Problems with my '91 Grand Marq.

[m-word]

I just bought my first car, which is a '91 Grand Marq LS... i'm very much a newb to this forum/cars period, & i wasn't sure where to post this lol. I paid $900 for it. When I bought the car, I was told that it needs an H-pipe, oil change, air filter change (?), & tune up. my car pretty much resembles this Crown Vic, except the exterior is no way near this pretty lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T8Sid6386s

These are some issues that I found with the car after having it a couple of days.

1. It stalls. It only stalls when my foot isn't on the gas. I'm assuming that the problem is with my battery. I'm buying a new battery on thursday. I was told that the battery doesn't hold a charge. So, I'm hoping that will fix my problem.

2. When I drive it, it's very LOUD. I had a guy lift up my muffler so it isn't dragging, but it makes like this 'pop-pop
sound when I'm driving it. I was told it was the H-pipe (?).

3. My odometer is broken, & has probably been broken on the car for awhile. it's stuck at 91,000+ miles. The speedometer works fine. I'm guessing the true number is probably around 200,000.

4. My right passenger door won't lock. I looked at the actual lock on the door and I was able to lock it without being able to close it with a screwdriver.. but when i try to lock it with a key, it won't lock. Electric locks don't work on the car period, everything has to be manual.

5. 3 out of 4 windows are off track & I'm not sure how to go about taking out the panel.

6. The vinyl top is scratched up very badly & I don't even know how to deal with that. I also want a paint job but feel like it would be useless without replacing the vinyl first.

[mrltd]

1. Idle control valve, vacuum leak, lots of things...map sensor... check the codes and see what it says.
2. Something on the exhaust, that requires a visual inspection. Might just be the air injection tube.
3. There are repair kits, google it. The gears usually break.
4. It's the electric actuator, it's seized. Remove it or replace it.
5. 3 or 4 screws in the armrest, then the rest is push pins. You have to take the lower trim piece off of the armrest to get to the bolts that hold the armrest on.
6. They are pricey to replace, and difficult. Leave that to the pros.

Sounds like quite the basket case. It's going to be a lot of work! 900 was a bit much in my opinion.

[m-word]

thank you. that's what I was thinking about the price.. it should've been cheaper, but it's fine. My brother & I went to go look at the car & we really don't know much about cars, let alone bargaining. I'll just know better next time.

I'm going to look into the other stuff you mentioned.... thanks a lot.

[BuffaloRider]

I'll say this, get a mechanics manual for your car asap like Haynes or Chiltons or something. And check out the junkyards near you and if you're lucky you'll find one with a box panther or two. I started off in the same position as you and something that helped me a lot is just chilling at the junkyard with my manual and some tools taking shit apart on one of the junk cars. That way if I fucked anything up it wouldn't be on MY car. Just a thought.

[jaywish]

A manual like this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1991-Lincoln...90f09b&vxp=mtr

and this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1991-FORD-LT...8b55e3&vxp=mtr

Buy them both now before they sell.

[m-word]

im pretty sure my car came with a manual. its in this little leather-like pouch.... but now, I just have to find a junkyard

[m-word]

double post

[jaywish]

Not the same thing, that is an operators manual. The one's I posted are repair manuals. Almost an absolute requirement if you want to start learning and working on your car.

[BuffaloRider]

Are you sure it's a mechanics manual and not just the owners manual? The owners manual will tell you how to do a few basic routine maintenance tasks but mostly provide information on the vehicle but a mechanics manual has detailed steps on how to remove, repair, and replace nearly every part on the car.

MrLTD knows more than me (clearly) but I'll try to touch on what I do know.

air filter change (?)
just detach the clips and throw new one in, check it

2. When I drive it, it's very LOUD. I had a guy lift up my muffler so it isn't dragging, but it makes like this 'pop-pop
sound when I'm driving it. I was told it was the H-pipe (?).

