kishy's 1991 Grand Marquis

[kishy]

No progress on the car tonight, but I did spend the evening prepping the garage to move forward - putting tools back, cleaning up boxes and packaging from parts, sort of "resetting" the space.

I believe if I had to take the car as it sits today, it would go well enough. That being said, the outstanding wishlist is as follows, in no specific order:

• Dash cam. I have a Thinkware F200 hanging around that will go in this.
• Tail pipes. I believe they will cure the exhaust drone, so I'm going to try to make them happen. That being said, I'll survive if not.
• Fan clutch. I have no reason to believe it's not working well enough (especially without air conditioning), but there is visible oil leakage on it, and I have a new one on-hand.
• Air conditioning. I have the parts, oil, and refrigerant, so it's within reach, but not worth burning an evening until other things are done first.
• Install transmission cooler. I have one on-hand.
• Install the control wires for the turn signal sequencers, so that they do not sequence when braking. It's just two wires from the column/cluster area back to the trunk.
• Quick wash/detail, including interior.
• Get my hands on a full-size spare of appropriate size. The other set of HPPs has tires that are substantially larger, so I'd rather not do those. 98-02 brakes so I can't do a 15, as far as I know. I have multiple donuts but no full size spare matching the current size.
• Take another look at the drum brake adjustment because it's not clear that it's right.
• Flush the brake fluid out with the fancy ATE DOT4, which I have on-hand. I don't think I have performance pads for the 98-02 setup so I guess I'm just rocking what I have. It stops very well, but fade is what I'm concerned about.
• Poke around with the EGR stuff
• Snug up the steering gear a little bit. Feel is great but it does have a dead zone that I'd like to reduce.
• Go through the ignition bits and see if any items I have on the shelf can make an improvement with anything, such as the minor misfire at high load low RPM. Fairly sure I have plugs, wires, and a rotor, but not a cap.
• Identify a clunk I heard tonight from the front end, which I suspect (sort of recognizing the tone and conditions that cause it) it may be a lower control arm with insufficiently torqued bolts so it rocked backwards with braking.
• It has been very tempting to change the transmission fluid and with the new fluid, add the same Lucas stuff I did to the wagon, but I can't afford the setback of what happens to my timeline if the Lucas additive causes undesired effects on this car. It worked wonders in the right direction on the wagon, but this transmission's behavioural concerns are quite different than that one. I've done the fluid in this car twice in the past. I will try to be gentler on this one than I was on the wagon, but it will probably still see a fair bit of manual 1 to hold second on uphills where third isn't gaining speed.
• Fluid leak status is looking good for trip readiness:
  • Engine oil: appears to be no leakage.
  • Coolant: jury is still out. If any is being lost, it's very little.
  • Transmission fluid: appears to be no leakage.
  • Axle oil: appears to be no leakage.

[DerekTheGreat]

I'm pretty anti-additive at this point in my life, especially with Lucas products. (I like their chain lube, however.) Here's how I've adjusted every AOD transmission (aside from the one which blew up in my old Mark VII):

If yours still shifts late into OD (below 68 km/h), it might be worth verifying line pressure once more. Might be something going on inside the magical slush box. But even so, if it was me, I'd keep adjusting the TV cable until I got it to shift into OD at or above 68 km/h with very light pressure on the throttle.

[kishy]

I'm pretty anti-additive at this point in my life, especially with Lucas products. (I like their chain lube, however.) Here's how I've adjusted every AOD transmission (aside from the one which blew up in my old Mark VII):

If yours still shifts late into OD (below 68 km/h), it might be worth verifying line pressure once more. Might be something going on inside the magical slush box. But even so, if it was me, I'd keep adjusting the TV cable until I got it to shift into OD at or above 68 km/h with very light pressure on the throttle.

Not messing with it. I've been down this road before with this one; that's why I paid a shop to set it by a gauge to begin with (and even with that, the cable is substantially tighter now than it was when I left that shop with it). Recall it's a car I've owned for 12 years and driven the most out of all of my cars, it isn't a new-to-me car.

With TV bumped up, even a lot, the transmission just gets noisier doing its obnoxious squealing noise all the time under a far wider range of throttle positions, and to an extent the 1-2 shift will move up, but the almost-zero throttle OD shift point will never move meaningfully. It has an internal problem and it has had that problem the whole time I've had it.

