kishy's 1985 Country Squire

[gadget73]

Shocks are crusty and very dead.

If you've got a newer booster, that wouldn't be a waste of time.

[kishy]

New of the cheapest-of-the-cheap Monroes are going on, when the time comes for each axle respectively (front, when entire front end rebuild is complete, and rear after brake work, before gas tank goes in).

I do not have any boosters on hand, but I've been toying with buying a reman of the cheapest one I can find, which seems to be for an 87 - specifically 87, not any other year (wacky) - or going the junkyard route for one of the less pancake-looking newer ones.

Either way, something is happening, because I removed it this evening. Having now extracted a booster with the dash installed, I feel quite a bit less leery about pulling one in a junkyard. I see benefits to the pancake, mainly that it keeps the brake master out of the way of things like the intake zip tube (round air cleaner) and makes access to driver side spark plugs easier.

With creative routing of wobble extensions/U-joints, one can remove the right side booster nuts through the dashboard rather than fumbling around under the dash.

Played around with a couple modules, verifying their identities. Seems the big black one is the cruise module (contacts are labeled), and small yellow one is illuminated entry. I also replaced the chime with a re-foamed one from my parts stash. I have not successfully rebuilt the (quite a bit larger, and slower-dinging) original one from this car. It seems not to like my choice of foam, and dings very quietly. Will need to give that another go. A friend told me he used microfiber cloth instead of foam in one and it worked.

[87gtVIC]

Ive yet to find that yellow box in my car. Cruise one though I have knocked into a couple of times when I was changing out the booster. It has a mount that bolts directly to the whole pedal assembly correct?

[gadget73]

I seem to recall the original dinger box on the Lincoln was black. It lived somewhere up around the gas pedal. The low fuel module also lives up there.

[kishy]

Yes, cruise module mounts to the right of the ECM, and has a metal bracket attached to it. I don't recall exactly what piece of metal I unscrewed it from, but it has a leg that you engage in some part of the bracketry higher up, then a single 1/4" hex screw to hold it there.

I'm almost positive the yellow box is the illuminated entry module. My 83 is not optioned with it and the connector is hanging in the same spot (right behind and above where all the grounds connect). I believe I have one of that module somewhere from a newer year, but in black plastic instead.

The Lincoln chime modules are quite different, and I don't really know why (different connector with more wires). I'm sure a quick glance at the EVTM would clear it up. The chimes in the Ford/Mercury cars hang out sort of to the left, below the radio. Removal is easiest with eyes through the radio hole but hand through the panel under the column. I believe...from memory...the Lincoln chime is right down at the bottom of the dash to the left of the ashtray. My Lincoln chime hasn't failed yet so I haven't paid it much attention.

Speaking of chimes, has anyone ever seen the Lincoln voice chime? The EVTM speaks of its existence...I don't expect it was as sophisticated as the Chrysler EVA, of course.

Reviewing pics last night of the Lincoln engine bay, I am reasonably convinced that the newer booster is incompatible with the carb/CFI air cleaner. The zip tube comes out directly in front of the end of the existing master and has perhaps 2-3 inches of clearance...tops. That is not very forgiving.

I've been watching for freshly installed reman boosters in junkyard boxes but it seems like even with an obviously newer master, nobody replaces the booster, so I may just have to bite the bullet and buy one through traditional channels.

[gadget73]

Mention of the voice box exists in the 84 Conti EVTM too, but I believe those pages are lined out from the factory.

[jaywish]

If you use the cheapest shocks you may very well get rebound bounce. Cars are generally supposed to absorb a bump then return directly to flat position. With cheap ones they can go up/down then flat. That was one of the first things I did to the old wagon, put in cheap shocks. Took them out and into the garbage they went two weeks later.

Perhaps others have experience with the current cheapest Monroes?

[gadget73]

I try to avoid the cheap of the cheap just because I expect they aren't going to last very long. I'm fine with getting good ones on deep discount clearance though.

