Eric's 1989 Yellow Grand Marquis

[Rodentkiller]

As for the sterio get new head unit new speakers and amplifier that will solve your problems.

[VicCrownVic]

Hmm... I'm fairly certain some of the mounting to the floor did change in '90. When I first got my first '91 I was going to swap the power passenger seat from my '89 into the '91. The changes stopped me from swapping, and I decided to just get a '90-'91 seat track from the JY. Now, the changes may be pretty easy to overcome for someone with a little more fabrication skill/patience than I have.

I'd be curious to know what Nick did to mount that '92 seat track in the '87. It might be easier to put newer tracks in an older car. The newer ones have two studs for the front mounts, iirc (or was it the rear, or all 4? memory is quite fuzzy on this). While the older ones had 4 bolts on the 4 mounts (right?). Also the newer cars have middle seatbelt/buckles that bolt to the inner rear mount of the track while the older cars have separate mounts on the trans/driveshaft tunnel for those middle belt/buckles.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Thanks... I am planning on looking at newer towncar seats 1st as I imagine they are the best quality. I know they won't bolt in, but I should be able to make them work somehow.

I've got '92 Executive trim seats in my '87. IIRC, TecNickal swapped the bases between the two so the floor didn't get modified. All the controls work and behave like factory.

[gadget73]

Type F trans fluid is quieter in the PS system than the Dexron/Mercon or Mercon V the transmission wants. Both work though.

If you can find someone with a headlight aimer, that will go a long way towards helping the light output as well. Between relays and a proper aim, I see very well with my cars even with boring old sealed beam halogen lamps.

The later seats can be adapted, but you have to drill a couple of holes in the seat frame. Use the original seat tracks though, the floor changed in 90 or 91.


The stereo you might start with making sure everything is plugged in and hasn't been screwed with. The stock stuff is mediocre at best, even with the premium sound. The later cars had better stuff, but the 80s were not exactly a time of high fidelity unless you owned a Lincoln and spent a stack of money on the JBL system upgrade. I believe that was somewhere around a grand. Not an option on the Ford and Mercury models. The single best thing you can say about the stock radios is they look proper in the dashboard.

[Eric62]

Thanks... I am planning on looking at newer towncar seats 1st as I imagine they are the best quality. I know they won't bolt in, but I should be able to make them work somehow.

[Eric62]

Thanks BigMerc96 for the detailed response... A lot of good info!

Also, thanks for reminding me:

12. Fix power steering leak. I don't see an obvious leak, but I have to add fluid every few days.

13. I am going to add relays to my headlights as well. These new car headlights blind me silly, making my headlights useless until my eyes recover. I just leave my brights on all the time nowadays.

[VicCrownVic]

All looks like good advice, Steve. Also, yes it was '90 that the seats changed.

[BigMerc96]

I'm no box expert, but here we go:

1.) The synthetic will cause leaks is somewhat true. If its an old neglected engine that's being held together by sludge, then sure, synthetic may cause new leaks. Chances are the 5.0leaker in your car has a few anyway. Double and triple check the PCV valve and the screen/filter that is under it to make sure its functional and not clogged. Its often neglected on a 5.0 because its a bit of a pain to get at being behind the upper intake, but if its plugged it can and will cause leaks or at least make them worse since the crankcase can't vent properly.

2) Transmission fluid. That is a bit of an old wives tale as well, but it also has a grain of truth to it. If a transmission fails after having the fluid changed then it was already damaged and would have failed anyway. If the fluid in yours is still somewhat red and doesn't smell burned then changing it won't hurt anything, it will however extend the life of the transmission. Drain the pan, and if you have a torque converter drain plug, drain that too. I know AODEs in the Aeros had a torque converter drain, don't know for sure if a AOD does or not but if I was to guess I'd say there is. Between the pan and torque converter you'll get 75% of the fluid out and that's sufficient.