Throwing a gauge on it would only serve to verify that there is a problem, not help me with the shift points.

[DerekTheGreat]

...With TV bumped up, even a lot, the transmission just gets noisier doing its obnoxious squealing noise all the time under a far wider range of throttle positions, and to an extent the 1-2 shift will move up, but the almost-zero throttle OD shift point will never move meaningfully. It has an internal problem and it has had that problem the whole time I've had it.

Throwing a gauge on it would only serve to verify that there is a problem, not help me with the shift points.

Oook, so with that said I wouldn't feel comfortable road trippin' that.

[gadget73]

Exactly what does the anti-sequencer wiring tie into up at the dash? No chance its the same thing the CHMSL ties to is it? Thats a much shorter run.

[kishy]

Exactly what does the anti-sequencer wiring tie into up at the dash? No chance its the same thing the CHMSL ties to is it? Thats a much shorter run.

The old meter4it.com sequencer (one module which does both sides of the car) canceled sequencing based on the CHMSL. Makes sense, right? CHMSL is hot so we light all of the bulbs except on the side where the circuit is break/making.

The new WebElectric sequencers (one module per side of car) cancel sequencing based on an input that is low when signal is off, and high when signal is on.
So on the wagon, I tapped into the wires that supply the cornering lamp relays, because those are very accessible at the underside of the dash.
Last night, I ran those wires on this car, and elected to use (internally cringing) quick splice connectors to tap into the wires that go into the cluster for the indicators.
The sequencers now sequence for turn signals, and do not for brake lights, which is what I was aiming for.

I also mounted my dash cam, ran the rear camera cable and mounted the rear camera, and hardwired the camera using its included cable, which I attached to the unused police option connector that all 90-91s (and maybe to 94?) have behind the glovebox. It's a convenient source of ground, switched power, and constant power all in one spot, and when I grabbed my 90 P72 cluster years ago from a cop car, I also grabbed the pigtail that mates with the police option connector.

My first time using these heat-shrink butt connectors with integrated low melting point solder. Pretty handy.







The Thinkware F200 Pro is a bit of a mess to install, if I'm honest. It is from a relatively premium brand in the dashcam market, but its installation is rather ugly compared to my Viofo A129 Duo as used in two other cars.





I also used Gorilla 2-sided mounting tape to try to reattach the end of the trunklid trim, which broke off some time ago and has been flapping around. I don't think this is a permanent fix at all, but ideally it lasts for the trip and prevents the whole piece trying to rip off. I cleaned the surfaces with alcohol and left it overnight with clamps holding it together, so it should be pretty apparent later today if it's going to hold or not, and if not, there probably isn't a better option at the moment.



Need to try to find one of these super-sized panel retainers. Probably won't be in the right colour of course. This is used to hold the interior stuff in place around the Frenched rear window.

[Arquemann]

Cool to know that there's a sequential kit for cars without a chmsl, most that I've seen need it or are a complicated mess. A friend has an S197 Mustang, the tails do sequencing with brakes too, looks dumb

I've bought generic interior push clips with very large heads a few times. One time we painted the "heads" beige to fit the interior, you could probably do the same.

I used 2-sided Gorilla tape to mount the front license plate straight onto the bumper of my Caprice, it's held through two winters, plenty of wind, rain, roadsalt, powerwashing, a mailbox and a Fiat. I think your trim should stay put.

[sly]

The aftermarket sequentials I bought were for a 94-96 mustang. Little potted module that tucks behind the tail light assembly. It doesn't do the first solid options as I wager it's a purely passive setup. It triggers on brake as well as blinker.

[gadget73]

without a CHMSL you'd just have to tap into the output of the brake switch. Thats what the CHMSL connects to, upstream of the turn signal switch. Only difference is you're running a lot more wire up to the front.

[kishy]

It was (and is) a beautiful day today, so I cleared my afternoon out of appointments and left work mid-afternoon.

