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1997 Mercury Grand Marquis LS

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    Thats why I have what is on the Conti. No whitewalls that I could make myself spend money on seemed to exist, and the Sumitomo tires were reasonably priced and rated well. Can't say I have complaints about them.
    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

    91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

    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

    Comment




      Once again I’ve made a mess. Shocks, brakes, and a wheel bearing. Always had a slight shudder with the brakes up front, localized to the passenger side. Full brake jobs never made it go away, it always came back. I found play in the hub assembly that I couldn’t detect with the wheel fitted. New Timken bearing seems it’ll do the trick. Decided if I was tearing everything down, it was getting brakes. Fronts still looked good, but I had a set around. Rears are throughly worn, so great timing. Front shocks are certainly worse than the rears, and their bushings are all toast.

      Should go down the road comfortably once everything is done. Got a trip coming up in February, and as much as I would like to take the ‘87, I feel more trust in the ‘97 at the current time, plus it does better as far as interstate gas mileage is concerned.


      My Cars:
      -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
      -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
      -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
      -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

      Comment


        It's been a while that anything major has happened with this car! It just keeps on doing what it does without much fuss.

        Anyway, I still haven't done anything with the air ride swap. Still got all the stuff, just haven't started yet. One of those "need to be motivated" jobs, plus its not a necessity. Nevertheless...

        Some cool stuff has happened. With the help of folks here at GMN, got the JBL system outfitted with Aux a few months back. That's been super handy. Fitted up some new, larger sway bars. Tossed on a '95 CVPI front bar and '01 GMQ HPP rear bar. That was an awesome upgrade over the little rear bar and stock front bar, the car rides considerably flatter through turns.

        Today the car finally got outfitted with 3.55s. I left it as an open differential since this car still has the early Traction Assist package that's tied into the ABS system and it can't be switched off through conventional means, and that function still works fairly well. The timing of getting everything redone was perfect, as the right rear axle seal had just started seeping a good bit and the axle had gotten a lip on it. I guess for almost 215K, that's not bad considering it seems people have had issues earlier. I was also able to get the parking brake shoes refitted as the passenger side delaminated from the backing plates a while ago.

        All the work was done by an 89 year old gentleman who's been doing automotive technical, racing, and field work for decades. As far as I'm aware, since I wasn't able to be present for the whole project due to work, he got the carrier setup with nothing more than paint marks, a dial caliper, and feel. There's no whine, no weird noises, or anything of the like, just quiet. He's done a few rear axles for the man that recommended him to me, so I felt more than comfortable with him doing the work.

        This evening I swapped the speedometer gear out since the old 2.73 gear was still fitted and was reporting 45 MPH actual was 60 MPH on the speedometer. I also installed my '97 P71 ECU for the correct shift scheduled. On 2.73s, that computer would shift early, and could be in 3rd around 25 MPH and OD by around 38 MPH, so it'd bog. The civvy computer worked okay-ish with the 3.55s, but was late to shift and stacked them really fast. 1-2 was closer to 25 MPH, 3rd came in around 40 MPH then promptly fell into OD. Now it behaves as it should, plus I get the benefit of slightly higher RPM shifts along with a more aggressive downshift logic. On the nPI 4.6, I'd say this gear set is rather good for its power band.


        My Cars:
        -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
        -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
        -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
        -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

        Comment


          See, I think the 3.27s in my '98 are about as steep as I would go on an nPI. Even with me having swapped to a PI intake and '99 ARA3 P71 ECU. The nPI engines just don't have the top end power to rev as high as quickly as they do with 3.55s and they have the low end power to leave the line just fine with the 3.27s. With the 3.27s the car just effortlessly and undramatically accelerates from 0-whatever the speed limit is. I still think the 3.08s are best for how/where I drive, but now that its finally running correctly I'm starting to like the 3.27s more. However, in your situation starting with 2.73s, I would have done exactly the same thing and went for 3.55, anything less and it would seem like a waste of time/money.

          Nothing can ever be as much of a mis-match as far as gearing as my buddy's old '91 Wagon. That thing had a very tired LoPo in it with 3.55s (tow package car). So it would shoot off the line stupid quick, but just as quickly fall on its face by 15mph and when it would upshift it would start all over again. On the freeway? forget about it. That thing could barely top out the 85mph speedometer and was really only happy at 65mph or less.
          -Steve

          2006 Audi A6 S-Line FWD ~132k miles, stock.
          1998 Mercury Grand Marquis LS HPP ~102k miles, slowly acquiring modifications.
          1997 Lincoln Town Car Cartier ~145k miles, Ported Plenum, Gutted Airbox, Mechanical Fan Delete, Contour E-fan Retrofit, Dual exhaust, Cats ran away, KYB Gas-A-Justs, P71 front sway bar, air ride reinstalled, Blinker Mod, Projector headlight retrofit, Caddy 4-note horn retrofit, Wood rim steering wheel, rustbelt diet plan..
          1996 Mercury Grand Marquis GS 117,485mi. R.I.P. 7/14/12

          Comment


            I haven’t really driven any nPI car with 3.27s. The 3.55s do certainly get the car right up to speed, but I haven’t seen how it does on the freeway. It does feel more spirited and doesn’t need as much accelerator to get it going. Even though it only winds up to 5200 RPM, you can really feel it pickup right above 2K and it pulls steady right up to the top. I feel like any more gear would be pointless in that car.

