kishy's 1983 Grand Marquis 2dr

[kishy]

Washed, twice in a row due to dirt level. This was a proper wash with soap and a microfiber sponge. Realistically, the car does need some paint work, but it does clean up alright.









I can't believe the no spark issue got the best of me for so long. Even after sitting for days, this will now start easily with a couple pumps of the pedal, as it should.

[kishy]

Bought a couple new things for this one: ignition module (Motorcraft DY-893) and ignition coil (Standard Blue Streak FD476). As I have effectively ran out of spares, but know that my spares are working, I wanted to put new on the car so that I have a pair of spares again.

The carb/EEC-III coil bracket is very irritating to deal with. I ended up breaking the pinch screw that retains the coil in the bracket, and drilled the hole out larger to use M6 hardware that I had hanging around.







The coil that had been stuck in the bracket was surely the factory original part. The coil that has been running the car most recently was a black Standard part just sitting on top of the intake nearby. That coil is the one that's becoming the spare again.



The old Motorcraft coil went into the scrap pile because I don't trust that a coil fault (e.g. shorted windings) didn't encourage the previous module failure.

Car starts and runs, so that's good. The new Motorcraft module is incredibly light and much lower profile than the vintage ones. I'm also fairly sure this part is being manufactured by Wells, which means there is a chance that the Autozone Duralast version may actually be the same thing but with the bonus of a longer (indefinite) warranty.

2024-07-24, 65,297km

[kishy]

With my failure in the Acclaim transmission reassembly, I decided I needed a 'win'...some sort of demonstrable progress for the weekend.

I set about re-assembling the interior of the 83 MGM. This involved putting the interior trim for the back seat area back in the car (some wire tucking, a couple new trim retainers, a couple screws), also the pieces that run along the bottom of the door openings, and the kick panel trim in the foot wells. I then vacuumed out plenty of old leaves, put back the lower seat cushion, and vacuumed the seats. I screwed the cluster back in and the column trim, but can't figure out where I put the panel that covers below the column and the fuse box, or the little threaded trim knob thing for the headlight switch.







I aired up the tires and went for a drive. First, to a gas station, where I filled the tank, and it drove great minus the toe alignment problem that's existed for quite a while.
Then, onwards for a little leisure drive, but that went sideways pretty quickly. Front left caliper hung up on me and I had to stop, lest I set the car on fire. Those of you with good memories may remember that this is not the first time this problem has happened.

Limped it to a nearby friend's house, soaked it with a garden hose for a good while, then drove home. The brake did unseize and I drove carefully to avoid needing to brake heavily, using manual downshifting and just the lightest bit of pedal to try to do all of the braking on the drums.

Obviously, the car is parked until the problem is solved. Maybe I said that last time, but this time I mean it. 95-97 brake swap is the eventual destination here, and maybe sooner rather than later if I have all the parts on-hand. The expense to replace all the stuff that needs to be replaced at this point would be the same either way and I already have most of the brake swap parts.

[gadget73]

Not sure what it is with these particular front calipers but I've definitely had issues. The Conti had one start to hang up for no reason, found a bit of rust in a caliper with not a lot of miles or years on it in a car I'd flushed the brake fluid on. The ones on the Mark VII were sticky but they were original at nearly 240k. No rust, just the seals were ailing. I had problems with calipers on my previous Mark VII, and way back a long time ago when I got the Towncar, it came with one bad caliper which I changed in order to get it home and the other seized up 2 days later.

There isn;t very much clearance between the bore and the piston, and on the ones I've taken apart even without the seals the pistons can get stuck down in the bottom of the bore. Not sure if the phenolic swells or what. Steel pistons are an option but it needs different brake pads, and finding the steel calipers or pistons will cost a bunch extra for usually a more limited pad selection.

[DerekTheGreat]

That back seat area! Looks both comfy and private. Love the rear window treatment two door cars got. That red velour is dead-sexy too.

[Tynnerstroem]

What a handsome car this is. The color combination is outstanding and the turbines finish it off so good.

[GM_Guy]

I've had the left front hang as well. I think I replaced caliper (napa reman) and the hose just in case. Its been.... holy smokes, 24 years since I had to do that.

[DerekTheGreat]

I've had the left front hang as well. I think I replaced caliper (napa reman) and the hose just in case. Its been.... holy smokes, 24 years since I had to do that.

This is happening to me all the time, "Shit, has it really been this long?" or "That's really been on the shelf three years? Feels like I just put it there.."

[gadget73]

I guess I have the usual inverse luck. All you guys get decades from calipers and a thousand miles a quart, I don't use any oil and replace calipers every 5 years. I'll take the caliper problem honestly. 25 bucks every 5 years is a lot cheaper than 2-3 quarts between oil changes.

[DerekTheGreat]

...Guess you value your time, labor & expertise at $0/hr.

[gadget73]

The last caliper I changed cost me 25 bucks and I was done with the job in 30 minutes. Synthetic oil is 5 bucks a quart, 2 quarts per 3k, even at 3k per year is 50 bucks after 5 years. Guaranteed you spend more time checking and dumping in oil than I did replacing a brake caliper.

so yes I value my time

[DerekTheGreat]

Not quite. Last year I put maybe ~1,500 miles on my Lincoln, ~500 on my Firebird. I check the oil on everything I drive at every fill-up, just how I operate as it allows my peepers to scan for animal nests and other abnormalities which might be lurking. So while I check the oil, I haven't had to add any. If I dive into your response a little further, fifty bucks for five years? Done. Sure cheaper than a rebuild and I don't tend to own many cars past the five year mark. Lastly, I work SUPER FUCKIN' SLOW. Always have. I realized in high school auto & paint shop that a career in either would have me destitute when they told me it was all flat rate.

..So, about your failed guarantee? What's it redeemable for? I've got an old military flashlight that I've had for three decades, doesn't work. Perhaps you could fix it?

[gadget73]

You open your hood every time you get gas? No fail on my guarantee, takes longer to do that than I spent changing a caliper.

[DerekTheGreat]

Trying to weasel out of that guarantee, are 'ya?

No way you're popping a car up, removing a wheel, changing a caliper, bleeding the brakes, reinstalling said tire & dropping the car back down on the ground in under a half hour. Let's not forget clean-up.

Yes, I pop the hood every time I get gas as I mentioned, no matter what I drive. Especially when I drive my wife's car. I know damn well she's not doing that.. Multitasking: while the gas pump is filling the tank, I'm checking the oil and done by the time the pump goes "click." Well, practically every time. If the weather sucks or I'm dressed nice, no. In those cases, chances are I already did it the night before or recently.

It's just a hand-held flash light. You can fix it.

[sly]

I can do a caliper swap in 15 minutes. bleed in another 5 and wheel back on in 1. The rest is setup and clean up. Impact to get the lugs and bracket hardware off help. Just rotor and pad swap is 30 minutes per axle (pair) for me. Yeah... once you've done it more than a few times on the same vehicle, it gets pretty damn easy to do.