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ClayBelt’s 2010 Mercury Grand Marquis, “The Douche”

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    #61
    Yes, it is. Works pretty well for $40/seat, too
    2010 Mercury Grand Marquis LS “The Douche” - 70mm throttle body, P71 airbox, 21mm rear sway bay, dual exhaust, Dodge rims, 89K and counting. 4/2018-
    1966 Ford Thunderbird (390FE) “Fordy McFordface” - engine rebuild No. 3. 11/2016-
    RIP 2005 Buick LaCrosse CXS “Jumba” - gone too soon, 229K. 6/2017-2/2018
    RIP 2001 Chevrolet Tracker LT “Featherbrick” - gone too late, 156K POS. 6/2016-9/2016.
    Sold 2005 Toyota 4Runner SR5 - 198K. 6/2016-4/2018

    Comment


      #62
      Been busy lately. I ordered the rear gears for The Douche on New Year’s to fulfill one of my resolutions, so she’s moving up to 3.55’s and an LSD. I also installed the fog lights I bought back in November from a friend of mine. Same day I did that I worked out a payment plan to buy most of a manual swap kit, including a brand new transmission, for shits and giggles kind of money. Hopefully I’ll have that in my possession and being installed by 2020. Don’t really have much more news there.
      2010 Mercury Grand Marquis LS “The Douche” - 70mm throttle body, P71 airbox, 21mm rear sway bay, dual exhaust, Dodge rims, 89K and counting. 4/2018-
      1966 Ford Thunderbird (390FE) “Fordy McFordface” - engine rebuild No. 3. 11/2016-
      RIP 2005 Buick LaCrosse CXS “Jumba” - gone too soon, 229K. 6/2017-2/2018
      RIP 2001 Chevrolet Tracker LT “Featherbrick” - gone too late, 156K POS. 6/2016-9/2016.
      Sold 2005 Toyota 4Runner SR5 - 198K. 6/2016-4/2018

      Comment


        #63
        Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is, my rear gears are going in Thursday. The bad news is, she’s getting a full rear axle rebuild.
        2010 Mercury Grand Marquis LS “The Douche” - 70mm throttle body, P71 airbox, 21mm rear sway bay, dual exhaust, Dodge rims, 89K and counting. 4/2018-
        1966 Ford Thunderbird (390FE) “Fordy McFordface” - engine rebuild No. 3. 11/2016-
        RIP 2005 Buick LaCrosse CXS “Jumba” - gone too soon, 229K. 6/2017-2/2018
        RIP 2001 Chevrolet Tracker LT “Featherbrick” - gone too late, 156K POS. 6/2016-9/2016.
        Sold 2005 Toyota 4Runner SR5 - 198K. 6/2016-4/2018

        Comment


          #64
          Axles chewing themselves to bits?
          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


            #65
            Bad wheel bearings. They’ve been bad since at least 2016, when the old lady who’s estate I bought it from parked it. Been hunting down the source of my clunky ride, thought it was suspension related since the clunking was reduced with each part I replaced. Got an almost new suspension out of it. Driver one is toasty enough that whe wheel hub has some serious play with the car on the ground.
            2010 Mercury Grand Marquis LS “The Douche” - 70mm throttle body, P71 airbox, 21mm rear sway bay, dual exhaust, Dodge rims, 89K and counting. 4/2018-
            1966 Ford Thunderbird (390FE) “Fordy McFordface” - engine rebuild No. 3. 11/2016-
            RIP 2005 Buick LaCrosse CXS “Jumba” - gone too soon, 229K. 6/2017-2/2018
            RIP 2001 Chevrolet Tracker LT “Featherbrick” - gone too late, 156K POS. 6/2016-9/2016.
            Sold 2005 Toyota 4Runner SR5 - 198K. 6/2016-4/2018

            Comment


              #66
              typical. The axles start to come apart and kill the bearings or vise-versa. Usually you end up changing both at the same time anyway.
              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