            The 3.27 in the wagon is ideal for it. It could top out the 85 MPH unit, but it’s happier at 75 or less. 65-70 gets best MPG in it, however.


            My Cars:
            -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
            -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
            -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
            -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

            Comment


              If you really want to feel a mismatch sometime, find someone with 92-94 4.6 car that has a 2.73 rear. Narrow ratio trans, no low rpm torque, and stupid tall gear. Talk about lame acceleration but boy do those things have long legs. 100+, no problem, but leaving a stop light you could get passed by an old woman in a Jazzy scooter.
              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

              91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

              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

              Comment


                I always wondered about the AOD/AOD-E pairings given their 2.40 1st gear ratio vs 2.84 1st gear in the 4R70W. The 3.27 seems to be the right amount of gear behind a LoPo and AOD, but I couldn't imaging launching that with 2.73s, and based on your statement, sounds like the 4.6 would be no better.

                You're right about the 2.73 cars being long legged. The '97 could get to 50 in 1st, 90 in 2nd, 3rd would get up to the speed governor past 100. Assuming the governor didn't exist, I'm sure 3rd could get you north of 130, and 4th could do something crazy assuming wind resistance wasn't a factor . Off the line was just meh, since it took a moment for it to get to it's happy area in the RPM band. On the highway it had no problem pulling away from things. Now it just feels spirited all the time. With the larger TB, low end throttle response is pretty damn nice and I barely have to ask much of it to get me up to speed. Cruising still feels the same, except climbing hills there's no downshifting out of OD, it'll typically just maintain speed right up them without needing much additional throttle input.


                My Cars:
                -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
                -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
                -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
                -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

                Comment


                  Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                  If you really want to feel a mismatch sometime, find someone with 92-94 4.6 car that has a 2.73 rear. Narrow ratio trans, no low rpm torque, and stupid tall gear. Talk about lame acceleration but boy do those things have long legs. 100+, no problem, but leaving a stop light you could get passed by an old woman in a Jazzy scooter.
                  I wonder if that's what my mom's '93 MGM had. That car is long gone so I'll never know, but I hated borrowing that car. I was always glad to go back to my '89 MGM at the time, which had/has a 3.08 open rear and the trans that's in The Ice Car now. Very noticeable difference between her '93 and my '89. Even The Ice Car with 2.73 open rear is nowhere near as awful as I remember that '93. Although, mom did get great mileage in that car.

                  KW, your car looks great even if mom's '93 may have been part of what turned me off to aeros. It sound's like the setup you have is nowhere near the slug I remember her car being.
                  Vic

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

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                    If you really want to feel a mismatch sometime, find someone with 92-94 4.6 car that has a 2.73 rear. Narrow ratio trans, no low rpm torque, and stupid tall gear. Talk about lame acceleration but boy do those things have long legs. 100+, no problem, but leaving a stop light you could get passed by an old woman in a Jazzy scooter.
                    Can vouch for this. The 93 was that way originally. RPMs at 80 were still below or at 2K. Though, on long haul trips, 26-28mpg at 65-70mph was not uncommon (this was also before ethanol was in the gas). I still have the original gears in the trans so even with the 3.55 rear, I can't roast tires. If I had the wide ratio trans setup, I might be able to roast some tires, but with the 8-pack clutches and decent tires, I can barely chirp them and the brakes I have just hold and warm up my torque converter. The Mad Marquis with the wide ratio trans and 3.55 would roast the tires with little trouble.

                    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.

                    Comment


                      Finally got some needed work done to the car. Been driving the '87 a good bit and have been ignoring the important stuff I've been putting off.

                      The '97 picked up a real neat stumble at light throttle between 40-50 MPH. Under some good advice, I swapped the DPFE sensor. That seemed to take care of the issue from what I can tell, or at least it hasn't done it again since I got it back out. It also developed a clank going from drive to reverse that I thought were prematurely worn u-joints due to inadequate greasing jobs (I installed some back about four years ago). Found out that the pinion yoke wasn't bolted very tight to the rear axle. Three of the four bolts were loose, and then I remembered that the driveshaft was out when the 3.55s went in. Since it developed with a bit of time, I bet the bolts were snugged up, and someone forgot to actually torque them down at the end. While concerning, I certainly wasn't mad since nothing ejected from the car or was damaged. I still swapped the u-joints with some Spicer non-greaseable type ones since I never enjoyed trying to line up the driveshaft so I could grease them. The OE units went like 180K, so NBD.

