Belt Replacement

[TwiztidRat]

Oh trust me I hear ya but I live in wisconsin AC isn't something I ever really needed but right now if I can get away without it to me it's a bonus cause the car was about to be parked because of this. I never ran ac in my cars in the winter I only learned about that a few years ago, but the ac in this car didn't work anyways compressor is shot and I always drove cars all my life in winter without ac on. I'll still get it back on but now I can wait till spring and happily still drive her and I didn't even know about the belt bypass to just have only ac and not the air pump. This is new to me still for this era car lol.

[TwiztidRat]

Hey guys figured I'd just put this in here instead of posting a topic that's been hammered to death. I'm looking to replace the wheels cause I have a family member getting rid of a set of tires and rims from a ford. The tires are all 235/75/15 will these fit on the car? I know they will fit on the rear no problem since 245 and up to 275 have been ran in the back with other people's cars but the front is where I'm not sure. The car will only be driven in town for the most part for now. If the rims don't fit I don't even mind cause I wanted to get a set of turbines again those would be a bonus.

[Tiggie]

I know a 235/70R15 fits. The 75 gives you another inch. If it were gonna rub, it'd probably be the back side on the plastic inner fender liner nearest your feet.

[TwiztidRat]

Thanks Tiggie I tried installing the rims that came with these tires and no luck, the rims are simply too big 5 x 5.5 or whatever they came off an old truck. So I'm picking up some turbines I found at a salvage yard the only question I have is these are coming off a 90 Mercury GM, and the only concern I have is these are 1" diameter is it possible I need the 1 1/2 ones or whatever? Just want to make sure before I buy these cause I have to drive a few hours to go get em.

[87gtVIC]

What diameter is 1"


If the turbine wheels are coming off of a 1990 Mercury Grand Marquis you will have no issues installing them on your 87.

[TwiztidRat]

Okay thanks bud, and sorry what I meant is when you look up parts in salvage yards they have either 1" diameter lugholes or 1 5/16" lug holes that's where I wasn't sure what the difference was.

[gadget73]

the lugs are 1/2"-20 on a 5x4.5" bolt circle

[TwiztidRat]

They of course fit without a sweat thanks guys. I couldn't get my 235 tires to work, found out they were cracked and dry rotted I should've looked at them closer but oh well. So I caved in and bought a set of stock size winter tires for the old girl. Wish I had a heated garage so I could do other work the car needs but it's slowly coming around.

When I first got it.

Progress thus far.

[87gtVIC]

Nothing like some turbines on a car. Looking good.

[TwiztidRat]

Yeah I love turbines. So I decided to take the car on the highway today, and the gas mileage is abysmal, to my destination was 14 at 65mph and roughly 16 at 60mph on the way back. I only drove 90 miles back and forth but I figured that should be a pretty indication of what the mileage is roughly. I know it should be way better than that, but all I can think is the obvious new plugs wires, maybe a distributor cap, and of course check for vacuum leaks. The car revs up a bit when in park in spurts than calms down so I'm guessing it's gotta have a vac leak somewhere. Anything else I should look for?

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Hunting idle in park might be a sticky IAC. Your list of things to check isn't bad if it hasn't been done. I'd keep an eye on the back spark plugs for any fouling.

Any idea to what rear gear is in there? My '87 has the 3.27 axle, and when it was still a LoPo, the best it ever managed was 21 MPG at 67 MPH. Never did it since. Around town usually was 14-15 MPG. I saw 20 MPG a handful of times between 65-68 MPH, but it dropped off quick above that.

After the HO conversion on my car, it seems to get roughly 16-18 MPG between 65-75 MPH, and won't do better. In town, 11-14 MPG is average. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I just chalk it up to the fact the entire design of the car is an assault on the air.

Some folks manage way better with even more aggressive gears, and some people don't do much better than I do with more "economy" geared cars. Seems to be the luck of the draw. Also, if you ever catch the factory 1987 MPG rating, you'll get a good chuckle out of it. Somehow our cars got rated at 17 city / 27 highway.

[TwiztidRat]

I just picked this thing up last summer, I have no idea what gears it's running. How could I find that out? It's the GS if that helps lol. I know my 86 was rated 16/24 that was the first year they introduced EFI instead of the carb but I figured the 87 should at least be close to that. Would bad exhaust also rob mileage? I know the cat isn't plugged but the exhaust has rust holes in it cause the car is a bit loud. I average 14 in town roughly too so figure highway would at least be 18+ but not even close. This is my old one I had years ago, thing was in rough shape obviously, idled like garbage but had new exhaust and plugs and wires. I averaged 22-24 highway with that pig somehow..

[Kodachrome Wolf]

If the door sticker is still visible, you can check that for the axle code. Also, the differential may also have the ratio code tag attached, but at this point, anything is up to chance. Could be 2.73s, 3.08s, 3.27s... 3.55s were available too, but I've only ever seen those on a tow package car.

A plugged exhaust would drop mileage, but if there's no restrictions (and I don't think rust holes would be a restriction), that's probably not the culprit.

[TwiztidRat]

Sounds good I'll see if I check underneath the car and find a code, the sticker on the door is gone unfortunately. All I can think is the car needs a good tune up and who knows if the O2 sensors are toast or not. The motor on this car is also pretty tired, it does the classic engine light flicker at idle after being on the highway so it gets low on oil pressure, could that play a big part depending how bad the motor shape is? Still seems to have all the power with not much hesitation..ah well have a lot of fun work this summer to do to her lol.

[TwiztidRat]

Also found out the gear ratio is 2.73s

I also forgot since I don’t have the smog pump running could that be contributing too? Maybe I should put that other belt back on it.