My 1989 Grand Marquis “Clifford”

[Arquemann]

Oh yeah, Mercury problems.. Definitely get a gauge in there for temperature. Funny, of all the platforms that would be gauge-less temperature wise, I would've figured the Lincoln would be it. Lincoln owners can't be bothered with such peasantries. But no, we got a temperature gauge and a 4" clock. Guess you gotta keep your cool while you make sure you get to the office on time.

But the average pensioner buying a Mercury in the 80's would get worried seeing a third needle move in the instrument cluster!
Ford is for the man who works with his hands and actually wants to know what's going on with his car. And the Lincoln's owner didn't see the gauges from the back seat anyways

[DerekTheGreat]

My first few jobs I worked as a porter for dealerships. The amount of cars I had to drive with photos and/or post it notes over everything except the speedometer were alarming.

[GMUE03]

Finished up the front end stuff today! It was nice to get away from the engine stuff for a little but it also reminded me how annoying suspension work can be.



I did new sway bar links, sway bar bushings, shocks, and springs. The car sits a lot better now and the camber looks a lot more normal


Both of the old shock absorbers were shot. Heres a fully compressed one. Both were like this lol.


Next week I’ll take it for a drive and see how everything plays together.

[Mainemantom]

Those shocks looks like the originals. Good thing you didn't have to deal with rust while doing the work. Car looks good !

[Arquemann]

Nice work, seems like you didn't even get killed by an errant spring!

You have those diagonal frame braces underneath, I thought they only came on wagons?

[GMUE03]

Those shocks looks like the originals. Good thing you didn't have to deal with rust while doing the work. Car looks good !

I believe they were.
I’m pretty spoiled with the condition of the underside on this car .

[GMUE03]

Nice work, seems like you didn't even get killed by an errant spring!

You have those diagonal frame braces underneath, I thought they only came on wagons?

Those frame braces made pulling and installing the drivers side spring a little tricky. The lower control arm could only come down so far before it contacted the brace. I had to make the spring 3/4 of its size in the spring compressor to get it to barely fit up in there.

But hey, I still have all my fingers and teeth so it could've been worse haha.

[GMUE03]

Took it for a test drive today. I can definitely notice a difference, going over bumps feels a lot less sketchy than before, the ride feels closer to my 2003 if I had to compare it to anything



Unfortunately I do still hear a bunch of noise coming from the passenger side of the car when going over slight bumps, I was hoping it was the worn sway bar links but I guess not. I’m suspecting the possibility of a worn body mount.

Also the car still has that strange throttle surge, however I discovered that it goes away when the car is fully warmed up..interesting..

I’ll tackle those problems in the near future, but now I want to focus on the A/C system. It doesn’t blow cold whatsoever and when I turn the system on the compressor cycles quickly as if there’s a low charge. My plan is to buy the cans of r134 with the UV dye in it (car has been converted by the previous owner).

I bought a cheap $10 gauge off of amazon that connects to the low side of the A/C system. I put it on the dryer just to make sure it fits and was surprised when a burst of dry air came out.
Hopefully theres barely any charge and it just needs a boost.

[87GrandMarq]

Since the compressor will even cycle that’s a good sign it’s at least not completely empty.

[GMUE03]

Since the compressor will even cycle that’s a good sign it’s at least not completely empty.

Right, I bought 2 12oz cans of refrigerant with UV dye for $68 today at orileys . Sucks since I know it’s probably gonna leak out, I’m debating on just borrowing a vacuum pump and seeing what kind of vacuum it will hold. Might give me an idea on where the leak is if I can hear something audible from it.

[87GrandMarq]

Right, I bought 2 12oz cans of refrigerant with UV dye for $68 today at orileys . Sucks since I know it’s probably gonna leak out, I’m debating on just borrowing a vacuum pump and seeing what kind of vacuum it will hold. Might give me an idea on where the leak is if I can hear something audible from it.

Depending on your budget, might as well upgrade to a newer design condensor, new drier, new o rings and oriface tube.

[GMUE03]

Depending on your budget, might as well upgrade to a newer design condensor, new drier, new o rings and oriface tube.

I’m anticipating new O-rings and probably an oriface tube, but if I charge it up and it blows cool and doesn’t have a leak from anywhere that requires component replacement then eh, I’ll probably just leave the old stuff in there.



The compressor is aftermarket and the system has all the 134a fittings so maybe that stuff isn’t as old as I think. Is the “upgrade” basically just cooler air compared to the stock system?

[87GrandMarq]

I’m anticipating new O-rings and probably an oriface tube, but if I charge it up and it blows cool and doesn’t have a leak from anywhere that requires component replacement then eh, I’ll probably just leave the old stuff in there.



The compressor is aftermarket and the system has all the 134a fittings so maybe that stuff isn’t as old as I think. Is the “upgrade” basically just cooler air compared to the stock system?

The drier appears to be newer so yeah it’s conceivable it’s been “recently” converted. R12 was still obtainable a decade or so ago. The upgraded condensor I’m talking about is a newer, more efficient design. It’ll help keep the head pressures down which means cooler air especially at idle or stop and go traffic.

[GMUE03]

I put a can of UV R134A in the car today. A/C was nice and cold.


I noticed on the test drive that the a/c didn’t feel as cold while driving as it did at a stop. Turns out the gauge I originally used was a little optimistic. I ended putting another can in it after the drive and now it’s very cool.

Two things I noticed after driving with the compressor.

•The car stumbles a little after a startup when the compressor kicks on. Could be putting too much drag on the accessory system
•When at a stop, with the A/C on, the turn signals blink pretty slowly. Goes back to normal once you start moving. Weak alternator maybe?

The next item on the list is going to be the lower intake gaskets. The front of the engine looks damp, and after doing the timing cover it sort of isolates where a coolant leak is coming from.



The gasket is wet above the water ports on the timing cover. To me it’s a dead giveaway it’s the lower intake manifold.



Lower intake gaskets and a new MAP sensor are on order. While I have the upper off I’ll replace all the vac. Lines too.

I do have a question however, will I need to remove the valve covers to pull the lower intake off? Not sure if there will be a clearance issue.

[Tiggie]

Slow blinkers is from reduced voltage at idle from the stock charging system. Pretty normal.

Lower intake pops off with valve covers on place. Not a bad time to do valve cover gaskets, however.