her and he appreciated that. Be calling Ram SRT41320 SRT41320 monday. Gotta get these bad boys mounted and probably see if they can replace the leaking radiator and do an oil change.


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