When the exhaust comes out of your car it goes out each side of the engine, through two catalytic converters, and then there is either a Y pipe that goes into one muffler or an H pipe that goes into two mufflers (dual exhaust). If you have an H-pipe then you'll have dual exhaust, just check and see if it's got any holes rusted through it, if so then you should consider replacing the entire exhaust system. The way you say "I had a guy lift up my muffler" makes it sound like you only have one muffler, maybe the missing muffler is causing the noise...? I dunno, get up under there and take some pictures.

5. 3 out of 4 windows are off track & I'm not sure how to go about taking out the panel.

There are a lot of good threads about the power windows on here, I'll soon be replacing the bushings for the first time myself. Getting the panel off is as easy as taking out every screw you can see on and under the armrest, prying loose the pretty standard door panel push pins with either a flat head screw driver or a door panel trim remover tool thingy and disconnecting the wires to the power window/lock/mirror whatever stuff, they are simple little connectors. You might need to take one of the push pins to an auto parts store and get some replacements as they usually go to shit after pulling them out. Hope that helps.

6. The vinyl top is scratched up very badly & I don't even know how to deal with that. I also want a paint job but feel like it would be useless without replacing the vinyl first.

If you're planning on a paint job then a slick top conversion may be an option, but I don't know enough about that. Either way the vinyl top will probably be kind of pricey to address if the scratches are as bad as you say. Post pictures!

Take jaywish's advice, get those manuals.
If you put your location in your GMN profile you might find someone who lives near you that could help you out with a few things.
RockAuto.com and ebay will be your best friends for new parts. And most importantly... pictures! lol

[m-word]

wow i haven't been on here in a while. if anyone is interested, i took care of some of the problems. the car has been sitting for awhile due to laziness & being broke lol.

- i replaced the right side of my catalytic converter.
- i got the Y-pipe.
- i pretty much fixed the stalling problem, however it still stalls a little when in reverse. the mechanic told me that i have a tunnel leak somewhere (which is crazy because i took it to a shop that was suppose to take care of that).
- i'm getting the left side of my catalytic converter next week (just ordered it today).
- going to the junk yard this weekend & i'm going to look for some pieces. hopefully i luck out because i still need the lock door actuator (think thats what its called) & an odometer since the one on the car is broken, which i really don't think it would matter too much because the odometer on that car has been broken for years.
- mechanic fixed my heat + AC

the mechanic that is fixing my car told me that my car pretty much runs great. however, i think that i will have transmission problems in the future. i have a few things that im going to do within the next month & that involves a paint job & replacing the vinyl, new tires, & tints. im going to attempt to put the windows back on track as well. i will be posting before & after pics when it's all finished.

thanks for reading, =]

[VicCrownVic]

Getting another odometer might work, but if it still has the original gears it is bound to fail too.

Unfortunately the gears are not cheap, http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gauge-Cluste...70979946409%26, you would need to by 2 sets ($66+) if you wanted both odometer and tripometer working, and that's the best deal I was able to find when I replaced mine last year.

The gears basically turn to wax and fall apart, you can see a pic of old and new gears in another thread stealthlead posted.

[BuffaloRider]

Good to hear about the progress man!

Getting another odometer might work, but if it still has the original gears it is bound to fail too.

+1

I've been dismantling two instrument clusters recently and these gears literally fall to pieces when you touch them. They aren't standing the test of time but you can buy new ones like Vic said.

[TecNickal]

I bought a brand new set off of gears off of eBay for $25-30 for both trip and odo. IT claimed to be for a Rustang, but it works fine. Same tooth count.

I found a MINT 91 Town Car @ Pull A Part last year around this time. 90K original miles. Yanked the cluster to find the gears as soon as I touched them disintegrated. Weird that Ford chose to use crummy plastic on the odometer/trip and TV grommet.

[sxcpotatoes]

It wasn't necessarily crummy plastic, from the description I read it was the grease they used that ATE the plastic up over time. The new replacement gears are supposed to be graphite-infused or something and don't need lube. At least that's what they claim to make you feel all warm and fuzzy, we'll find out in 20 years, I guess.

[gadget73]

probably a combination. plastic plus heat, age, and oils usually doesn't end well. The grease also gets stiff and puts more load on the plastic than it should have so thats another factor in the failure.