1997 Mercury Grand Marquis LS

[Kodachrome Wolf]

I don't know. I got it from HiFiMerc. He pulled it from a 92 touring sedan, so I'm assuming CV. Since the bolts are on the bracket for mounting to the rear deck, you could just drill new holes if it doesn't fit. I know the 93 deck is dead in line with the offset actually towards the trunk and not the cabin instead of with an offset tot he side and towards the cabin. Diagonally it would be about 3 inches, but it's (staring into the trunk) 2 inches to the right and then 2 inches towards the cabin, center on center.

I appreciate the offer on the bracket, but I'm going to decline. I'm not too comfortable drilling on the car, or at least around the parcel shelf. I know it'll be covered up, but I'll work with what I have for now.

[sly]

No prob. The offer stands if someone doesn't buy the whole sub off of me (which looks like that will never happen - and why it's bumping in the shed now)

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Part I of the JBL retrofit is done: Getting the base system in.



The sound quality is real nice with the system now, and the replacement subwoofer works nicely with the JBL amp.

Now Part II starts: Finding and installing the '95-'97 CD Changer and CD capable head unit.

[sly]

[Kodachrome Wolf]

The Marquis hit 170K on a recent trip. We've reached a point where a few things need to be addressed over a few months to keep everything in good order. I want to reach and pass 200K with no fuss.

I've got to change/take care of:
-Engine Oil and Filter | OCI was at 170K on a 5K interval using synthetic blend 5W-30. I'll likely put high mileage full synthetic 5W-30 in and a premium filter and try out a 8K or 10K OCI.

-Transmission Fluid | Fluid was first changed at 60K for a drive line shutter reported by the original owner. I had it changed at 125K by Ford as per scheduled maintenance. Figure I should do it now as preventative maintenance to make the transmission last as long as possible.

-Brake Pads and Rotors, front and rear. | Going to have a shop do it so they can look over the front and hopefully get rid of that godforsaken brake shudder I've had since I got the car. I might also have them thrown on a right front hub assembly just so I can rule it out. It doesn't groan, grind, or make noise, but it's the one area I don't mind shotgunning. I might also have the shop install a new caliper just to try and attack the issue from any possible angle.

-Brake Fluid Change | It's old and likely original to the car.

-Coolant Flush | Had it changed probably two or three years ago. Might as well take care of it before it becomes some nasty sludge.

-Tire Alignment Check and Rotation | I haven't had the car's alignment checked in a while. The tires don't have any abnormal wear, but better safe than sorry and I want them to last. Firestone isn't making their Precision Touring (and almost directly related Affinity Touring) tire anymore so that's another white wall tire that I can't get anymore. The only Firestone offering a white wall now is the FR710, a regular All-Season. I'll likely wind up with that or either Hankook Optimo H724s or Uniroyal Tiger Paw AWP IIs when the time comes to get new tires. I know white wall tires aren't popular by any means anymore, but I try and keep track of who still has them on a decent tire. First it was the Kumho Solus KR21s I had that lost them, now Firestone dropped their Touring ones... sigh.


Everything else seems to be pretty good at this point. I serviced the rear differential probably 10 or 15K ago, so that shouldn't need to be messed with anytime soon. The front end was greased prior to the trip since it was starting to make some slight creaking noise.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Time to do a minor update: The CD changer is in!

I wrapped up the CD changer install. A member on CVN was upgrading his stereo system from his '98 Grand Marquis, so I bought his 6 disc trunk mounted changer. The difficulty to over come here was his CD changer harness runs all the way to the head unit in the '98+ cars, while mine goes to the trunk mounted radio control unit (RCU). I had to make the remaining harness up. I found a connector that plugged into the RCU that had a short harness on it with an adapter on the other end that could plug into something to make in an auxiliary connector. I didn't need that, so I cut it off and got to work adding about 6 or 7 feet of wire between each end. I also replicated the factory aluminum foil shield around the CD audio in/out wires by wrapping those in aluminum foil and attaching them to the exposed shield area.

It took a fair amount of electrical tape, but it came out decent IMO:


There's two wires that run back towards the back seat you can see. Those are for the ground and constant hot leads. Those are present on the '98 and up changers apparently, but not present on the '97, or at least according to the wiring diagram.

