Eric's 1989 Yellow Grand Marquis

[Eric62]

A few more of plugs, wires, cap, rotor











The front drivers side wire is looped around the metal air cleaner tray and the original had a protective sheath... I had a few spark plug heat shields laying around... fought with trying to get it over the boot for a few minutes before taping it up. Just thought I'd share with other new guys like myself. My lower back is now killing me... no way I could do this for a living, lol.

[Eric62]

Finished the tune up today and a quick test drive made me feel like it was worth the effort... I'll know more once I get out and run some errands in the next few days.
Also, some pics of the rims and hubcaps that will eventually go on it. I bought 3 rims on CL and unfortunately I did not check them close enough as they are all different... oh well, I have 1... 3 more to find.
More pics of the gauges... I have always liked these gauges, and even though they are not a perfect match, they are silver in the center and have the green stripe which matches the green light in my factory gauges.

[Eric62]

2 are wires, the other two are plastic vacuum hoses. Blue and black are the vacuum, I forget what color the electrical ones are.

Thank You... I don't think I have ever seen vacuum lines that small.

[gadget73]

2 are wires, the other two are plastic vacuum hoses. Blue and black are the vacuum, I forget what color the electrical ones are.

[Eric62]

yes, jump the electrical (or just cut and solder together) and plug the vacuum lines.

I was looking at it today and it looks like it has 2 electrical connections for a total of 4 wires... do I connect each pair together?

[gadget73]

Using PS fluid won't hurt it, it just might make more noise. Old nasty fluid is noisy too.

[Eric62]

I finally have some time this weekend to actually do some work.

Before I knew the power steering required transmission fluid, I used actual power steering fluid. It had a stop leak in it and since then I have not had any problems with it, so that is fine for now.

I ordered Ford Racing plug wires, which look great, especially for the price, and an Accel cap and rotor, as they were brass terminals and the MSD was not. I installed the cap and rotor yesterday and the thing runs better already. I picked up some Motorcraft Iridiums last night as well before reading a spark plug opinion thread here... A member had the opinion that he liked to change them every 50k anyway so he uses cheaper copper plugs... I kind of like that rationale as it would also keep the plugs from seizing up as well if changed that often. I'm pretty sure my car has never had a tune up and still has the original plugs, wires, cap rotor... they look original and I thought I would have problems removing them, but the 1st one on the passenger side came out without any issues... hopefully they all come out as easy. It did look worn, but had a nice tan color.
Other than plugs and wires, I will start digging into gauge installation... most likely I'll try and mount them temporarily until I get back from my trip as I won't have time to do it right until I get back, but I at least want a temp gauge.
I'll post pics later.

[87gtVIC]

Thanks Jaywish and Sly... most likely that is what I will do. My heater hoses are looking pretty bad at 30yrs old as well, so that will be a good soon-to-do project.

Make sure to slit the hoses at the heater core before prying them off. They tend to bond to the core after being installed for all of these years. You do not want to put any unnecessary stress on the core. If she starts to leak you will have NO fun replacing it...dash removal.

[gadget73]

If the blower blows and you still have crap for heat, pull the clear hose thats directly behind the glovebox. If it gets hot, the interior temp sensor is bad. They are unfortunately obsolete. I had one apart, I can't for the life of me figure out what actually fails in there, so it could just be dirt. Maybe a good cleaning or a dunk in an ultrasonic cleaner would bring them back to life. Can't really take it apart unfortunately, it requires bending up a spring that is part of the calibration.

[Eric62]

Thanks Jaywish and Sly... most likely that is what I will do. My heater hoses are looking pretty bad at 30yrs old as well, so that will be a good soon-to-do project.

[sly]

yes, jump the electrical (or just cut and solder together) and plug the vacuum lines.

[jaywish]

Yes you can replace it with a length of hose. IIRC you need to jump the electric connections. If I am wrong someone please correct. The precision will not be impaired. What the valve does is prevent the blower from coming on till the water temp is 40 degrees (?) or more so it does not blow cold air into the passenger compartment.

I believe if you tie the two electrical connections together the fan may come on. then you could deal with replacing the valve later. Again am I wrong?

[Eric62]

Just ran out and looked and it is automatic temp control.

[Eric62]

Yes if the car has automatic temp control then it came with a valve inline in the heater core hose. I replaced mine once and it worked fine for years after that. I believe I bought either ford or Standard.

Does automatic temp control mean I would have a way to set a specific temperature? I don't think I have that, but I know there is a contraption in my heater hose... could it just be eliminated and replaced with new hose without it? I really like simplicity and don't care about precise temp control.

[jaywish]

Yes if the car has automatic temp control then it came with a valve inline in the heater core hose. I replaced mine once and it worked fine for years after that. I believe I bought either ford or Standard.