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My '05 MGM

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    #61
    Originally posted by VicCrownVic View Post
    My experience has been that the manifold to head studs/bolts are no problem to get off. Manifold to downpipe/cat studs are the real pain, but at least can be dealt with on a bench.

    Edit: I'm talking about box exhaust, not sure how/if whale exhaust behaves any different.
    I didn't have any problems getting the lopo exhaust bolts out. The only other vehicle that was easier was my Malibu; but I suspected that its 305 had been replaced prior to me getting that car.

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      #62
      I have the driver side tailpipe mocked up for the most part. I got a bunch of 45° and 90° bends; but I discovered that I need 30° and 60° bends as well. I will order those along with the hose ends. For the driver side, it looks like I need 4 x 90° to go over the rear axle, one 60° bend, one 45° bend, and a 30° bend to pitch it to the rear bumper. We'll see when those parts come in.

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        #63
        I received those bends and laid them out. The piping is now very close to the stock tailpipe; just needs to be cut down to fit on a couple of the straight sections. I'm gonna leave it a little long until the time comes to put everything up. Then I will cut and trim as needed; but the basic routing is done. Now I need to do the same to the passenger side.

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          #64
          Not much going on here. Over the weekend, whilst clearing out the basement, I found the heat shield I got from the junkyard some years back. Cleaned and painted it. I think when an engine isn't too rusty and greased up, it's treated a little better at the shop; unless I go crazy and start putting on hot pink paint or something.

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            #65
            Changed things up a bit with this car. I procrastinated with the winter wheel setup until 2 weeks ago; and pulled the trigger on the Saleen wheels. Since they sit wide; I have to be careful about the terrain; and keep away from dips and humps; as the rear tires rub the fender. If I am good with changing these out every season; these will last a while. I still have the 1st set of summer rear tires on the Crown Vic. I am still up in the air on whether I like the look. If I decide that I don't like them; I will throw them on the Crown Vic when I do the bigger big brake swap.

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              #66
              They fit the car as far as appearance goes. Not my style, but neither is my car (it's growing on me LOL).
              edit: what's up with the keypad?


              Attached Files
              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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                #67
                I discovered shortly after getting this car; that the alarm would go off by itself on rainy humid days. I saw that the keypad is dry-rotted and letting water in and onto the alarm sensor; thus setting it off. I don't remember who on this site told me about that. I probably should have epoxy'd it, but at the time, I just taped it up and kept doing so. Rough on the paint, but the car will need a repaint in the near future anyways.

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                  #68
                  Installed one of the catch cans between the valve cover and air intake tube. This is a temporary set up as all was had at the local auto parts store was 5/8" heater hose. I will see if I can get 5/8" fuel hose instead. I was going to install the catch can for the PCV hose; but I couldn't find any fittings that would work. I will see if I can find a hose barb 5/8" to 1/2" adapter so I can use the Steeda can I got. I also got the car inspected; so I can start thinking about the dual exhaust conversion again.

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                    #69
                    I couldn't get motivated to go out and work on the Crown Vic today. So I decided to tackle the Grand Marquis PCV catch can project. Since the ports on this Steeda catch can are 1/4" NPT (I wrongly stated 1/2" npt above); and the PCV valve and throttle body PCV ports are 5/8"; I initially tried to step it up with adapter fittings from Home Depot. That made the hose run way too long and I couldn't get it to fit. Last week I was ordering house supplies from Amazon and remembered to look up and order 1/4"NPT to 5/8" barb fittings. That made the hose run much shorter. I had forgotten that the fuel supply line is in the way; so I routed the hose around it. Doesn't look too bad; and it should serve its purpose.

                    Hopefully tomorrow will bring better weather to work on the Crown Vic.

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                      #70
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                        #71
                        So the new tradition for turkey day is to do major repairs on my vehicles. 2019 I replaced the coils and plugs on my Grand Marquis; 2020 I replaced the intake manifold; yesterday I replaced the front brakes and sway bar. My brake pedal had been progressively getting lower to the floor since last spring. The pattern for this car is they begin to grab more towards the end of their service life; which they started doing in September. Then last month I started seeing the brake light on the dash flicker; and the last couple of weeks I was getting significant brake fade; so much so that I was driving very conservatively.

                        The sway bar is another story. I attempted to switch it out back in 2019 and broke a sway bar retaining clip in the process of removing the old bar. In fear of breaking the other retaining clips; I stuck a carriage bolt and a locking nut in its place. I left the old bar in place while I looked for replacement retaining clips; that I discovered were discontinued by Ford and none could be found locally. During that interim, my carriage bolt worked its way out and fell off; which stressed the other passenger side retaining clip; which broke and fell off at some point. I didn't notice it until I slapped the Saleen wheels and wider tires on the Merc and noticed no improvement in handling. In fact, it was beginning to roll a bit more than usual. I knew something was up; but didn't know how bad it was until I jacked the car up yesterday and found that side of the sway bar dangling by the end link; and the metal bushing bracket was nowhere to be found. Fortunately I had gotten retaining clips for another Ford vehicle off of Amazon a month ago; so I spent some time (with a hammer and punch) making them fit. Then I removed the old sway bar and replaced it with one from ADTR (much thicker). In a couple hours I will see if the driveway is dry enough to replace the rear brakes. Then I will take the car out tomorrow to begin bedding the pads and see if I got some handling back. I will also change the oil while I am at it.

                        I am having issues loading pics, so I will try again later.

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                          #72
                          I sold the nos Ford rubber body side moldings for a CV/MGM today. Very good sale. Helped my wife put up the Christmas tree and decorations. She gets allot of pleasure doing this every year.
                          Need to swap cars around in the garages. Need the LTC signature in the heated garage so I can replace the vinyl top this winter. Can't move cars today as the ground is soaking wet and it is suppose to snow the next couple of days.

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                            #73
                            I wish we had a heated garage; let alone a garage to work in. I have to get back on fighting with the home insurance to cover the garage replacement.

                            As such, I replaced the rear rotors and pads Saturday afternoon. It could be just my car; but my axle hubs are under-bored; as everything that is mounted to them gets seized. The original wheels, the 1st set of PI wheels, and the Saleen wheels have to be pried off the hub. As such, I used a 3-jaw pulley puller to remove the rear rotors since hammering does nothing. When I put the wheels back on yesterday and went for a test drive, I heard and felt a knocking noise from the rear wheels. When I got home I jacked the car up and pulled the wheels off to see what was up. I readjusted the e-brake and spun the wheel by hand and it clunked and binded up. It was dark and my hands were freezing, so I called it a day. Went out this morning and pulled the brakes apart on the driver side to discover that the brake shoe retaining clip and pin came apart and basically pulverized themselves somehow. Waiting for new brake shoes and hardware to come in so I can complete this task.

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                              #74
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                                #75
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