                #67
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                Well, the 3.55’s are amazing. Haven’t really gotten on it, but partial feels like where full throttle was. It’s awesome. Also replaced my Head unit with a Kenwood, sounds like pure sex compared to the factory radio.
                2010 Mercury Grand Marquis LS “The Douche” - 70mm throttle body, P71 airbox, 21mm rear sway bay, dual exhaust, Dodge rims, 89K and counting. 4/2018-
                1966 Ford Thunderbird (390FE) “Fordy McFordface” - engine rebuild No. 3. 11/2016-
                RIP 2005 Buick LaCrosse CXS “Jumba” - gone too soon, 229K. 6/2017-2/2018
                RIP 2001 Chevrolet Tracker LT “Featherbrick” - gone too late, 156K POS. 6/2016-9/2016.
                Sold 2005 Toyota 4Runner SR5 - 198K. 6/2016-4/2018

                Comment


                  #68
                  so what, it moans and makes squishy noises? Not sure I'd want that in audio gear.
                  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


                    #69
                    Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                    so what, it moans and makes squishy noises? Not sure I'd want that in audio gear.

                    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


                      #70
                      Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                      so what, it moans and makes squishy noises? Not sure I'd want that in audio gear.
                      Factory was like using a 1920’s tube radio to listen to Metallica, this is like I’ve got expensive ass headphones in
                      2010 Mercury Grand Marquis LS “The Douche” - 70mm throttle body, P71 airbox, 21mm rear sway bay, dual exhaust, Dodge rims, 89K and counting. 4/2018-
                      1966 Ford Thunderbird (390FE) “Fordy McFordface” - engine rebuild No. 3. 11/2016-
                      RIP 2005 Buick LaCrosse CXS “Jumba” - gone too soon, 229K. 6/2017-2/2018
                      RIP 2001 Chevrolet Tracker LT “Featherbrick” - gone too late, 156K POS. 6/2016-9/2016.
                      Sold 2005 Toyota 4Runner SR5 - 198K. 6/2016-4/2018

                      Comment


                        #71
                        The new radio has me realizing that maybe I shouldn’t have cheaped out and used the Dual subs I did. Ordered a set of Rockford-Fosgate R2D4-12 subs to replace them, going to try my hand at building a new box for them too. More than likely I’m also going to be doing a projector headlight upgrade as well, we will see.

                        On a more fun note, Grandma Queef has gotten a set of Cadillac 4 tones out of a 1985 Eldorado. Scared the shit out of a lady who was texting and driving with them.
                        2010 Mercury Grand Marquis LS “The Douche” - 70mm throttle body, P71 airbox, 21mm rear sway bay, dual exhaust, Dodge rims, 89K and counting. 4/2018-
                        1966 Ford Thunderbird (390FE) “Fordy McFordface” - engine rebuild No. 3. 11/2016-
                        RIP 2005 Buick LaCrosse CXS “Jumba” - gone too soon, 229K. 6/2017-2/2018
                        RIP 2001 Chevrolet Tracker LT “Featherbrick” - gone too late, 156K POS. 6/2016-9/2016.
                        Sold 2005 Toyota 4Runner SR5 - 198K. 6/2016-4/2018

                        Comment


                          #72
                          ^^HAHA. I had a lady blow a stop sign in front of me while texting with the windows down on her Suburban. How you don't see my big ugly Town Car or hear it coming, IDK, but I laid on the horn with the Caddy 4-notes all still working and watched her jump and the phone went out the window. I did make an effort not to run over the phone as I was laughing my ass off and proceeding thru the intersection.

                          100% do the projectors. Worth the effort and cost. Especially now that you can get the projectors, HID setup, and everything needed for about $100.
                          -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


                            #73
                            Originally posted by BigMerc96 View Post
                            ^^HAHA. I had a lady blow a stop sign in front of me while texting with the windows down on her Suburban. How you don't see my big ugly Town Car or hear it coming, IDK, but I laid on the horn with the Caddy 4-notes all still working and watched her jump and the phone went out the window. I did make an effort not to run over the phone as I was laughing my ass off and proceeding thru the intersection.

                            100% do the projectors. Worth the effort and cost. Especially now that you can get the projectors, HID setup, and everything needed for about $100.
                            That’s awesome man! Had a hard time refraining from laughing here. I was looking at doing a premade projector headlight and wiring kit a guy in LA makes, but now youve got me curious. What parts would I need/you recommend doing it myself?
                            2010 Mercury Grand Marquis LS “The Douche” - 70mm throttle body, P71 airbox, 21mm rear sway bay, dual exhaust, Dodge rims, 89K and counting. 4/2018-
                            1966 Ford Thunderbird (390FE) “Fordy McFordface” - engine rebuild No. 3. 11/2016-
                            RIP 2005 Buick LaCrosse CXS “Jumba” - gone too soon, 229K. 6/2017-2/2018
                            RIP 2001 Chevrolet Tracker LT “Featherbrick” - gone too late, 156K POS. 6/2016-9/2016.
                            Sold 2005 Toyota 4Runner SR5 - 198K. 6/2016-4/2018

                            Comment


                              #74
                              The projectors and shrouds themselves. These can be had for ~$40 a pair.

