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Buyer's Remorse (AKA "Hideous") - Giraffe's 1990 Grand Marquis LS

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    Originally posted by His Royal Ghostliness View Post
    I tried 3 reman calipers till I got a good one for my old D60. On average aftermarket rear wheel cylinders last about two years of daily-driver duty, doesn't seem to matter where they're made - NOS Bendix no problems after several years, still look like new under the dust seal. Fuel tanks rotted tru in 6 years, those were made in Canada actually and the vehicle doesn't see much any winter action to begin with - replace with OEM plastic, done and done! Yeah, OEM parts for me whenever I can get them priced reasonably. About to toss a NOS balancer in the 1-ton, $100-ish for it and OEM-style seal or $50 for a repair sleeve and matching seal that may or may not stop the leak...

    Giraffe, just replace the other brake caliper as well. They are cheap enough, your peace of mind will be worth it.
    Oh, the spectra premium stuff? Nice... I mean I used to feel great when I replaced stuff but now I'm not so sure. If I can get NOS stuff I will, otherwise it's like I'm buying an unknown quantity of time.
    1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
    1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

    Comment


      Originally posted by Giraffe View Post
      I just had O’Reilly order the other caliper for me. I’ll install it today after I get back to the in-laws. Can’t wait to get it up and running again.
      Good! And after you toss it on you'll be able to keep on driving nice and safe-like till you decide that it's time to do big brakes, as that's somewhat of a big job (time-consuming, not hard) and thus you wanna plan for it well in advance (like, do it on a long holiday weekend or something).

      Originally posted by DerekTheGreat View Post
      Oh, the spectra premium stuff? Nice... I mean I used to feel great when I replaced stuff but now I'm not so sure. If I can get NOS stuff I will, otherwise it's like I'm buying an unknown quantity of time.
      Tanks were Spectra indeed. They're up to like $100-ish now, while the plastic MTS are down to under $200 - yeah I'll pay the $80 or $90 or whatever difference so I don't have to do that job again in the next 10 years or more. Front tank is OEM plastic, I was able to score one of those rare 20-gallon (or was it 21) units that Spectra and Dorman refuse to acknowledge they exist and that Ford only briefly mentions in some (but not all) owners manuals, could have done OEM plastic for the rear as well (off a cab-chassis truck only, requires some mods to straps and such) but I got greedy on the fuel capacity and Broncos never came with plastic tanks that I know of so I went MTS there.
      The ones who accomplish true greatness, are the foolish who keep pressing onward.
      The ones who accomplish nothing, are the wise who know when to quit.

      Comment


        Originally posted by His Royal Ghostliness View Post
        Good! And after you toss it on you'll be able to keep on driving nice and safe-like till you decide that it's time to do big brakes, as that's somewhat of a big job (time-consuming, not hard) and thus you wanna plan for it well in advance (like, do it on a long holiday weekend or something).
        I did a 5-lug swap on an '86 Mustang GT I owned about thirteen years ago. I imagine the big brake swap is very similar to that with the additional steps of different upper control arms, sway bar and end links?
        —John

        1985 Ford F-150 XLT Lariat
        1990 Mercury Grand Marquis LS (POTM March 2017 & May 2019 - gone, but not forgotten)
        1995 Mustang SVT Cobra coupe (cream puff)
        1966 Mustang coupe (restoration in-progress)

        Comment


          Pretty similar. Ball joints, spindles, UCA, bearing assembly, caliper, rotor, pads. You don't have to change the sway bar and enlinks either, the stock type works perfectly fine with the late brakes. I've been running that way for 10 years. The only "trick" is you need a metric to standard line adapter if you're not planning to replace or re-flare the ends of the brake lines. 98-02 used bubble flares, your car has SAE double flares. Its the perfect time to do lower control arm bushings, springs, and shocks just because everything else is apart already.
          Last edited by gadget73; 11-08-2017, 05:54 PM.
          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


            Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
            FM radio kinda sucks around here
            Same here, to the point where I miss having a 5ft whip for radio reception, used to give me a few more options. Oddly enough in this one '94 truck I put an older box Panther radio cause its factory one started showing "TAPE" on the screen all the time even tho it has no tape mechanisms at all (it's just an AM/FM receiver), and even with the stock antenna it picks up more stations, and signal is stronger too. Basically to match that my aftermarket radio needs a larger antenna - does that mean the box radio has a better input signal amplifier or something?
            The ones who accomplish true greatness, are the foolish who keep pressing onward.
            The ones who accomplish nothing, are the wise who know when to quit.

            Comment


              probably, or its just in better electrical shape. Stock radios do usually have a pretty good tuner compared to a lot of aftermarket stuff. No idea why, its not like this is a new technology. Maybe they just don't put as much effort into the tuner since they expect you to use other sources most of the time.
              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


                Both new calipers are on and bled along with the new fan clutch. Car is running great. The brakes even feel a less lumpy.