I cut a singular slit for one of the changer brackets in the trunk liner:


The other one just runs underneath the trunk liner. I'm guessing the Aeros had a somewhat different setup. I wound up drilling one hole on the panel where the inertia switch is mounted so I could bolt the changer in place. I'll figure out a way to neaten up the liner eventually, but everything is tucked up for the time being, so I'll leave it as is.

Head unit working with the CD:


Before I hooked up the CD changer, it would display 'NO DJ' since the changer wasn't present. Lucky for me it seems everything is working just fine.


Also, here's a quick video of the different audio modes (Radio, Cassette, and CD) on the head unit and how the lighted display and buttons change for each different mode:

[87gtVIC]

Nice work!

[Tiggie]

Adding factory (or factory style) options is one of my favorite pastimes. Looks and sounds good.

[87gtVIC]

Any way to add an aux in such as an I-pod or equivalent to that type of radio for further variety?

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Any way to add an aux in such as an I-pod or equivalent to that type of radio for further variety?

There's some head unit refurbishers on eBay that add an auxiliary jack to the face of the head unit, but I'm not sure how it would activate. The connector that I got for the RCU side actually was part of a harness that would plug into some module that would turn the CD input into an auxiliary input. It was some proprietary deal done on some eBay vendor, but I just needed that connector, so I really didn't look into the other stuff too much.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

The car got a new pair of U-joints installed today. I got some Spicer greaseable units from work for $35. For the first time with removing the drive shaft and just using a hammer to knock the old ones out and tap the new ones in, 2 and 1/2 hours isn't terrible given my track record of hitting speed bumps for doing things the first time around. Overall I'm pleased since the drive line slack is definitely gone now, no more "ka-chunk" from reverse to drive and the lurch I would get when letting off the gas and then getting back on it again.

Future plans for the drive shaft is to go find an aluminum one or a AMMX one from a CVPI and swap it in. I'm going to use a Fab Tech spacer from ADTR at the rear axle, and re-use the yokes (front and rear) along with the new U-Joints. Doing that setup will eliminate the need for the extended tail shaft housing. I have to give credit to Chevyguy for that info, since it's so damn useful.

I've still got a few things I'm planning on getting knocked out by the end of the year:
-Change transmission fluid and filter
-Brake rotors and pads in the rear, new pads up front, along with a brake fluid flush
-Replace right front hub, spindle nut, and caliper over there. I'm attacking everything where I have that vibration I've had for years. The rotors are fine, so at this point, I want to see if it's the hub.
-Get the car aligned
-Coolant flush

All the brake/suspension work will be taken care of in a chunk, then transmission, then coolant. This should keep the car running fine right past 200K and hits it's 20 year mark. It'll get to celebrate that mark along side a coming addition that'll be turning 30, but that's a story for later.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Changed the oil and removed the junked fender and replaced it with a janky fender. I also cut two of my fingers pretty bad on a sharp edge of the old fender, but didn't realize it until I saw how much blood was running off my hand. I need to invest in some good mechanic's gloves.



Going with the trashy ricer look until it goes into the body shop. I hope to get it in for paint in December or January. The plan is to get the door and hood blended in and get the fender alignment adjusted some. It fits okay, but I would like the hood gap to get some adjustment. I also have the proper cover cap where the antenna hole is, but I'm not installing it until the fender is painted since I don't want to ruin the adhesive gasket.

I know it looks terrible, but that's somewhat the point since it didn't really look that much better being massively dented up and pushed in. I really can't wait until I get it painted, since I'll probably be more happy with the car's appearance again.

[87gtVIC]

Despite not matching in the least I personally find it better having clean panels body panels over stoved in ones.

[DerekTheGreat]

Agreed on the stoved in vs clean panel. You going to have them blend the bumper, door, hood and grille?

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Agreed on the stoved in vs clean panel. You going to have them blend the bumper, door, hood and grille?

The plan I got quoted for was blending the door and the hood together. It seems it would probably be similar as to when the left rear door got banged up and the shop fixed the door and blended it with the rear quarter panel. This place does good work and should be able to match the paint pretty well. On the upside, all of the rock chips on the hood would also get fixed.

It'll still be a few months out, though. Getting metallic paint done along with some panel readjustment has the whole thing at just under $1K. I expected as much though since that was similar to the rear door repairs, except insurance covered that repair.