kishy's 1984 Town Car

[kishy]

I found the AliExpress LED bulbs also used on the wagon and decided to put them in the 84TC also.

Tried the driver side first. The socket did not like being disturbed and I think the centre contact got sort of squished in, and didn't spring back out, so now no bulb will light up in it without pressure applied. No cornering lamp on this side until I replace the socket or otherwise get it to make contact.

Decided to try the passenger side, despite high probability of the same issue happening. Success.



Will root through my collection of junk to see if I have the appropriate weather-tight version of that socket but I'm not too optimistic.

[gadget73]

not just stuffed full of petrified old grease is it? Had a lot of trouble with those sockets on my car when I replaced the bulbs. Both broke, then once I managed to get the base out the contacts were basically glued down. With enough work with picks and flushing with contact cleaner I got enough out to make it work again.

[kishy]

not just stuffed full of petrified old grease is it? Had a lot of trouble with those sockets on my car when I replaced the bulbs. Both broke, then once I managed to get the base out the contacts were basically glued down. With enough work with picks and flushing with contact cleaner I got enough out to make it work again.

That is a fair bit of the problem. The grease seems to be holding the electrical contact back from springing back out after I pushed it inwards trying to remove the old bulb. I'll see if I can clean it out before opting for the snip and replace approach.

There is pretty much no slack on those harnesses so getting in there to do anything about it is kind of awkward. I also have a giant vacuum reservoir in that space, but that can be removed if necessary.

[Tiggie]

Around 89, the CV/GM switched to a 3156 in the ditch lights. Had the same problem you had with my 88 and got some donor harnesses from a later box to make the ditch light magic happen again. Not sure if the Lincoln's made a similar change, but could be a good junkyard investigation on your next trip.

[kishy]

Unfortunately, that cornering lamp socket did not survive the efforts to try to get the grease out. The positive contact broke off (was probably most of the way gone to begin with), so it's just dead now. A junkyard socket will have to go in its place. Must stay with the 1156 base because that's what the LED bulbs were purchased as.

The driver side rear window motor has been skipping recently, so the gear plugs failed. This was a junkyard motor that I put in rather early in having the car, which did not get a new or rebuilt gear at that time, so it was bound to happen eventually.









Quick and easy, done.
Did notice the window channel on this door is not fitting properly and has curled in on itself in that difficult front corner area. I am not super impressed with the fitment of WC-33-96 in corners. It'd be nice if a better solution turned up.

[DerekTheGreat]

Man, I love the interior in that car. I love the color, the seats look very regal and even the fake wood trim gives it a little extra. Everything seems more plush in the early TC's.

[Arquemann]

Now I know you peeps call them "plugs". Seemed like such a dumb word, but not anymore
+1 on the interior, I can feel the softness

[kishy]

Man, I love the interior in that car. I love the color, the seats look very regal and even the fake wood trim gives it a little extra. Everything seems more plush in the early TC's.

It's definitely a colour that had to grow on me, but I like it quite a bit now. I like the thicker pile carpeting and the 84- door layout as you pointed out as well. Woodgrain on the aluminum insert and just plain silver on the switch/ashtray.

Now I know you peeps call them "plugs". Seemed like such a dumb word, but not anymore
+1 on the interior, I can feel the softness

I didn't initially care much for the term but could never come up with something better. "Inserts" or "strain relief pucks" or "plastic nubs"...
It is quite soft. As beaters go, they don't get much plusher.


Trying to buy tires for this thing is proving challenging. Whitewalls are basically impossible to come by on this side of the border. I have a few options nearby on the US side though, at Belle Tire. The "cheapie" option would be Milestar MS775 at 88 bucks a tire; after installation and currently available rebates, $401 USD out the door. Not particularly bad at all, but not sure how I feel about the brand. The "known brand" option would be Uniroyal Tiger Paw AWP II at 97 bucks a tire; $439 out the door. The 401 for mystery brand doesn't seem as good when the known brand is only modestly more.

I wish I could buy the Toyo Extensa A/S again. These have been replaced by the Extensa A/S II which is not sold in a WSW variant.
The Toyos currently on this car were bought new to put on my 91 in 2013. They've been totally trouble-free and I'm only looking at replacing them because they're approaching the wear bars, they're otherwise in great condition, no real cracking, still ride smooth, even traction is quite good with the exception of hydroplaning in heavy rain.

The intelligent thing to do, if aesthetically less pleasant, would be to put on my old set of winter tires (no longer great for winter but fine for anything else) and burn them down to bald to free up some room in my garage...

[Tiggie]

I put the Milestar MS775 on the Ranger I was working on a while back. They were quiet and good in the dry. Not sure about anything else because it sold.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

I don’t know if Nexen is available in your area, but the nPriz AH5 in the 225/70R15 size is available with a whitewall. I run them on my ‘97. I appreciate that they’re the “fleet/police” size tire compared to the normal 215/70R15.

So far I’ve found them to be quiet, good riding tires with decent wet weather traction ability.

[Mainemantom]

I put the Nexen on both Lincolns. They are 225-70-15 WSW tires. They will do fine as those cars at most will only driven 500-1,000 a year. My only complaint as of now is they give a soft ride. They are average rated tires,quiet but nothing special. Yes WSW tires are getting hard to find. Prices have gone up in the past few months.