                I was worried at first that the AC Delco was just a rebranded part as it looked identical to the Four Seasons part. However, upon closer inspection, the casting is much smoother on the AC Delco part. Seems to work correctly. Kept the car nice and cool, weather notwithstanding.
                —John

                1985 Ford F-150 XLT Lariat
                1990 Mercury Grand Marquis LS (POTM March 2017 & May 2019 - gone, but not forgotten)
                1995 Mustang SVT Cobra coupe (cream puff)
                1966 Mustang coupe (restoration in-progress)

                Comment


                  Yeah ya know, my fan clutch took a dump shortly after I put a new one on. Haven't replaced it yet as it hasn't started to heat up.
                  1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                  1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by DerekTheGreat View Post
                    Yeah ya know, my fan clutch took a dump shortly after I put a new one on. Haven't replaced it yet as it hasn't started to heat up.
                    When mine failed in the Town Car, I used it as an excuse for electric fans. Cost me about the same as a new clutch. Junkyard fan, assorted hardware, and a controller from the parts store. And it freed up a crap-ton of room in front of the engine. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
                    -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


                      Originally posted by BigMerc96 View Post
                      When mine failed in the Town Car, I used it as an excuse for electric fans. Cost me about the same as a new clutch. Junkyard fan, assorted hardware, and a controller from the parts store. And it freed up a crap-ton of room in front of the engine. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
                      What kind of fan did you use? I've been thinking about the same thing in conjunction with a 3G upgrade, however, I want to ensure I use a fan that covers as much area of the radiator as possible.
                      —John

                      1985 Ford F-150 XLT Lariat
                      1990 Mercury Grand Marquis LS (POTM March 2017 & May 2019 - gone, but not forgotten)
                      1995 Mustang SVT Cobra coupe (cream puff)
                      1966 Mustang coupe (restoration in-progress)

                      Comment


                        Fans came from a V6 Ford Contour. V6 Contours and FWD Cougars used dual fans vs. single fan on 4cyl models. I made a frame from angled aluminum stock to mount it to the radiator. It doesn't cover the radiator entirely, there's a couple inches top/bottom/left/right, but the fans are very thin and very efficient. I was planning to build a custom shroud for them, but, that never happened and they keep the car cool just fine as is even in summer 95* heat with the AC on. Never saw temps much above 210 with the stock 195* thermostat and the controller set to come on around 205. If the controller was set any lower the fans would go on and off every time the thermostat opened/closed which is unnecessary and annoying. If I'm being honest, I never actually reinstalled my controller after I changed the radiator, its been running with 1 fan wired to the stock auxiliary fan circuit, the stock '95-'97 aux fan comes on with AC or if the engine gets above 220* (IIRC), so, really I'm working with 1/2 a contour fan assembly and still its never overheated even with AC in the summer, never even seen the "gauge" move on the digidash. I've been playing around with an idea for a overkill yet simple, cheap, and reliable fan controller that would apply to any e-fan setup regardless of the OEM configuration. Once I get that figured out, I'll do a write-up. Till then, I have a write up from my initial retrofit from 2012 in the tech archives both here and on CVN.
                        -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


                          Yeah I have a bigass radiator from radiator express or whatever that i'm sure the stock shroud and shit won't fit on. Once I finally do my 3g swap i'll probably whack the bigass radiator in and do electric fans. Was thinking either contour dual fan or a mkVIII or Taurus fan. Will see what I find when the time comes. I have a spare new factory-replacement radiator that just when in the other car before the wreck, but also have the big aluminum one and when you have bigger, go bigger is my motto. I know the radiator that's in the car is full of poo. It did get flushed but still runs way warmer than the other car did in warm weather and it even has a new fan clutch and water pump.

                          Comment


                            I ran a Mark VIII fan for a while. It made a lot of noise, made the lights flicker every time it came on, randomly killed a controller that caused an overheat, and overall had far less temperature stability than the stock mechanical fan. It also gave me no improvement in fuel economy and didn't cool any better. I upgraded it back to a thermostatic clutch fan and have had no problems with it since.
                            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've been running an 01 Dorman Fan on my 93 for the past few years. Use the stock relays to control it with a soft start circuit of my own making (low speed first then 5 seconds later, high speed - this happens when the coolant temp switch (sensor style) trips - 99C). Low speed when AC compressor circuit is on. Off any other time. No issues.

                              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


                                Yeah. You almost need a soft-start for the larger fans. Even the stock fan in my '98 will cause the lights to flicker momentarily when it first spins up, this is why the factory programming has a few second delay between AC compressor engagement and fan on. This is why I'm still thinking of making a controller, integrate it into the '98 stock fan in place of the sometimes problematic '98-'00 resistor block. Basically my plan involves taking a OEM PWM fan module from, well, pretty much any late model car/truck and feeding it a PWM signal that varies with temperature reading from the stock ECT sensor. My sticking point is A) what to use for the PWM signal for which I'm thinking Arduino because they are dirt cheap and more than capable even if a bit overkill, and B) I'm not sure what the factory fan module expects for a signal, I know they use PWM but IDK if its 1:1 from signal to output, they have some circuitry in them along with the expected MOSFETs and large capacitors so IDK if they have any integrated logic or what. You can buy a factory replacement OE fan module for cheaper than you can build something to accomplish the same thing along with handling the fan current AND survive under the hood thus me wanting to utilize one. Once I figure out what kind of signal the module wants, and map the resistance/voltage for the sensor, it should be pretty simple to get the Arduino to take the ECT's analog signal and turn it into a corresponding speed signal for the fan.
                                -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

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