[sly]

My experience with the cheapo shocks is either they're no better than the worn out stuff I took off and bounce about as much or they are really stiff and ride like a truck until they hit that one pothole that makes them bounce.

[kishy]

Mention of the voice box exists in the 84 Conti EVTM too, but I believe those pages are lined out from the factory.

I've wondered at times if it was something intended to make it into the cars, but after the manuals were printed something happened re: availability. Perhaps it was a contracted design thing with Chrysler and something monetary didn't pan out. We'll never know.

If you use the cheapest shocks you may very well get rebound bounce. Cars are generally supposed to absorb a bump then return directly to flat position. With cheap ones they can go up/down then flat. That was one of the first things I did to the old wagon, put in cheap shocks. Took them out and into the garbage they went two weeks later.

Perhaps others have experience with the current cheapest Monroes?

I try to avoid the cheap of the cheap just because I expect they aren't going to last very long. I'm fine with getting good ones on deep discount clearance though.

My experience with the cheapo shocks is either they're no better than the worn out stuff I took off and bounce about as much or they are really stiff and ride like a truck until they hit that one pothole that makes them bounce.

These are not meant to be a long term investment, merely "less dead than what came off the car" and "able to pass safety inspection by virtue of being visibly new". It still isn't clear how long I'll have this car. All indications point to it being a long term stablemate to my others but it's hard to be sure.

I currently have blue Monroes (what I just bought are blue Monroes, but different numbers) on the Lincoln and they behave 100% exactly how I want the car to behave. They are very much a soft shock and I expect I'll see the same on the wagon.

In trucks, the "worst of the worst" Monroe is a Gas-Matic which is yellow. I don't think those are offered for our cars.

I find the KYB Excel-Gs on the 91 to be harsh and undesirable. It is on account of that, that I never put the Gas-a-Justs that I also have into anything, because I don't want firmer anything.

[gadget73]

I have a set of Excel-G on the back of the Continental and they seem fine. Its air suspension though, you can have pretty dead shocks and not really notice it too much. As long as they're not overly stiff the air spring eats up most of it. They don't bounce like coils do. I have a set of Gas-A-Justs on the back of the Mark VII, and its definitely a lot more firm.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Working at a parts store I can tell you the basic Monroe shocks get returned under warranty a lot. They just don’t last or customers find them unsatisfactory. I’ve seen a few sets last barely a year on lightly driven cars.

Typically the middle tier shocks hold up better long term.

[kishy]

At $7 a shock I'll be pleased if they last until after it gets its safety inspection.

[sly]

yeah... if it's just to pass inspection... $7 wins.

[kishy]

Small unimportant progress:
Swapped the small bezel/bracket for the tailgate window and antenna switches for one from a sedan that only had an antenna switch, so I could use it for the tailgate switch alone in the wagon (2 switch bezel down to 1). The car was built with a power antenna, it was replaced with a manual telescoping one at some point which was broken, and I've now replaced that with a standard fixed mast antenna. No foreseeable need for the power switch, though it'll be easy enough to put back later if needed.

Tried to fix the chime again (re: the original 85 chime did not respond well to the same foam I used on a later 80s example). Used plumbing teflon tape. Sounds like murdering small animals. Back to the drawing board there.

Derek, the surplus premium sound 4-button stereo you hooked me up with will likely find its home in the wagon. Or maybe it's in the Lincoln right now, I forget which one went where. They both have scratchy potentiometers so neither was particularly better than the other. Since the wagon is a premium sound car, still has its football amp, and had new speaker wire ran but original left in place, it should be a very simple deal to put it together. Fixed (glued) the Pioneer dash speakers from the junkyard haul yesterday, so those will go in this car I guess. Need door speakers, have the rear ones (wagons use smaller rears than sedans do). It's pretty laughable to talk about fixing the sound system given how the rest of the car is but whatever.