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    Hello from Indiana!

    I’m new to this forum and also the brand new owner of a 1984 Mercury Grand Marquis LS 2D! Mileage currently sits around 110,000 miles.

    I found this forum through google hoping to assess some issues on my own.

    I plan to restore her to tip top shape paint and all! The photos I will post are unfortunately not of the exact condition I purchased it in but I will still give the best before and after that I can.

    Overall, the vehicle was in exceptional shape when I procured it with nearly no rust whatsoever! The interior was in great shape aside from the headliner and cracks in the uppermost part of the dash. The original owner had the underbody coated with Ziebart diamond gloss early in its life. Last week I had it re coated and touched up.
    The windshield was cracked but I have since had it replaced.

    Click image for larger version

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    Maybe this following tidbit would be better posted in another part of the forum, but for now I’ll tack it on here:

    -The most immediate issue that I face is that of it idling too high. Upon cold start, it will jump into gear and instead slowing down when I let off the brake, it will actually speed up half the time! It really seems to fight me when I try and stop. These issues become much less as I drive it for a longer period of time.

    -I’m looking to have it tuned up (plugs, wires, rotor, dist. cap, fuel filter and timing) for the sake of preventative maintenance but I was surprised by how much the shop planned to charge me for labor. If I can get away with it right now, I would like to focus on fixing my idling issue on its own (if not related to tune up) and maybe doing the tune up on my own if I can learn enough from this forum.

    I would like to be able to drive it up to see a friend 4 hours away this weekend but if i can’t get it in sound condition then it may not be the greatest idea.

    Thanks for reading,

    -Bo


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    #2
    Welcome!

    If this were a later SEFI box I would lean toward IAC, might just need a cleaning, assuming that applies on the older CFI boxes.
    Vic

    ~ 1989 MGM LS Colony Park - Large Marge
    ~ 1998 MGM LS - new DD
    ~ 1991 MGM LS "The Scab"
    ~ 1991 MGM GS "The Ice Car"

    Comment


      #3
      Welcome to the forum! Glad to see more people taking an interest in these boats. I am also not well-versed in CFI car problems but we do have a handful of members here that know them well. They will chime in soon. Beautiful car!

      Comment


        #4
        If its cfi its likely the choke cap is broken and its sticking in high idle. The cap in my 85 was broken and if I pressed the gas to the floor before I started it, it would stay in high idle. I could blip the gas to get it to come off the high idle cam but driving around some more it would inevidably get stuck again.

        Cfi was only used for a few model years for a reason lol. But its not too hard to figure out. Its pretty much a carb with 2 injectors in the throat, a hybrid if you will.


        Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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          #5
          Howdy.

          ^^ this, even if the choke electrically works they can get gummy. If the wire is unplugged, the alternator changed to something else without re-connecting the feed to the choke, or if the heater is just bad it'll do this too. Often you can just shoot some carb cleaner on the linkage to get it un-stuck though.
          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


            #6
            Welcome. Awesome car. You'll find TONS of info here. All ya gotta do is look. If ya can't find what you're looking for ask.
            I've gotten excellent tips here from a decent bunch of guys.
            All FORD All The Time

            Comment


              #7
              Awesome car, I love boxes and especially the two door variety.

              If your car still has the original CFI set up, no fear. It's not satanic like everyone else tries to make you think it is.

              The high idle could be choke related as another member said, and it could be EGR or base idle speed related. From the factory, Ford had the cold/fast idle set pretty high, something close to if not more than 2,000 RPM's. You set this just like you'd set the choke and cold/fast idle on a carb'd car by stabbing the skinny pedal before cranking. These do not have IAC valves.. Interestingly enough though, the 3.8 CFI cars do. Anyway, if everything was working correctly with the choke-pull off mechanism, it sets that fast idle. Then as the choke-pull off warms up the car is supposed to come down into curb idle which is something around 550 or 600 RPM if I recall correctly. It's been awhile since I had my '85. Again, that is if everything is working correctly haha. What ailed my car was that the EGR was plugged up and I had a bad TPS. So someone had bumped the base idle up by adjusting the dashpot that lives on the driver's side. There is an 8mm(?) hex head bolt that you can use to adjust base/curb idle and I've also heard that the sensitivity of the dashpot is adjustable too. This dash pot is used to bump up the base idle when the A/C is running and when you're cruising so that if you abruptly take your foot of the gas the throttle doesn't just snap shut. If you hold the throttle open and the vacuum lines are routed correctly you can see the lever on the dashpot extend a bit. Make sure that is lubricated as if it sticks, that can also cause a high idle condition. But when I tried to put my curb idle back down to factory specs the car would stumble & die. EGR was hanging open due to dingleberries on the pintle and such. And the TPS was wigging out when the throttle was back in the original position too. After those things were addressed, the car was fine. The fast idle is adjustable too, by a screw. I set mine to about 1,800rpm or so. I don't think these things richen the fuel mixture to correct for cold weather, so beyond 1,800 rpm or so it isn't necessary. So until it goes into closed loop it just simply runs a bit richer, but not much. Kishy is the resident expert of CFI on here and even has a '84 TC which runs beautifully. He could clean up my ignorance on fuel trim info here. But that was the impression my car gave me. Good luck with tuning it back into shape.
              1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
              1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

              Comment


                #8
                Thanks everyone for reaching out, I appreciate this feedback more than you may know! Due to inferences that I drew from the information I collected from y’all, the grand marq’ is purring right along. I still have a lot to learn about all of this but that’s why I’m here!