2B) TV grommet. That is where the TV cable hooks up to the throttle body. The original ones were nylon and prone to degrading with age and can cause the cable to pop off. If the cable goes slack the line pressures in the transmission go all funky and it can burn up 3rd and 4th gear in a hurry. Ford and others made a brass bushing and retaining clip to replace the nylon one, I'm sure if you search you'll find the part number, I don't have it in front of me right now. Pretty sure there is a stickied thread in the box tech section about it.

2C) Probably should consider flushing the power steering fluid. Ford power steering calls for automatic transmission fluid, so you can use whatever is leftover from the trans service.

3) That is a common enough spot to leak. Another would be rust under the rear window, hidden by the vinyl top.

4) Box brakes always seem a bit overboosted and touchy. At least to me. I've driven several of them in varying condition. Look up the big brake upgrade if you so desire. Using a combination of Aero and Whale parts you can fit '98-02 front brakes onto a box. It does require 16" wheels, '98-'02 brakes are massive and don't fit in a 15" wheel. Alternative upgrade would be '95-'97 brakes, still bigger than what's on a box but will fit in a 15" wheel. Its all a bolt-on affair, the mounting points and lower control arms are the same, IIRC for a box you'd use '92-'94 upper control arms along with '95-'02 spindles and whichever hubs go with the brakes you choose ('95-'97 hubs are narrower than '98-'02 hubs but fit the spindles just the same however the calipers won't center over the rotor if you use the "wrong" ones). I forget what brake hoses would go on a box for the big brakes. There's plenty of info about it around here.

5) Gear oil in the rear end is also often overlooked. There is no risk in changing it and its good practice, so go for it. Box body 8.8 should call for 80w90 in regular service, no harm in using that, or even going thicker with it, rear differentials aren't picky. Should take a bit over 2qts. I perpetually have 1/2 a quart of gear oil around because they only take 1/4-1/2 of the 3rd bottle. Personally I run 75w90 synthetic in mine.

6) Tune up is straightforward enough. I would definitely replace the cap/rotor if they are of unknown age.

7) Drivers door is probably suffering from a seized up power lock actuator, pretty common on boxes. The seal around the glass isn't perfect and so water gets into the door and onto the lock actuator causing it to seize. The lock won't even turn with the key when the actuator freezes. Temporary fix would be to disconnect the linkage between the latch and lock actuator, then you can at least lock it manually with the key. Did that on my buddy's '91 wagon, both front doors and the tailgate had seized lock actuators so they got disconnected.


9) Stereos are all personal preference. As much as I like the looks of the stock radios, they can't even compare in sound quality to an aftermarket one unless you go thru the trouble of hunting down a functional "premium sound" setup.

11) I forget when the changeover happened, IIRC it was '90 for the seats. The floorpan changed slightly so later seats aren't a direct swap into an older car. However, if you use the seat tracks from the current seats pretty much any '90+ seat will fit.

Might also look up the 3G alternator upgrade. The stock alternators can be problematic, along with being kinda underpowered. 3G swap is pretty straightforward. Basically you use the alternator from a '90s Taurus, they came in 2 flavors, 90 and 130a, both considerably better than the 60a or whatever the stock 2G puts out. Depending on what the donor vehicle is, its pretty much a direct swap. Change out the regulator connector and run a properly sized charge cable and..that's it.

[Eric62]

My goals for this car are reliability-simplicity-longevity and gas mileage. I am planning a cross country road trip in April, so I have a lot to do (for me anyway).
It is time to start a to do list:
1. Oil change... Picked up amsoil synthetic with zinc added. Some say synthetic will cause leaks in an older engine that had only been serviced with conventional... Does anyone have any real world experience with this?

2. Transmission service... Again, a lot of don't do this and don't change the tranny fluid if so many miles or it will go bad. A transmission shop told me that they don't use the machines that suck out all of the fluid from the system because a small passage will get clogged up. I don't know if this is true or they just don't want to invest in the equipment, lol. I was thinking that I might remove the pan, install a shift kit and replace the pan with an aluminum finned one with a drain plug, then every so often drain the pan and refill with fresh fluid. This way, all of the tranny fluid is being replaced slowly. I also plan on adding a cooler for longevity. Although prob not necessary, I like gauges and would like to install a trans temp gauge.
I also know, (from lurking here) I need to check out a TV bushing? I will do more research on that topic soon.

