VicCrownVic's 1991 Mercury Grand Marquis LS "The Scab"

[DerekTheGreat]

I'll take the power steering pump off your hands, seeing as it's just sitting there..

[VicCrownVic]

Went up today to finish working on The Scab so I could bring it home.
First thing I realized when I got there was that I forgot to bring one of my '90 TC fan shrouds, so the stock one went back on for now.
Everything that didn't get back together when I changed the water pump went back together. I also changed the wiper blades, changed the trans filter, and did a little bit of engine bay and exterior cleaning.
I think I found the leaks in the air shock lines. I didn't check the fittings at the shocks, but every other fitting was leaking. I'll know in a few days if I am now leak free on the air lines.
Changed spark plug #8 but still need to chase a miss. The #7 spark plug wire that was starting to melt last year while sitting on the exhaust manifold likely is the issue. I have new wires, just didn't get to putting them on. Other than the miss which is most apparent at low RPMs, the car did great over all on the hour long trip home. If I have some time tomorrow I'll likely get to the spark plug wires.

[VicCrownVic]

...
I think I found the leaks in the air shock lines. I didn't check the fittings at the shocks, but every other fitting was leaking. I'll know in a few days if I am now leak free on the air lines.
Changed spark plug #8 but still need to chase a miss. The #7 spark plug wire that was starting to melt last year while sitting on the exhaust manifold likely is the issue.
...

So far the air shocks are holding, so I think those fittings were the leaky culprits. With the stock springs this car rides much softer than The Ice Car with its wagon cargo coils out back (fronts are the same shocks and stock coils on both cars). I think I like the stiffer ride better, but the soft ride might grow on me.

After work and running around with wife and kids, I changed spark plug wires on the driver side today. In addition to #7 showing signs of heat fatigue #5 looked about the same, so I replaced all 4 on that side (I might get to the p-side this weekend). It seemed better (might have been a placebo affect) but there was still a slight miss. Checked spark plug # 7 and it looked great so over to the passenger side I went. I started at the rear with #4 since the rears are always the worst and holy crap why is my spark plug loose? What jackass installed that... this guy. Well that spark plug was fouled badly so I swapped it out and started it up again. MUCH better. The drive to work tomorrow should be more enjoyable.

I need to determine where the power steering fluid is leaking from. Either the pump or the gear or both. If I can get that taken care of, then I should be able to determine if there are any other leaks, but I think the power steering is the last of the leaks (until the next one starts).

[DerekTheGreat]

Leaks man, leaks. I'm always hesitant to fix them, especially ones of the coolant variety. That has always spelled trouble for me.

I've done the loose spark plug thing, on my Danger Ranger back when I was a pup. Caused the check engine light to pop on and idle was somewhat crappy right after changing the plugs. Could see where gas mix was staining the plug and plug boot. Oopsie.

[VicCrownVic]

It drove amazing this morning!

[DerekTheGreat]

She's feeling left out! In a week she'll turn her attitude like a woman spurned, and always when you least expect or are least prepared

[gadget73]

I can't abide leaks on vehicles. The very slightly weepy rear main on the Mark VII and the very slightly leaky rad tank on the Conti drive me absolutely nuts because I really can't fix them. I'm not motivated to pull the engine from one, and I can't get a radiator for the other.

[VicCrownVic]

Leaks are one of the reasons I don't want to drive this car in the winter. It's one thing during the summer to keep up with the leaks until they get fixed, but having to check and fill fluids so frequently in the winter without a garage sucks. The Ice Car might look worse than this one, but that car has no leaks to put up with.

The old IAC made the foghorn/wookiee sound, it may have been an aero part for all I know, but it worked fine. I changed it earlier this spring before my mom borrowed the car for a week. Now that I've got it home and am driving it daily I noticed that the new IAC (Hitachi AVB0034) is making the foghorn/wookiee sound. It only does it after a hot restart and quits after a short amount of time. Other than the weird sound it works fine. Oh well, I've got more pressing issues to address.

[87gtVIC]

I can't abide leaks on vehicles. The very slightly weepy rear main on the Mark VII and the very slightly leaky rad tank on the Conti drive me absolutely nuts because I really can't fix them. I'm not motivated to pull the engine from one, and I can't get a radiator for the other.

You can pull the transmission then.

[gadget73]

Not really any easier since I don't have a lift, and I'm not motivated to do that either.

[VicCrownVic]

You can pull the transmission then.

That's the way I would rather do it, and that is the way I did it.
Dad has a pnuematic Hein-Werner bumper lift that works great for this kind of work. Not as nice as a full lift, but good enough for what I need.
Pics of it in use with The Ice Car 3 years ago and my '89 2 years ago:

[gadget73]

It doesn't need oil between changes, so its not annoying enough to make me actually do anything about it.

[VicCrownVic]

New steering gear box went on today, so no more leaking power steering system. This is at least the 3rd or 4th box that that I've done this job on, but I'm pretty sure this one took longer than even the first time I did this job many years ago. Heck, the last one I did in my apartment parking lot by myself and was done in about an hour. Nothing wanted to cooperate this time, so I'm glad I wasn't alone. Dad helped to get the pitman arm off and my youngest brother later helped me lift and position the box in order to get the first bolt through the frame. 8 years of being a desk jockey and little to no exercise in that same time has really gotten to me as this is no longer a job I can do on my own.

Also welded the hanger arm back on my 2 year old muffler. I had too look back through the thread to see when that muffler went on. I thought it was only a year old, but even at 2 years that arm should not have broken off, especially since the muffler could pass for only being a year old based on the condition other than the broken arm.

[DerekTheGreat]

I no longer feel like the spry lad I used to feel like. That just kinda crept up on me.

That bumper jack looks super sketchy on that white one, you can see the bumper flexing and the moisture doesn't inspire a enough confidence to suggest that car wouldn't fall on me if I got under it haha.

[VicCrownVic]

After that picture there were jackstands put in place, solid concrete block platforms build under the front wheels, and the rear wheels blocked. The bumper jack has mechanical stops like an actual lift has, but I feel better with all the precautions mentioned.