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My 1987 Mercury Colony Park

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    Do you have a low fuel level light?
    ~David~

    My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
    My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

    Originally posted by ootdega
    My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

    Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
    But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

    Originally posted by gadget73
    my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




    Comment


      Sounds like the fuel pump isn't hanging low enough to pickup the last of the tank. I've put 18.5 gallons in the 88 I used to have and still had plenty of fuel for the pump to pick it up (except in hard corners - I drove that thing like I stole it most of the time). The level sender may be mounted wrong as well (straight rod on the float instead of the slightly bent one that's stock). Could also have corrosion on the connector creating resistance that's throwing things off.

      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


        could be the sock fell off or its the wrong one, or if the pump has been replaced it may not be pushed all the way down in the holder. Its just a friction fit in that rubber condom thing.
        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 87gtVIC View Post
          Do you have a low fuel level light?
          Not since I switched to the police cluster. I could use the ‘87 original fuel and dummy light side, but the turn signal arrows are different. Mine are just triangles versus actual arrows right now. On top of that, every once in a while the gauge will drop to empty and stay there. It did it on the original cluster and would trip the low fuel light. I wasn’t a fan of it burning brightly at me when I knew there was plenty of fuel. Typically that would only happen after a sharp turn. It would come back up after a few minutes.

          Originally posted by sly View Post
          Sounds like the fuel pump isn't hanging low enough to pickup the last of the tank. I've put 18.5 gallons in the 88 I used to have and still had plenty of fuel for the pump to pick it up (except in hard corners - I drove that thing like I stole it most of the time). The level sender may be mounted wrong as well (straight rod on the float instead of the slightly bent one that's stock). Could also have corrosion on the connector creating resistance that's throwing things off.
          Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
          could be the sock fell off or its the wrong one, or if the pump has been replaced it may not be pushed all the way down in the holder. Its just a friction fit in that rubber condom thing.
          FWIW, this car has always been troublesome on hard lefts under an indicated half tank. It has a tendency to fuel starve until it levels out then goes about it’s business. Right turns don’t cause any trouble though, but I’ve just been chalking it up to the pickup being on only one side of the tank.


          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 Kodachrome Wolf View Post
            Not since I switched to the police cluster. I could use the ‘87 original fuel and dummy light side, but the turn signal arrows are different. Mine are just triangles versus actual arrows right now. On top of that, every once in a while the gauge will drop to empty and stay there. It did it on the original cluster and would trip the low fuel light. I wasn’t a fan of it burning brightly at me when I knew there was plenty of fuel. Typically that would only happen after a sharp turn. It would come back up after a few minutes.


            I understand. I have installed a police cluster and added a simple yellow LED in the cluster as I wanted to retain that function. I recently added just under 18 gallons to the vic...The yellow low fuel light was on for a while and the gauge was low but I had no idea I was that low.
            ~David~

            My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
            My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

            Originally posted by ootdega
            My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

            Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
            But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

            Originally posted by gadget73
            my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




            Comment


              if you're careful you can transplant the actual Low Fuel indicator to a 140 cluster. Just have to cut a window in the 140 and remove it from the old one to glue in place. The rear foil probably needs to be moved too since I don't think the bulb contacts exist on the cop cluster.

              Do the wagons put the pump at one end of the tank? I know I've seen a wagon tank out once but I honestly don't remember any details of it.
              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
                if you're careful you can transplant the actual Low Fuel indicator to a 140 cluster. Just have to cut a window in the 140 and remove it from the old one to glue in place. The rear foil probably needs to be moved too since I don't think the bulb contacts exist on the cop cluster.

                Do the wagons put the pump at one end of the tank? I know I've seen a wagon tank out once but I honestly don't remember any details of it.
                Actually the cluster I got has a full printed circuit, and the indicators on the lamp panel, just no windows cut out for them. You pretty much just had to pay more to get two extra windows punched on your instrument cluster for low fuel and washer fluid level.

                I may also need to check the fuel gauge counter weight. The gauge might be okay. While the '82+ GMQ clusters have a smaller sweep zone and a totally electric gauge, the '79-'81 clusters use a wider sweep and have a counter weight to bring the needle back. When no power is applied to the gauge, it'll fall back to empty, but when powered, the lowest it'll drop back to is 1/8. I only bring that up since the original cluster would read empty when the sender got picky in a turn and would read nothing. I had to futz with the gas gauge when I got the police speedometer since it was off kilter to one side.
                Last edited by Kodachrome Wolf; 12-27-2019, 12:11 AM.


                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


                  Been using the wagon as the daily for several weeks while I've had the '97 parked pending some minor suspension work. Before it gets to chill in the garage for a moment once the '97 is squared away, I finally decided to work on a few small things. Gas gauge was one of them. The inaccurate reading was due to the counter weight being too advanced. Got it adjusted now and the reading range is accurate.