                      I also put some Box back on. Since I'm running Box police sway bars on the '87, I had been running the wagon's front sway bar on the '97 since I had been using the Box style end links for a few years. A few months ago, I decided to swap that bar for an Aero P71 bar and finally went back to the spindle mounted sway bar links, which rapidly wore out and started clunking and being generally annoying to listen to. I decided I wasn't going to keep swapping those, so I dusted the wagon bar off and popped it back on.



                      ENS bar to frame poly bushings went on, along with NOS Ford Box end links with ENS poly bushings. I wasn't about to try the 20+ year old bushings in the boxes, but the OE Ford end links are pretty neat considering each end is threaded, and were actually easier to get everything lined up and bolted together. Plus, when I got them on eBay, most of them were less than $10 shipped.

                      While the spindle mounted end links may have a better mechanical advantage, everything still feels good and tight, and I'm happy with the fact these won't be clunking and making stupid noise in less than a year.


                      My Cars:
                      -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
                      -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
                      -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
                      -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

                      Comment


                        Sad that the older design is more reliable. Nice work on the bar. Concerning about the driveshaft but at least you caught it...
                        -Nick M.
                        Columbia, SC

                        66 Squire, 89 Colony Park, 90 TC, 03 TC, 06 TC, 07 TC (2x)
                        03 BMW 540iT, 07 Toyota Tundra SR5 Dbl Cab/5.7 2WD

                        Comment


                          So far the '97 has been doing relatively okay, save for some alternator stupidity.

                          Several years back, the 6G I had on the car started flaking out. I tossed on a junkyard 95 amp 3G, then got a 130 amp re-manned model a few months later. All was good unit a few weeks ago I was noting the dash lights dimming and blower motor slowing at idle, only to pick back up with the engine speed. All the fender grounds were good, and I wasn't having any voltage drop. Finally, while standing outside the car with it idling, I could see the lights pulsing, so I figured I had a larger issue with the charging system. I guess that reman unit wasn't having it anymore.

                          I ordered a Motorcraft 6G reman unit through work, and warranty returned the failing 3G, so I got my replacement on the cheap. The Motorcraft unit looked pretty good compared to some reman units I've seen. Now I did run into a hiccup on install, and that was while I was removing the failing alternator, one of the bracket bolts that attached to the intake crossover sheared off. I wound up drilling it all the way out as it was hopelessly stuck, filled the void with JB Weld, then drilled and tapped a new hole. That worked surprisingly well.



                          I also installed a new belt tensioner and serpentine belt while I was there. I did the idler pulley fall/winter of last year. I also found out Continental is ending their Poly-V (AKA Gatorback) series in favor of a traditional serpentine belt design. I know the Gatorbacks have been a fan favorite for 4.6 owners to help prevent belt chirp at WOT, and I had never ran into an issue with the old one that replaced the factory belt maybe 7 or 8 years ago.

                          Also got straight 2s on the odometer during a trip to NC.




                          Only other things I can think of that have been done since March was installing a battery, new coil packs, and spark plug wires. I only did the wires and coils on age/mileage precaution, however there wasn't any noticeable issue prior.


                          My Cars:
                          -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
                          -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
                          -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
                          -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

                          Comment


                            Since the '87 has been out of commission since late October/early November, the '97 has gotten a few "fixes" done that have been on my list.

                            I installed WeatherTech LampGuards to a set of NOS Ford headlight and turn signal assemblies.


                            The LampGuards are the heavy film protectant deals that are supposed to be self healing against debris and also UV resistant. The hope is to maximize usable life out of these assemblies. I'm on the fence about the corner markers since they need to be replaced too since the reflectors are turning white. I've currently got the '92-'94 style installed, but have considered getting proper '95-'97 ones instead.

                            I also got curious regarding how the 4.6 is doing, so I fitted an electric oil pressure gauge. The sender went into the unused port below the switch for the light.


                            Cold pressure reads around 75-80 PSI at idle, while hot idle in gear is closer to 25-30 PSI, which seems to be properly in spec for this engine, even for the mileage.

                            And regarding mileage...


                            It's rolling smoothly along.


                            All things considered, it's doing alright.




                            As long as nothing happens before the end of May this year, I'll have owned this car for 10 years. Certainly have no complaints regarding long term ownership, that's for sure.
                            Last edited by Kodachrome Wolf; 01-10-2021, 10:19 PM.


                            My Cars:
                            -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
                            -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
                            -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
                            -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

                            Comment


                              That is the first time I have seen the Weather guard headlight film. Looks good. I see you have 71-72 Ford Galaxie/Ltd wheel covers on the MGM. Car looks good.

                              Comment


                                New lights make such a huge difference. I’d say that’s good oil pressure as well. How many miles were on it when you bought it?
                                1990 Country Squire - weekend cruiser, next project
                                1988 Crown Vic LTD Wagon - waiting in the wings

                                GMN Box Panther History
                                Box Panther Horsepower and Torque Ratings
                                Box Panther Production Numbers

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