Ride seems much more stiff??

[seeforyourself]

Hello all! I drive a 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis GS with 65K miles. I bought it last year with 50k Miles.

When I first bought it, it was so floaty and comfortable and every road imperfection felt like minor vibrations.

over the past 2 months my ride quality has suffered. I use to drive my fathers BMW 3 series and would hate it because bumps were very noticeable in it and would hurt when you hit them. After driving it over the past week I noticed that my car drives almost as stiff as it!

I also noticed that there's a lot more cabin noise over bumps (interior is loud) and that there's a lot of noise that happens in the front suspension!

I thought it can be shocks but then I realized my car is not bouncy over bumps (of course all these cars bounce a little bit but it stabilizes once the road is smooth). I did a bounce test with my car and notice a knocking sound when the suspension goes back up again

https://vimeo.com/127033635

What could this be???? Also I notice that I have more road feel in my steering wheel!



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2001 Mercury Grand Marquis GS 62K miles

[IPreferDIY]

My first guess would be control arm bushings. Normally, they should last at least 100,000 miles, but age can be a factor too. Are you in a place like Arizona where dry rot is an issue?

[Chaplian]

I'll second control arm bushings, and it seems like your shocks are on their way out from what I saw in the video (could be other things though.)

[miamibob]

Video didn't work, on my computer, so I have no idea!

[sly]

I would check the shocks for leaks, the sway bar links, and the control arm bushings.

[gadget73]

Check the ball joints too. They can clunk and squeak when they get bad. Sounds like something is loose and/or worn out though. Time for a thorough front end inspection methinks.

[seeforyourself]

Check the ball joints too. They can clunk and squeak when they get bad. Sounds like something is loose and/or worn out though. Time for a thorough front end inspection methinks.

I just made a appointment for a front end inspection.

I just test drove a 2006 Ford crown victoria sport package with 100k miles because I'm thinking of buying a newer one and it actually drove A LOT smoother than my stock grand Marquis. the sport is supposed to have a stiffer suspension!

So something is definitely up LOL! I did replace the balljoints which were shot 5 months ago. I also grease them every 3,000 miles (oil change).





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2001 Mercury Grand Marquis GS 62K miles

[Chaplian]

It's definitely possible your shocks are shot then. 2003+ panthers typically ride firmer than 02-.

[IPreferDIY]

My experience has suggested that the control arm bushings on these cars are far more important to the overall suspension than the ones on anything I've ever driven before. Ideally, the entire control arms should be replaced when the ball joints go, since doing the bushings by themselves can be a huge PITA. (BT,DT.) Incidentally, one way to know if the ass end bushings are done too is if you're stopped somewhere and feel the car swaying a lot in high winds. The before-and-after effect when I did mine was dramatic.

[seeforyourself]

My experience has suggested that the control arm bushings on these cars are far more important to the overall suspension than the ones on anything I've ever driven before. Ideally, the entire control arms should be replaced when the ball joints go, since doing the bushings by themselves can be a huge PITA. (BT,DT.) Incidentally, one way to know if the ass end bushings are done too is if you're stopped somewhere and feel the car swaying a lot in high winds. The before-and-after effect when I did mine was dramatic.

how much in the ball park is it to get a mechanic to replace the control arms and bushings?


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2001 Mercury Grand Marquis GS 62K miles

[IPreferDIY]

Hard to say. Probably the biggest problem is that the direction of the rearward upper control arm bolts requires you to take out the fender liners to get the nuts off, unless there's some kind of special trick that I'm not aware of. Here's a post with a couple of photos showing how much easier it is when the bolts are put in the other direction:

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?50937-Looking-at-control-arms-on-Rock-Auto-How-do-I-know-if-I-have-a-handling-package&p=729189&viewfull=1#post729189

I'd be guessing several hours of labor just for the front end. Your best source for control arms would probably be Rock Auto. There's a five percent discount code here:

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?52668-RockAuto-Discount-Code-Expires-8-5-2015

Add the cost of an alignment to everything else.

FWIW, I collected a bunch of links covering my steering/suspension experiences in a thread that appears as a link in the following post:

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?51805-Replacing-upper-ball-joints-what-should-I-get&p=739459&viewfull=1#post739459

[seeforyourself]

Hard to say. Probably the biggest problem is that the direction of the rearward upper control arm bolts requires you to take out the fender liners to get the nuts off, unless there's some kind of special trick that I'm not aware of. Here's a post with a couple of photos showing how much easier it is when the bolts are put in the other direction:

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?50937-Looking-at-control-arms-on-Rock-Auto-How-do-I-know-if-I-have-a-handling-package&p=729189&viewfull=1#post729189

I'd be guessing several hours of labor just for the front end. Your best source for control arms would probably be Rock Auto. There's a five percent discount code here:

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?52668-RockAuto-Discount-Code-Expires-8-5-2015

Add the cost of an alignment to everything else.

FWIW, I collected a bunch of links covering my steering/suspension experiences in a thread that appears as a link in the following post:

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...l=1#post739459

Thank you!


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2001 Mercury Grand Marquis GS 62K miles

[GM_Guy]

I just test drove a 2006 Ford crown victoria sport package with 100k miles because I'm thinking of buying a newer one and it actually drove A LOT smoother than my stock grand Marquis. the sport is supposed to have a stiffer suspension!

It is surprising how well the 03+ handle rough roads. They ride a bit harsher than a box, but overall, a lot smoother since the suspension actually does seem to work better. I've got a bit of road that would send the box on a short undulating boat ride as it followed the contour of the road, the vomit comet tends to take this bit of road without the boat ride.

Alex.

[sly]

My 88 has no boat ride to it whatsoever any more. The 93 however... damn those LX springs are soft.

[gadget73]

A lot of why the later ones feel more solid is the rear axle location. Its sort of held there by hope and force of will on a 97- model. The watts link actually has something that keeps it under the middle of the car. Thats my biggest complaint on my car. Despite new bushings, over shitty roads I can feel the back end dancing around and it doesn't thrill me. On the short list of stuff I want is a panhard bar to locate all that nonsense.