1992 Mercury Grand Marquis

[sly]

bah. hopefully it's just desiccant bits and not compressor bits.

[gadget73]

Did you flush the system out before putting new parts on? If not, do so and try again. The black sludge does look a bit like compressor guts though.

[pivichot]

All parts were brand new. Condenser, evaporator, accumulator, compressor, and hoses. Don't think I needed to flush everything. Since I am planning on the build I am just replacing the orifice tube. Probably the variable orifice tube caused problems. Don't know. Just sucks that after 500 dollars in repair this appears. I just took it today to remove the refrigerant, replaced the orifice tube, and installed a cheap orifice tube vs a $20 one. I pulled a 10 minute vacuum. Tomorrow I am pulling a 1 to 2 hour vacuum to make sure there is no humidity.

[gadget73]

hm, well if its all brandy new then you shouldn't need to flush it. Just make sure its got the right amount of oil and try again.

[pivichot]

well. after replacing the orifice tube and refilling the system. The Ac cools but not completely. Gonna let it a day or two before assuming the compressor is bad. It allows me to be comfortable in the car vs the windows open. As long as it lasts a year or two I am happy. Since I will retrofit an older system to it. Ar the 1991 compressors better than an FS10 compressor? Do the 1990 have Teflon in them?

[pivichot]

Well, I already found an engine wire harness for a 302 and a pedal assembly for the Grand Marquis. I have been searching information regarding the T5 transmission. Are they good transmission if taken care of or just bad transmission for a big car like the mercury? I am actually planning when I will install the transmission to buy one used and then upgrade I believe to a TKO500. any suggestions? Another question where would be a good idea to search on rebuilding a 302 with forged internals? Only thing that might be forged is pistons and maybe connecting rods. This is in case if I ever decide to add a vortech supercharger or procharger.

[pivichot]

Well I just got a 302 engine harness and a pedal assembly for the manual transmission if I decide to go that route. Just 68 bucks. going slow but I will get there. Next will be the big brake conversion.

[pivichot]

Well, it has been a while since I have done anything to the car. Still have not started anything on it since I have been studying too much. Have been researching and still thinking on the engine. My choices now are a 5.0 or a 5.8. Already got the spindle and stabilizer bar for the big brake upgrade from a 2000 crown victoria. I will go with a megasquirt II setup since it will only be 300 plus a fuel air ratio that together is almost 500. Suspension might be done in the summer. Any suggestions on things to worry between the 302 or 351? Also which headers should I use if I go with either of the two engines? I will be using E7TE heads. Since they can be found cheap and I will do a basic port job to them. Although I would love more horsepower I also want torque to get this car moving.

[pantera77]

I honestly wouldn't waste my time with e7's. GT40P's are literally everywhere and much better.

[pivichot]

So it has been a while I have not posted on here. I just want to put some updates on the Mercury. Plans for the engine and transmission are still pending but I decided to stay with the AOD. I am planning on building it.
So this is what I did to the car last summer:
-Big Brake Upgrade
-New Brake Lines
-New Paint
-New fuel pump and teflon fuel line.
-AC has been fixed, yet again.
-New Cooper CS5 tires
Enough of me talking, here are some pictures.

Old brakes

New suspension





Also painted last summer
How it was
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Removing Paint
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To what it looks now

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A year After I started to wetsand the clear to get a better shine out of the paint.

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[pivichot]

Also last year I put sequential tail lights on it.
Here is a video

https://youtu.be/iIn6bcqgrzs

I also did a cluster swap to a digital one. In this video it can be seen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggSmKJqw4V8

[Hearsesrock427]

Love murdered out aeros (especially digidash aeros). Reminds me of a SICK '92 Town Car some guy on CVN used to own. It was done up like your '92 Grand Marquis, right down the epic clearcoat. I always loved how the sinister vibe from the blackout treatment contrasts the smooth, almost docile aero body lines. The sequential tails are cool too, surprised at how well they work on the '92-'94 half length tail light bezels.

Definitely interested in seeing another 5.0 aero around. And you'll be able to handle all that extra (and more usable) power, thanks to the big brakes. Going fast has to be balanced with stopping fast!

[pivichot]

Next thing that I will do this year is a gear swap. I will be going from 3.08 gears to 4.10 gears. I already bought 4.10 gears plus a bearing kit for only 225 on ebay. Also bought new axles for it. Got the axles for 23 bucks each. They are not motorcraft but they are Alloy Usa Performance axles. This will be my first rear end rebuild. Also I am going with limited slip.
Axles

Gears and Bearings

This will be done before September for sure.

[pivichot]

Still not a 5.0. Still has a bastard block.

[gadget73]

I hear somewhat questionable things about the FRPP gear sets the last couple years. Apparently they are being made by Motive in China, and some have a tendency to whine. Hopefully yours doesn't end up being one of those. Might also be setup related, some seem to be more bitchy about it being just so otherwise it makes noise.

Paint came out looking nice though.