                              A pair of suitable HID ballasts. I run 55w AC digital slim ballasts myself. These are ~$30 for decent ones.

                              HID bulbs that fit the projectors. Most of the inexpensive projectors are knock-offs of the Morimoto Mini-H1 and take a H1 sized bulb. About $12 a pair from reputable sellers like Innovited or HID-Warehouse

                              A wiring harness to go from whatever the stock bulbs are (I think your car uses 9008/H13?) to a "bi-xenon HID" setup. The projector's high beam solenoid that removes the cut-off shield behind the lens uses the same plug as a generic plug and play bi-xenon bulb, so a readily available bi-xenon harness does exactly what you need, takes the stock headlight wiring and uses it to trigger a relay that powers the ballasts as well as the solenoids when high beams are needed. My last few harnesses came from DDM Tuning, around $15, overall a pretty good harness and you can't even make one for that cheap.

                              As far as installing them.

                              First step would be opening up the headlight housings. This is fairly easy with OEM housings, you simply heat them up in an oven at low heat (I did 250*F for 20 minutes) which softens the glue holding the lens on so that you can then pry the lens off.

                              Then you are going to have to remove the shield/reflector that sits in front of the stock bulbs. Haven't done a '06+ GMQ, but generally these just press into a slot in the top of the housing and can be pulled out with pliers.

                              Next up is mounting the projectors. This is where it might get tricky, but I doubt it on a large housing like yours. The projectors have a threaded shaft/stem on the back of them, this will be inserted thru the hole where the stock bulb used to go, and then secured with the provided nut. At this point I'd mount them on the car and light them up to make sure the cut-off is straight and level, do this while they are still apart so you can adjust if needed. What I ran into on my Town Car was that its housings were the exact height of the projectors with shrouds installed, however the stock bulb was not centered vertically in the housings, so installing the projector like that caused the beam to be pointed down a fair bit. I had to trim the shrouds a bit on the top so that the projector could sit level within the housing. A bit of trial and error, but not at all difficult. I'd expect yours to be more like my '98 GMQ where the projector just kinda dropped right in and all I had to worry about was making sure the cut-off was level. You may or may not have to trim the opening that the stock bulb went into for clearance, but I somewhat doubt it since a H13 uses a pretty big opening like the 9007 does.

                              The harnesses are self explanatory, you plug it into the stock bulb connector, run the power wire to the battery (or for a cleaner look you can run it to the stud on the side of the fuse box like I did), run the ground wire(s) to a suitable ground, and plug in the ballasts and high beam solenoids coming from the projectors.

                              To re-seal the lenses on the lamp housings, you have lots of options. I just used black RTV because I had it on-hand and I've never had moisture/condensation issues even after 5 years in the Town Car. Others will argue that butyl tape is best. Whatever works and is easiest to get is my motto for that. I suppose butyl might be easier to open up in the future, but the stock glue appears to be gray silicone anyway.

                              All in all, not difficult. I think my '98 took me an hour start to finish not counting the time in the oven for the lights.
                              -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


                                #75
                                I’m selling her. Since I last posted here I blacked out the grille center and put new tires up front, plus changed the transmission fluid. She’s got a small rear diff leak I don’t want to deal with
                                2010 Mercury Grand Marquis LS “The Douche” - 70mm throttle body, P71 airbox, 21mm rear sway bay, dual exhaust, Dodge rims, 89K and counting. 4/2018-
                                1966 Ford Thunderbird (390FE) “Fordy McFordface” - engine rebuild No. 3. 11/2016-
                                RIP 2005 Buick LaCrosse CXS “Jumba” - gone too soon, 229K. 6/2017-2/2018
                                RIP 2001 Chevrolet Tracker LT “Featherbrick” - gone too late, 156K POS. 6/2016-9/2016.
                                Sold 2005 Toyota 4Runner SR5 - 198K. 6/2016-4/2018

                                Comment

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