3. I am getting quite a bit of water in the trunk... I was told that the source of the leak is most likely the shelf above the tail lights... is this a common problem area?

4. Brakes... The brakes work well, but are a little touchy and it feels like I have a warped rotor. My plan is to flush out the brake system and add all new fluid. I'll then check out all of the components and replace. The parts car I just bought has all new brakes, so I'll probably swap parts if it makes sense.

5. Replace gear oil in the rearend.

6. Tune up... at the very least check plugs cap and rotor, etc.

7. Fix the drivers door. Does not lock and the lock switch has fallen inside the door... so has the courtesy light. The window works, but is a little herky jerky so I will try and address that as well.

8. Add gauges... At the very least oil pressure and temp... would also like volts and trans temp.

9. I'm not picky about stereos, but something decent would be nice. At the very least get the stock system working. Right now it is staticky and speakers take turns working... volume goes up and down on its own etc.

10. Would like to find a tripminder as I would like to start monitoring Mpgs.

If by some miracle, I can get this accomplished by April, I will be quite happy.

11. Locate a nicer more comfortable seat at the junkyard. I'm thinking out of a lincoln? I read here that the aero and whale seats won't simply just bolt in, but I can do some fab work to make something work if need be.

[Eric62]

I have done absolutely nothing to the car so far, except drive it and I like it! My original plan was to send the title to the MI SOS being that I am in FL, but I decided against that as I don't trust the mail and have little faith in Gov agencies, so I waited until I went back for the holidays. I Got plates and insurance and have been driving it since I got back about 2 weeks ago. I have a few other things that need to be done first and nothing is pressing as far as the car goes, but I will start addressing small issues soon.
Eric

[VicCrownVic]

Tripminder can come from an 83-89 car, but the car side is 1989 specific. I love love love mine. You can wire in an 83-88 without much trouble though. It just won’t be in the factory connector. Extracting a whole uncut tripminder harness from a parts car is a PITA anyway from my experience.

Right, same physical part just different wiring. Thanks for clearing that up. In other words if he finds one from the JY from a 83-88 car he wants to get as much of the harness and connector as possible.

[Tiggie]

Tripminder can come from an 83-89 car, but the car side is 1989 specific. I love love love mine. You can wire in an 83-88 without much trouble though. It just won’t be in the factory connector. Extracting a whole uncut tripminder harness from a parts car is a PITA anyway from my experience.

[DerekTheGreat]

Oh, check the car at the top of the page, the Panther of the Month. That '87(?) Crown Vic has ditch lights, look right between the front bumper and front tire.

Well I'd like to see pics, 'cause yeah, I might want a project too
I doubt a straight six will fit under the hood but they are great engines. Ash currently drives a '92 F150 with that engine and five speed trans. We love those things, think there will always be one in our life.

The driver's door sticker should have that information, look for a code right under where it says "Axle", and to double check, there should be a tag held in place by one of the upper bolts for the diff cover, usually right side. Tag has the ratio stamped in it, if there's no "L" in between the ratio, it's an open. You can look the door code up on the internets and get back with us, or drop it in here and we'll figure it out.

[Eric62]

Thanks... That should be quick and easy! I always keep my tires at max pressure, and I usually drive like an old man, as I pretty much am anyway, lol.

I am in luck except for the prices.

The Town Car is an 89 or older... It has been a long time since I have seen it, but it is a box. Depending on condition it might be a good future project car. Get rid of all the options and simplify it. I am a fan of straight sixes as well and the Ford 300 Inline is an excellent engine... wondering if anyone has ever swapped one of those in? I have a lot of other projects ahead af that, but I enjoy planning ahead... way ahead, lol.

As far as the rearend gears... Are there codes anywhere on the car where I can find the rearend ratio?

[Eric62]

Thanks... When I get time to hit some junkyards, I'll be on the lookout for one.