                I’m not sure how to measure the rpms (since I have no gauge on the dash) but it sounds healthy.

                Firstly, I went out and adjusted the choke on the side of the cfi which fixed my idling problem pretty quick.

                The time slot I had scheduled at a shop that was originally for a tune up, I instead requested an inspection on wheel bearings and to look into my throttle issue.
                They found and replaced a gummed up grommet somewhere close to the end of the cable and presto problem solved! $30.

                Afterwards, I went and picked up the parts I ordered for a tune up and proceeded to replace the cables/ plugs/ air filter while visiting grandpa. I ordered dist. cap, rotor, breather, fuel filter, and PCV valve as well but opted to wait to replace the cap and rotor seeing as whats currently in there looks clean as can be! As far as the breather and pcv valve, neither my grandpa or I could find where they went so those parts were left aside for now.

                The day I purchased this beauty, I thought I had been duped because after the trade was made, the car died in the sellers driveway, after he had gone inside like a horror story, and I was not able to keep it running for a consistent amount of time or able to get it to start when it would die. I got it 50 feet down the road before I had to tow it 40 miles home. That fix turned out to be an ignition control module for which they charged me about 120 for parts and labor.

                While I wait to fulfill appointments for window tinting and an all around paint job, I will be turning my attention to the car audio and headliner (both of which I plan to tend to myself). Only two of the speakers work at the moment if I’m lucky.

                TLR-
                Thanks for all the support! I’ve been lucky with this project so far only having to sink an extra 150 to get it running soundly (plus another 90 for tune up parts and 275 for windshield replacement if you count that). Not bad considering I was lucky enough to pick it up for only 1,500! If anyone could drop a link to speaker wiring diagram or a thread with good tips it would be much appreciated. Also, do you think it was a sound idea for me to not replace to distributor cap and rotor even though they looked tip top? Either this app doesn’t have a search feature or I haven’t found it yet.

                Safe travels,

                -Bo


                Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                Comment


                  #9
                  Scratch that on the search feature btw it was very easy to find once I spent more than a few minutes in the app


                  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Welcome to the forum! Car looks awesome. Nice to see some more tudor GM's still floating around.

                    '78 LTD | '87 Grand Marquis | '89 Crown Vic (RIP) | '91 Grand Marquis (RIP) | '94 Town Car (RIP) | '97 Town Car (RIP)

                    Comment


                      #11
                      LoL I'd wait on all the exterior mods until the mechanicals are fixed. To me you're putting the cart in front of the horse by doing things that way.

                      Great buying experience. So nice for the guy to just go in his house after the sale and pretend you didn't exist. But that's typically the way it goes, I don't know how these clowns get their trash to run just good enough for money to exchange hands and then the vehicle goes insta-poopy in it's pants.

                      As for the tach, I got an old analog 70's freebie from a friend. Can also help check things like dwell and all that nonsense that pretty much died out with points. I thought about putting it in the trash on a few occasions and then when I got my '85 I was glad I didn't. I think with something like I've got you simply attach the one alligator clip to the green(?) wire from the coil and maybe connect to a ground. I haven't had to use it in at least four years though. I am starting to hate Fords pre ~'92ish as those require a break-out box in order to see live data which also means that to connect that trash you need to disconnect power from the ECM which means it clears all stored data. My General Motors products though, I can connect my Snap-On MT2500 to those and see fuel trim data and such on the fly, or see what any of the sensors are doing to better help diagnosis.
                      1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                      1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                      Comment


                        #12
                        If the engine is all original and the timing chain hasn't been replaced... do that as soon as you can. The cam gear is made of plastic and will break. A new timing set will give that engine a new lease on life.

                        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


                          #13
                          Welcome to the site! Fellow Indiana resident as well.

                          I thought the car looked familiar.. I was the guy annoying you when you stopped in ziebart! Lol
                          Last edited by marquis_82_withneons; 06-15-2019, 09:20 AM.
                          Charlette - Brown 1977 Ford LTD - 351 Windsor 155K, Full Custom Pioneer system, green HID, interior & underbody
                          Alesha - Black 1982 Mercury Marquis - 255ci 178K, full custom Kenwood and Infinity system, lowered, dual exhaust, LED all the things
                          Tangerine Dream - Orange 1988 F-150 Custom - 300 i6 82k, Ghetto sound system, 5spd, 2WD, #farmtruck

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Congratulations on your acquisition. These cars are very easy to work on. You should do the work yourself; at least, the tune up. Idling too high is an indication of a vacuum leak.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Welcome to the forum Enjoy your new ride.
                              ~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.




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