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1989 Grand Marquis GS - shudders and jerking problem

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    1989 Grand Marquis GS - shudders and jerking problem

    Hey everyone,

    My name is Tommy and I have a 1989 Grand Marquis GS. It was bought new by my folks. It only has a little over 76,000 as it wasn't driven very much. My Dad passed away in February of last year. Dad kept the maintenance up on the car as much as he could. In the summer of 2011, we were on our way home and not far from home, the car started jerking and shuddering along 35-40 MPH. We tried turning the A/C off and it still did it, but it was a little better. We parked it and never really did anything with it again. Dad's bladder cancer returned and the focus went to making sure he was comfortable in his last few months. Mom's health declined for most of last year, so between taking care of her, working a part-time job and returning to college (online courses), I didn't have the time to do anything with the car. Eventually, I moved the car from out of the carport, to the backyard and covered it up. I would start it on occasion, but eventually, I disconnected the battery and out back it still sits. Months ago, I did call a reputable transmission guy who had done awesome work on my Dad's truck transmission. He took it for a drive after it had not been driven in over a year. He said it was still there. He ruled out the transmission. He said it could be any number of things, such as bad injectors. In 2011, the oil and filter was replace, also the spark plug wires were replaced with new ones. The fuel that was in it when we parked it is still in there as I have not had time to change the fuel filter and drain the old fuel.

    Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could do to get rid of the shudder and jerking? I realize now since the car has set for essentially two years, I will have to change the oil and filter again, as well as do some other tune-ups to it. I also have to ask, although I realize it's probably a piece of cake, but... how do you charge a battery? The battery was replaced last year, but I let it sit too long to the point it drained down and wouldn't start the car. It was then that I proceeded to disconnect the battery to keep any further damage from happening.

    Thanks in advance for the help.

    Tommy

    #2
    Welcome.

    First off,
    Sorry for your loss.


    Your problem could well be a number of things. Plug wires, IAC (Idle Air Control, basically controls idle speed), and a vacuum leak are where I'd look first. That speed in OD/4th is pretty much where the car is at it's highest load, so most lean misses, weak ignition issues, etc. will show up there.


    As for the battery, find a charger, hook it up to both battery posts, wait a day for a 'trickle' charger or an hour or two for a proper battery charger, reconnect the battery cables, and fire the car up. These things aren't sensitive to any way of charging. If the battery has been recently (last few hours) discharged you want to attach the charger negative side first (black cable) but that's about the only thing.

    85 4 door 351 Civi Crown Victoria - Summer daily driver, sleeper in the making, and wildly inappropriate autocross machine
    160KMs 600cfm holley, shorty headers, 2.5" catted exhaust, 255/295 tires, cop shocks, cop swaybars, underdrive pulley, 2.73L gears.
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    06 Mazda 3 hatch 2.3L 5AT (winter beater that cost more than my summer car)

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      #3
      Make sure of a complete tune up (plugs, wires, cap and rotor) along with oil change and coolant flush. Fuel filter, NEW gas and a clean out of the throttle body and IAC. Make sure the grommet for the trany is good also and change it out for a brass one. Then see where you are at. Perhaps a SEAFOAM cleanout with some in the fuel tank would also help.....


      "Hope and dignity are two things NO ONE can take away from you - you have to relinquish them on your own" Miamibob

      "NEVER trade your passion for glory"!! Sal "the Bard" (Dear Old Dad!)

      "Cars are for driving - PERIOD! I DON'T TEXT, TWEET OR TWERK!!!!"

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        #4
        the first thing i would do is change the cap and rotor,plugs and wires, id be willing to bet the cap is worn out,same thing happend to me a few years back, ever scince then i always carry a spare cap with me, i kinda went overboard on the spare thing though, one spare msd and two stock style units. as well as an extra set of wires.

        after that, i would see about cleaning/replacing the IAC motor and replace any vacumn lines that need to be replaced. for battery replacement, you just unbolt the battery hold down . make sure its discconnected first though.
        89 townie, mild exhuast up grades, soon to have loud ass stereo....

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          #5
          Welcome!

          Originally posted by thetommyboy2k View Post
          ...also the spark plug wires were replaced with new ones...
          Did you replace just the wires or the plugs too?

          Originally posted by thetommyboy2k View Post
          ...reputable transmission guy...He ruled out the transmission...
          I had some shuddering/jerking going on that reminded me of when my trans had gone bad, but I could tell that it wasn't quite the same. It ended up being bad spark plugs missing like crazy. Problem solved after I had changed all plugs, wires, cap, and rotor.
          The two plugs at the back of the engine were the worst (the electrodes were really messed up) while the closer to the front I got they looked perfectly fine.
          Vic

          ~ 1989 MGM LS Colony Park - Large Marge
          ~ 1998 MGM LS - new DD
          ~ 1991 MGM LS "The Scab"
          ~ 1991 MGM GS "The Ice Car"

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            #6
            It was just the wires replaced, not the plugs. I don't know if the rotor and cap has ever been replaced. I don't think it has.

            So, do I charge the battery with the leads disconnected?

            Thanks again!
            Tommy

            Comment


              #7
              could be cap/rotor, plugs, bad/stale gas, rotted out vacuum lines... lots of stuff.

              start with the cheap and work your way up. inspect the vacuum lines for sure to make sire they're actually all accounted for and don't look like swiss cheese.

              Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
              rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
              Originally posted by gadget73
              ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
              Originally posted by dmccaig
              Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

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                #8
                Originally posted by thetommyboy2k View Post
                It was just the wires replaced, not the plugs. I don't know if the rotor and cap has ever been replaced. I don't think it has.

                So, do I charge the battery with the leads disconnected?

                Thanks again!
                Tommy
                i would get on that cap asap! and you can charge the battery either way leads on or off, wouldnt make any sense to be able to jump start a vehicle if you had to disconnect the leads everytime you jumped it.
                and get ahold of haynes manual for your car and read it, it covers from basic to complete tear down of your vehicle.
                89 townie, mild exhuast up grades, soon to have loud ass stereo....

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                  #9
                  Tune-up parts and vacuum leaks are the usual cause of this stuff. The transmission mechanically bypasses the torque converter in third and fourth gear so any running problems with the engine tend to become more obvious without the shock absorbing properties of the converter in play.
                  86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                  5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

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                  1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                  Originally posted by phayzer5
                  I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

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