Picked up a 1997 Grand Marquis and it needs a rear axle

[bronco]

The car is in nice shape except the rear coil spring seats are rusted away . Its a 1997 , it does not have antilock brakes . I went looking in some nearby junkyards and found a 1996 with a decent looking axle but it does have anti lock brakes. Mine has an axle code of 58 the one at the junkyard was I thought an H or an M . I took a picture with my phone of the label but its blurred. Will that axle work? I'm thinking it will but I thought I would ask first

They only want $150 for the axle the car only cost $400 and except for the axle and a minor coolant leak it seems fine.

[phayzer5]

I put a non-abs '92 axle in my 97 for better gearing + TL. Wasn't ABS but it bolted up and worked all the same. You'll just have to tie your sensors up and out of the way and deal with not having ABS if you swap it. Calipers and discs were too different between the years to reuse, so they have to be moved with the axle. I left it all attached with a set of wheels and rolled it to my car, still only paid the axle price from the LKQ yard on some 1/2-off sale day, IIRC about $50-75

That, or wait for the axle with everything.

[bronco]

I put a non-abs '92 axle in my 97 for better gearing + TL. Wasn't ABS but it bolted up and worked all the same. You'll just have to tie your sensors up and out of the way and deal with not having ABS if you swap it. Calipers and discs were too different between the years to reuse, so they have to be moved with the axle. I left it all attached with a set of wheels and rolled it to my car, still only paid the axle price from the LKQ yard on some 1/2-off sale day, IIRC about $50-75

That, or wait for the axle with everything.

The car I'm trying to fix doesn't have ABS the donor does have it so there should be nothing to hook up I'm thinking. There were a lot of town cars there but I wasn't sure if I could use an axle from a town car .

I'm waiting for the rain to stop so I can get under mine and look it over better. It seems odd that spring seats would rot out without seeing problems elsewhere. I've owned 2 of these from the mid 80's that had frame rot issues under the drivers door but I don't see that problem on this one.

[gadget73]

abs or non abs are the same really. The ABS ones have a tone ring that won't be used. No worries, just pull the sensors.

[phayzer5]

There were a lot of town cars there but I wasn't sure if I could use an axle from a town car

The differences for the drivetrain from a towncar are in the length of the transmission tailshaft (longer for the chassis length). Rear ends are all the same as far as you're concerned. Pull one from whatever CV/GM/TC with the gearing & trak-lok you're looking for, 92-97

[rezwrrd]

Welcome to the party!

The differences for the drivetrain from a towncar are in the length of the transmission tailshaft (longer for the chassis length). Rear ends are all the same as far as you're concerned. Pull one from whatever CV/GM/TC with the gearing & trak-lok you're looking for, 92-97

I'm looking to put a trac-loc in my '95 some time before next winter. Good to know what options are out there.

[bronco]

I picked up an axle from a 1995 from the boneyard for $150 yesterday. Of course its raining again today . Do most people take the gas tank out when they do these? There are a lot of bolts I'm going to need a torch on and the tank is right there 4 inches away

[phayzer5]

I've never needed more than a breaker bar and impact gun for the swaps I've done, but I life in FL, so no road salt/rust headaches.

Try getting it as high in the air as you can to get under it for some leverage on a wrench. Coat it in PB blaster and let that work for awhile before starting. The fun part is going to be removing and replacing that bolt getting it lined up in the control arm

[bronco]

I am working on the new axle in the garage and I need the torches to undo the control arm nuts , the junkyard torched all the arms in half . After the nuts came off the upper bolts came out and the arm stubs came off easily but the lower bolts are frozen to the sleeve in the bushing. I better plan on new lower bushings

I'm in Massachusetts so rust is the general state of everything

[gadget73]

If you need a torch, you need to pull the tank. Unless the insurance is well paid on the garage, in which case you may proceed with abandon.

[sly]

always point away from the tank if you don't pull it... but yeah... what Gadget said.

[bronco]

So between work and weather I've been held up but I finally have the old axle out .

Now I'm making a list of what I need and there are a lot of random options.

For instance rear shocks , with or without touring suspension ........ how do you know which it has ?

Rear calipers large piston or small piston ? If I have one of each kind I can tell them apart but if both axles are the same how do I know what I have.



I have 2 axles to mix and match brake parts from. The rotors are a bit rusty but not worn so I may just clean them up , Ebrake shoes and pads need replacement

The original was not antilock , the replacement has antilock brakes.

Control arm bushings don't seem to be available for a reasonable price.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Regarding the rear shocks, touring suspension is probably referring to the Handling and Performance Package (HPP) cars. For an easy visual check to tell would be if the car had rear air springs, 16" lacy spoke rims, and dual exhaust. If you have coil springs, 15" rims, and a single exhaust pipe, more than likely its just a run of the mill Grand Marquis.

If you fall into the general, non-HPP category, then you're just looking for the regular shocks you can get for these cars. To improve the ride a bit, I'd suggest police rate shocks, like KYB Gas-A-Just ones or similar ones. Those will improve the ride a bit without compromising the overall smooth characteristics.

[gadget73]

Doesn't matter a whole lot honestly. Both will fit in there. Touring, HPP and police shocks will be a little bit more firm.

[bronco]

I finally got the axle in Sunday. Well in to the extent that the 4 control arms are bolted and the coils are in. Now I'm looking at a ABS axle in a non ABS car so I thought I would swap the axle shafts out for the ones without the rings. Maybe I can sell the axles off on ebay to partially offset the cost of the work.

There are so many differences in the brakes that I figured I would strip the new axle ends down to nothing and assemble my way up to a finished state.

Ordering what I can't reuse and cleaning up what I can.


Thanks for the Rockauto link Wolf. I had forgotten about them I used to order a lot of stuff there. I'll get the shocks and brake hoses for sure from them. Calipers and pads I might get locally since it seems like I will need to physically compare what I have in hand to the new parts.