[DerekTheGreat]

Burning down tires to bald via burn outs sounds like a fun time. I've never done a burnout with my Town Car, but I have lit the tires up to do a quick 180 several times.

Looks like I should have done whitewalls when I had the chance. Now though, I wouldn't want to run cheapies just to achieve that look. Ride quality and quietness are factors that weigh in greatly for me when buying new meats. In that car, I want to be as isolated from the road and world as possible.

[gadget73]

I couldn't find whitewalls that I'd actually have paid money for when I bought the Conti so its got blackwalls. Those wire wheels would look better with white stripes though.

[friskyfrankie]

My friend has Cooper Trendsetters on his car and is very happy. They seem to ride very well and are pretty good in the rain. He doesn't put a lot of mileage on his car so they will probably dry rot before they wear out!

[kishy]

After further consideration, I'm probably going to skip on buying tires this summer. Although very much nearing the end of their lives, the existing tires are still fine for the conditions I drive this car in. The plan will be to run these down to about nothing, then swap to the old winter tires and run those down to about nothing. Sorry to disappoint, but this won't do burnouts, but being winter tires I figure I can probably shred the tread off them pretty quickly by just driving the way I normally do...that is to say, testing the performance of my sway bars on all turns.

I'll continue to monitor tire deals and if something that mustn't be passed up comes along, I'll buy a set. This car really should keep WSW tires.



I went under this car tonight to investigate a few concerns. The various noises of poorly-hanging exhaust have been getting more and more obnoxious, so I took a look at that stuff, and made some changes.

The tailpipe hangers were broken on both sides. Those received pretty temporary hackjob repairs involving galvanized plumbing strap, with a better solution to be figured out when I decide to care about it more. I also undid the ID-to-OD band clamps in front of the mufflers, cleaned those areas up, then packed them full of RTV and put them back on. These joints were not tight enough to prevent movement completely, so there were some noises associated with them. No more.

I put the new LEDs in the reverse lights; I harvested the one I swapped into the cornering lamp, and the other one that had been earmarked for the other cornering lamp. I'll buy some more of those, then fix the socket problem up front. Reverse light performance is now excellent.



I noticed the backing plate on the right drum brake was a little wet. The last time I was inside these drums was 2016 when I put the car on the road; it needed wheel cylinders. Nothing since then.
Axle seal is toast on that side and the axle shaft has a very small, but not zero amount of wiggle in the bad direction. The shoes are also looking a little thin, so it's time to spend a little time on this I think. Not parking the car over it yet, but it's a priority now.

I recently (http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...l=1#post865842) found a junkyard car with a new passenger axle shaft. Seems they just pulled it out of the yard this past week. Obviously, my problem already existed at that time, but I didn't know. That's how it goes I guess.

As I recall, our shafts are the same length on both sides, the driver side tends to wear slower, and I can pick any pre-90 box shaft. Should be able to grab a driver side one from another car that is still at Parts Galore instead.

[gadget73]

Change the bearing when you replace the shaft. If there is wiggle, fair bet the shaft is eating itself and all that goes into the bearing.

[jaywish]

If the car is parked sideways on a slope the differential will drain and eat itself pretty quick.

[kishy]

Change the bearing when you replace the shaft. If there is wiggle, fair bet the shaft is eating itself and all that goes into the bearing.

Oh yes, that's the intent. For how thorough I can be I sometimes leave out the thought process:

-If the seal is leaking, it's typically because the bearing is toast.
-Changing just the seal will result in a leak again soon.
-Changing just the bearing will be unsuccessful unless the axle shaft has no wear.
-Determining the axle shaft wear level requires pulling it apart and draining the diff, so I should have an axle shaft on-hand before starting the project on the current driver car.

I did the repair bearings on the wagon, and wouldn't say I've been thrilled with them. But if the opportunity arose again to buy them for ludicrously cheap, I might go that way again.

If the car is parked sideways on a slope the differential will drain and eat itself pretty quick.

Noted, thank you. I did change the diff oil in this when I got the car, so I have a data point for what the level was and when it was. I think I'm safe for a while yet, especially given that the car isn't truly daily driven, I bring my work vehicle home with me. It is parked flat and level pretty much exclusively.

Nonetheless, targeting a fix for this in the coming weeks, not longer than that.

[GM_Guy]

After further consideration, I'm probably going to skip on buying tires this summer. Although very much nearing the end of their lives, the existing tires are still fine for the conditions I drive this car in. The plan will be to run these down to about nothing, then swap to the old winter tires and run those down to about nothing. Sorry to disappoint, but this won't do burnouts, but being winter tires I figure I can probably shred the tread off them pretty quickly by just driving the way I normally do...that is to say, testing the performance of my sway bars on all turns.

You got plenty of meat on those tires, depending on how many miles you put on it might be two years before you need to replace them. I run my rears down to the point I think a cop will take notice, if it looks like theres a thread on it, it stays. When that happens, I buy two new tires for the front, move the fronts to the back and wear them down to and beyond the wear bars. I just swap them on the same axle to balance wear.

[jaywish]

You run those in the winter?