The 1992 Grand Marquis

[pantera77]

hahaha. we'll see bud. Got any good 3.55 gears laying around?

I've got some 3.31's nearly new.

[86VickyLX]

You replaced the old Thomas the Tank starter. I miss the "i think I can, I think I can" struggle to roll the motor over.

Does that still have mismatched mufflers on it ?


Also, vacuum your floor.



Sounds good tho. I don't remember it having amazing throttle response before, but it always went OK. Were the old heads damaged or worn in any way? I wouldn't be half surprised if the exhaust valves and seats had a fair bit of abuse going on. They were as-found as far as I'm aware.

Yes I replaced that starter. It started making a dying hamster in a wheel noise after the car starting. No bueno.
Yes it still has one original and one aftermarket muffler. Ironically, I just replaced the aftermarket muffler because it blew apart...
Vacuuming the floor is on my list. Needs a new carpet though. Its got holes in it. I'm surprised this car didn't have floor mats.
The valves look kinda meh. Most of the exhaust valves have like a whiteish/orangish/bondo colored deposits on them. All of the spark plugs were free of deposits though. I think what helped most was a matching set of injectors. That and I'm pretty sure the intake gasket was leaking because the coolant kept going somewhere and it wasn't in the cabin. That heater core may be ok for all I know (at least right now it is...) With fresh not spongy caked coolant it might last...

[gadget73]

that coolant was probably only slightly used when it went in.

[86VickyLX]

[86VickyLX]

I have been planning on doing a trak loc and 3.27 rear gears. I've been acquiring all of the parts for the past few weeks and made the trip up to Skippyville to get it done! The gears are the original set from Lincolnmania's LSS. And boy are they a major improvement over the 3.08s that were in there. The carrier was bought from ebay. It's a 28 spline unit, from I figure a 95 Mustang from the F5 part number and the heavy wear on some of the clutches. We rebuilt with the best of the existing and what we had laying around, making a 4 clutch mod, just as I had done on the Vic 3 years ago.
Things that I have figured out from this swap.

The AOD driven gear information for the speedometer gears are bullshit. I pulled an orange gear from an identical 92 Grand Marquis with an AOD and it had the 20T gear. According to LMR and other sites, 90-93 AODs have an 8 tooth driving gear. Earlier ones (82-89) have 7. An 8 tooth would use a 20T orange gear, and a 7 tooth would use an 18T Grey gear. With the 20T the speedometer was 5mph slow. With the 18T, it was just right! To quote Marissa Tomei "Dead On Balls Accurate!" I'm looking forward to seeing how it does at the dragstrip and in regards to fuel mileage.

[VicCrownVic]

That's the same information that I had assumed from various sources as well. In cgrocen's thread about swapping a 1990 trans into a 1988 MGM we came to the same conclusion that you did. He actually had information for 80-89 and trans options showed both 8 and 7 tooth drive gear being an option. For 2.73 only the 8 tooth drive gear was an option and I would have to imagine that for somewhere around 3.73 the 7 tooth drive gear may be the only option.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

My experience with Ford's transmission-driven speedometers has been that what is supposed to be usually isn't. There are the guides online one can follow, but really it's pretty much guaranteed that your car (or truck, or van) will actually have the other setup. Often this is because at this point the vehicle is over 20 years old and running on transmission #2 at least, and when the current transmission went it the shop installing it didn't know (or care) what internal gear its speedometer drive has as usually both the 7-tooth and the 8-tooth can be made to work given the right driven gear - basically a case of run what's available at the time and make it work. Then there is the matter of factory screw-ups (it's a Ford product after all), and then there are some oddball combinations that never quite read right anyways. All that said, usually a single tooth on the driven gear is good for about 3-4 mph road speed readout difference. Sometimes a bit more sometimes a bit less (tire size comes into play there), but that's a good average.

How does the 4-clutch mod perform, did you get a chance to try it? Is is a bit too tight around the corners, or just right?

[sly]

I have the 8 clutch setup in my 93... it's a little tight, but I think it's fine. More grabby than the regular pack in the 88, but it's got more power too. so I think it's a good balance for both cars.

[86VickyLX]

How does the 4-clutch mod perform, did you get a chance to try it? Is is a bit too tight around the corners, or just right?

It's grabby. Spins both tires up no problem.

[gadget73]

Mine groans and mumbles in the Towncar. I'm real tempted to un-do the mod, but I need some steels to put back in there. Tired of it sounding like cheap shoes on a wet floor every time I make a turn at slow speed.

[sly]

I still have the open carrier from my 88.

[86VickyLX]

Fixed the power steering leak. And I put in a 1990 TownCar EVO solenoid on the side of the power steering pump. I can do parking lot maneuvers now without breaking my wrists. Though I think this one is dead because I always have a full assist no matter what speed I'm going. Which is better than the random shit I was getting before. If anyone has a lead on an EVO solenoid out of a Town Car, please let me know. I'd like to have this crap functioning properly.

[gadget73]

I don't think that ever worked entirely right. No idea about when it had the stock motor, but the 93 Tbird pump never showed any obvious signs that it was changing anything. I half wonder if the controller is screwed up or just the wiring is not right. I think I tied it in to the right place, but I would not wager more than a hamburger on it. Cheese and bacon would make that a bit too high stakes for my liking.

[86VickyLX]

I don't think that ever worked entirely right. No idea about when it had the stock motor, but the 93 Tbird pump never showed any obvious signs that it was changing anything. I half wonder if the controller is screwed up or just the wiring is not right. I think I tied it in to the right place, but I would not wager more than a hamburger on it. Cheese and bacon would make that a bit too high stakes for my liking.

What would've been messed with there?

[gadget73]

I don't quite know. There isn't much to it, the EVO, the steering wheel speed sensor, I guess a tap into the VSS, and the controller itself. Unless its missing VSS signal, I couldn't guess what it may be. Unless its just not connected to the right wire in the harness, but I don't believe that stuff was messed with.