My '99 Grand Marquis

[badgeless]

I got this car from my Dad for a good deal. It needs some love but it's a good car. It had a check engine light and missed very badly. Turns out the spark plugs were gaped too big. It runs great now. Next is the suspension and exterior. It needs new paint and trim. I started some of the prep work today.

[badgeless]

My plan is to shave the holes in the rear doors, paint the door handles, and the bumper trim. It should give it smoother look

[79lincolnlover]

Has the intake been replaced?

[IPreferDIY]

I'm wondering about the spark plugs. Was the gap too big because they were at the end of their usual lifespan (up to 100,000 miles)? Or had they been replaced before but literally gapped too big? I think they come pre-gapped, so I'm doubting the latter. If the former, you might want to get new plugs.

[badgeless]

Has the intake been replaced?

I took out the inlet trumpet thing.

I'm wondering about the spark plugs. Was the gap too big because they were at the end of their usual lifespan (up to 100,000 miles)? Or had they been replaced before but literally gapped too big? I think they come pre-gapped, so I'm doubting the latter. If the former, you might want to get new plugs.

I had bought new plugs thinking they were pre-gaped, but, they weren't. Out of the box they were between .060 and .070. No good, so I pulled them back out and set to the right gap .054.

[IPreferDIY]

Kind of strange that they weren't pre-gapped. At least it sounds like you didn't fry any coils.

I think 79lincolnlover was talking about the intake manifold. Here's a link that goes into the problem:

http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/185

Incidentally, here's a link if you might want to do anything further with the air box:

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?49086-Cold-Air-Intake

[badgeless]

I thought the same thing about the plugs. I changed the intake manifold a long time ago. I didn't catch what he was referring to. thanks for the links though.

[IPreferDIY]

What have you got planned for the suspension?

[79lincolnlover]

I changed the intake manifold a long time ago.

[badgeless]

What have you got planned for the suspension?

i Have replaced the front shocks, I have the back shocks just need to put them on, and, I changed the inner and outer tie rods. The ball joints are next.

Thanks

[badgeless]

the back shocks are on and I'm putting the ball joints in tomorrow. suspension is almost done

[IPreferDIY]

Since you've already started replacing some suspension and steering components, you might want to consider others, particularly bushings. It's better to plan ahead than to wait for shit to happen. My own preference is to do everything at the same time to avoid having to get multiple alignments. If you want some (hopefully) handy reference information, here's a link to a post with a link to another thread with links to a bunch of other threads:

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

[badgeless]

thanks. I will take a look at them.

[badgeless]

been a some time......the bushings will have to wait. I had to get new cats.

[Hearsesrock427]

Dude, those are some sick five-spoke wheels. I didn't know the whales could be had with those from the factory! Reminds me of the Mustang fanblade wheels, which look equally sexy.

Haven't seen a black whale GM in a very, very, long time either. Let alone one that came without pinstripes from the factory! That's a very interestingly optioned car you've got there.