2002 Grand Marquis LSE!

[mercurygm88]

I made a video for the LSE today, not bad overall minus the tear in the rear bumper cover. I'll do something about that eventually, or maybe not it doesn't really bother me.

[mercurygm88]

Had the idler arm replaced, steering feels much better. On some turns the centerlink is still banging into the drivers side frame rail. I guess I'm going to have to have that and maybe the pitman arm replaced. Fun, fun.......

[mercurygm88]

I'm having an old family friend who owns a local shop put an idler arm on the LSE this evening. I no longer have a jack or jack stands here as my uncle took off with most of my grandfathers tools when he passed away. I also don't feel terribly confident that I wouldn't break something and be totally screwed. I noticed it clunking on low speed turns mostly while parking a few weeks ago, I crawled under there to check it out because I just greased everything in July when I changed the oil. Lo and behold no bushings at all left in the idler arm. I have receipts from August 2019 that show new upper/lower ball joints, inner/outer tie rod ends, center link, pitman arm, and idler arm.

All of them were MOOG parts, lifetime warranty. But if they're like our MOOG parts at work then they're just re-boxed store brand parts. We do a re-box every few months which seems like false advertising but the company has been doing it for decades. We take "Made in China" store brand parts and put them in "Made in USA" MOOG boxes, and the computer system is updated with the change and an increase in price. A middle tier option will also usually be phased out in the process. So I just bought the cheap lifetime part since it probably isn't going to matter.

[mercurygm88]

Generally I like the LED bulbs. As with any headlight alignment is the first key. Pattern also is important. I have Beamtech bulbs in the Escape and they are a good cheap improvement with a good pattern. The Marauder Beamtechs have a great pattern and much better light for low beams but the high beam pattern is not so good. I wonder if a different bulb might rectify that. I will have to check if Sylvania makes them now.

The Sylvania Zevo LED’s rotate inside the mount they come with. The instructions explain that for proper adjustment the wires need to face down. That’s how I put them in and they seem to be right where my previous bulbs were adjustment wise.

I do a fair bit of night driving and have yet to have anyone flash their lights at me with my low beams on. They also don’t seem too terribly bright looking at them while standing in front of the car. But they sure seem to light up the road better than halogens, especially the high beams.

[jaywish]

Generally I like the LED bulbs. As with any headlight alignment is the first key. Pattern also is important. I have Beamtech bulbs in the Escape and they are a good cheap improvement with a good pattern. The Marauder Beamtechs have a great pattern and much better light for low beams but the high beam pattern is not so good. I wonder if a different bulb might rectify that. I will have to check if Sylvania makes them now.

[mercurygm88]

The LEDs I put in my 93 aren't any brighter than anything on the road made by OEMs. In fact, these LEDs aren't even as bright as the LEDs on OE vehicles right now. The main reason for that? Mine are NOT FKN PROJECTORS! Mine actually disperse the light so you can read road signs as well as see the deer a block away instead of just the horizon and potholes on the road. I HATE projectors. The LEDs I got put the LEDs in the same position as the filament and are set to fire sideways only so they are actually less blinding than the stock halogens as they disperse more left and right and less up and down The hot spots are in the exact same location as the halogens but brighter and actually throw light down the road. If they didn't do that, I would have put the halogens back. The current generation of aftermarket LEDs are actually pretty good in some cases. Much better than the crap they were selling a few years ago.

The Sylvania LED’s I bought definitely aren’t as bright as some of the OE LED’s and HID’s out there but they certainly seem to illuminate more of the road than the 9007 halogen bulbs did.

[sly]

The LEDs I put in my 93 aren't any brighter than anything on the road made by OEMs. In fact, these LEDs aren't even as bright as the LEDs on OE vehicles right now. The main reason for that? Mine are NOT FKN PROJECTORS! Mine actually disperse the light so you can read road signs as well as see the deer a block away instead of just the horizon and potholes on the road. I HATE projectors. The LEDs I got put the LEDs in the same position as the filament and are set to fire sideways only so they are actually less blinding than the stock halogens as they disperse more left and right and less up and down The hot spots are in the exact same location as the halogens but brighter and actually throw light down the road. If they didn't do that, I would have put the halogens back. The current generation of aftermarket LEDs are actually pretty good in some cases. Much better than the crap they were selling a few years ago.

[mercurygm88]

Great, glad you did your research. There are far more important "crimes" for law enforcement to deal with. Being a clear bulb helps. Blue ones get the wrong attention. If law enforcement wants to give someone a hard time for something, it certainly can be done without issuing a ticket.

Sorry I deleted that post but what it basically boils down to is a stock 9007 bulb is about 1000 lumens, Sylvania says these are 1000-1100. I have them properly adjusted so they certainly won't be in anyone's eyes on low. They are white and from what I can find white and amber are just fine, it just seems odd the box says you can use them as fog lights but advises against using them in headlights. I imagine they're just doing that to cover their butts.

[Mainemantom]

Great, glad you did your research. There are far more important "crimes" for law enforcement to deal with. Being a clear bulb helps. Blue ones get the wrong attention. If law enforcement wants to give someone a hard time for something, it certainly can be done without issuing a ticket.

[Mainemantom]

I put a set of Sylvania Zevo LED headlights in the LSE today, and Wow! They’re bright. The box says “Not DOT approved for fog light and off road use only.” Which I don’t get. I know many people who have been running LED lights for years and none of them have ever been hassled over them.

I can agree with the non DOD approval. Those lights are bright. They exceed the DOD allowable candle power and can be blinding to oncoming traffic. If they have a blue appearance, they can be confused at a distance with police blue lights. I personally hate those lights. People get away with using them however if law enforcement wants to stop you for something, they now have probable cause for stop and to issue a citation. I don't know about you but I do not want to see a LEO at my car window for anything.

[mercurygm88]

I put a set of Sylvania Zevo LED headlights in the LSE today, and Wow! They’re bright. The box says “Not DOT approved for fog light and off road use only.” Which I don’t get. I know many people who have been running LED lights for years and none of them have ever been hassled over them.

[tbear853]

Good deal.

[sly]

[mercurygm88]

I did the EATC o rings yesterday, took me about an hour and everything is working fine now.

[sly]

Barring any rubbed holes in vacuum lines, that should sort it.