                  Also swapped in a set of sun visors with good mirror doors, replaced the radio bezel, and fixed the radio mount. The radio bezel had gotten warped, and I noticed the radio was a bit canted to one side. I had never given credence to the fact factory radios had a support on the bottom, the one in there previously didn't, and the one I have now didn't. Well, the radio bounced around enough to shear off two of the front mount ears on the bracket. Repaired that and added a piece of cardboard under the radio, seems to have done the trick.


                  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 Kodachrome Wolf View Post
                    Been using the wagon as the daily for several weeks while I've had the '97 parked pending some minor suspension work. Before it gets to chill in the garage for a moment once the '97 is squared away, I finally decided to work on a few small things. Gas gauge was one of them. The inaccurate reading was due to the counter weight being too advanced. Got it adjusted now and the reading range is accurate.

                    Also swapped in a set of sun visors with good mirror doors, replaced the radio bezel, and fixed the radio mount. The radio bezel had gotten warped, and I noticed the radio was a bit canted to one side. I had never given credence to the fact factory radios had a support on the bottom, the one in there previously didn't, and the one I have now didn't. Well, the radio bounced around enough to shear off two of the front mount ears on the bracket. Repaired that and added a piece of cardboard under the radio, seems to have done the trick.
                    Is the counter weight something on the sending unit or up in the cluster?


                    I adapted the factory rear support after market radios I put in the vic.

                    I also made a nice thick aluminum mounting plate for the radio cage to mount in and then that all screws into the factory location. A couple spacers were needed for it to sit perfectly. Radio is solid and never going anywhere.
                    ~David~

                    My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
                    My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

                    Originally posted by ootdega
                    My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

                    Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
                    But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

                    Originally posted by gadget73
                    my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




                    Comment


                      Originally posted by 87gtVIC View Post
                      Is the counter weight something on the sending unit or up in the cluster?
                      The counterweight is at the bottom of the needle on the cluster, right where it pivots. It’s a unique thing to ‘79-‘81 GMQ clusters as far as I can tell. It must have gone away when Ford went from the wide sweep gauge to the more narrow one in the later cars.


                      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


                        putting that radio support bracket in the Towncar is on my list of things to do, probably along with replacing the head unit because I kind of hate it. The fact that it bounces is just an unrelated annoyance.
                        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


                          Well, I’ve got to do some work this weekend and I have two questions.

                          1.) Any idea what these two wires are supposed to be the grounds for (the wires with the ring terminal)? The EVTM was no help. One was originally attached to the back of the passenger cylinder head (the striped one) and the other was crudely attached to the fuel rail mount at some point. When I had the heads off, I attached both to a ring terminal, but I have no idea if that was smart. (Apologies for the large pic, posting on mobile)


                          2.) I’m going to have the fuel rail off, would it just be a good idea to change the pressure regulator while it’s easy to get at? It’s from a ‘89, but it’s still 30+ years old.


                          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


                            should be the sensor ground to the ECM, and probably the ground side of the O2 sensor heaters. So long as the connection to the block is good you should be OK but if the connection goes stupid the voltage from the O2 heater will screw with the sensor data. usually the sensor one goes to the studly bolt at the rear corner of the intake manifold. I see it on the driver's side looking lonely.
                            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


                              Bye LoPo stick...


                              More to finish tomorrow. I'm sore after laying across that damn nose, but it'll get done. FWIW, reason this is getting done is the timing cover started leaking, and I mean, while I'm there...


                              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


                                Welp, finally got everything back together, and I get to take the upper intake and valve covers back off. I guess I can say the HO swap is generally done though.



                                FWIW, I wasn't 180* out, but about 10* ATDC trying to get it to light up. It wasn't too agreeable like that. I need to restab the distributor a bit, since I've got it turned really hard towards the water neck to get it at 10* BTDC.

                                Sounds like one of the roller rockers is clacking away like a madman, or so I hope. I stuffed a large shim on that side, and it sounds like it's coming from where I did it. I was doing my best to follow the Crane Cams instructions so these were set properly. With the old stamped stuff, I just jammed them on at 20 ft/lbs, no shimming, and called it a day without all that racket. That's probably a really dumb way of doing things, but...

                                I can't tell if there's any real noise on the passenger side. I have the old stamped stuff tucked away, just in case I need to throw those on for a moment while I figure out what I messed up there. The lifters should be okay, but knowing my luck, maybe there's one that's not having a great day. Need to fix that before I really bone something up. I do not want to have to snatch that damn timing cover off any time soon.


                                Things that I found semi-note worthy:
                                1.) The Mark VII PCM at least does work. I re-capped it before install. It'll be interesting to see how well it behaves given it's coming from an '87 setup that would have run the E6 heads on the HO setup. It seemingly ran okay for the 45 seconds it ran.
                                2.) The connector to the IAC has a busted holding pin in it, which allows one of the wires to shift about. Definitely need to fix that before the IAC magically decides to stop working for a second.
                                Last edited by Kodachrome Wolf; 03-09-2020, 11:55 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

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