I have tackled the following items today:

• Collected one right-side tailpipe from local CarQuest, at $75 CAD using my work account. They cannot source the left-side pipe, which is available on RockAuto and will be delivered to my friend's house in Detroit in a couple days. Between shipping and exchange, the local option was cheaper for the one that was available. RockAuto is the only viable option for me to use to get the left side pipe.
  As an aside on this point, I should inventory my next several years of exhaust pipe needs and stock up since I have a preference for direct-fit aftermarket off-the-shelf stuff. The supply is drying up significantly. The H-pipes are also a tricky item to find now, but not impossible.
• Purchased a package of trim retainers that said they're for 3/8" holes, and looked about right, described as being for a GM radiator cover or something like that. However, they do not fit in my problem hole (there is a leading cone piece which does not yield enough to get into the hole and would make removal impossible if I forced it), so I am hoping I can return them as they were expensive at local retail (8 or 9 bucks for a 3-pack).
• Verified the tightness of the lower control arm bolts and found no deficiencies (re: heard a clunk the other day). However, sway bar end links are suspect as the bushings are pretty rough and unlikely to be keeping the long bolt out of contact with the arm. These were new Moog parts in about 2013. I do have good condition used bushings from other end links hanging around so there is an "easy button" to fix this.
• Located an oil leak, from the front sump drain plug. As I had overfilled the oil, I removed the plug, allowed a splash of oil to escape, then put it back in tightly. Issue resolved.
• Installed the front frame brace bars. I regret not cleaning up the frame more and painting that too, but where does it end?
• Attempted repeatedly to get the firmware to update on the Thinkware dashcam. Eventually concluded the included microSD card is junk. Used a Samsung evo-whatever 64GB to get it updated. Will likely swap to Sandisk High Endurance 256GB for the trip, if the camera plays nice with it.
• Flushed all brake fluid out. System is now full of ATE Typ200 Racing DOT4.
• Adjusted out rear drums even further. This has helped with the pedal travel issue.
• Fixed the EGR. More details in a paragraph below.
• Observed that the fan clutch was indeed not working, and replaced it.
• Ground down the left side steering stop considerably. Will see how this affects my dislike of the 98-02 turning radius, and possibly repeat on the right side if I find it has introduced no problems. If you haven't driven both, the box turns tighter, and not just a little. And the 98-02 stop makes a horrendous noise when the suspension changes height while in contact.
• Installed centre caps on the HPPs.
• Verified the trunklid trim seems to be attached well enough.
• Also wrenched on the wagon.

EGR:
An initial KOEO gave me a pass for on-demand, with a 31 EVP low as a keep-alive code.
EVP low would translate to "EGR valve is too-far closed" or "EVP sensor is too-far extended", and as a keep-alive code but not on-demand, this makes me believe the system cycled the valve at some point, the potentiometer value dropped out of range on the low side, and the system accordingly canceled using EGR due to the code. Scratchy potentiometer of this not-really-serviceable design means you replace it.

Accordingly, I replaced the EVP sensor with a new Standard VP1 using the O-ring which it included. After doing so and clearing codes, KOEO no longer gave me a 31, but did give me a 34 EVP high as an on-demand code. EVP high would translate to "EGR valve is not closed enough" or "EVP sensor is too long and being pushed in too much by valve in closed position".

I removed the EGR valve, and vacuum tested it and found it operates smoothly. I used a small file, wire brush, and brake cleaner to clean the pintle and its bore, as well as verified the surface inside the valve that the sensor pushes on is clean and I hadn't previously built it up with tape or anything like that. I returned the valve to the car and cleared code. KOEO once again gave 34 EVP high.

This is the point where people often file or sand down the end of their new EVP sensor to get it to stop seeing the high value. I instead referred to my collection of different EVP sensor gaskets/O-rings, and found one of the wider flatter (but also thicker) design, and swapped that on. The thicker gasket spaces the sensor further away from the EGR pintle, which takes up some of the length. KOEO no longer shows any EGR code.

I ran KOER including cylinder balance and the car passes everything with flying colours. It does have thermactor codes 94 and 44, which I had forgotten that I was expecting, but those shouldn't be anything to think about any further.

The hit list now consists of:

• Tail pipes - pickup of remaining side, and installation of both.
• Air conditioning, if I get to it.
• Install transmission cooler.
• Quick wash/detail, including interior.
• Get my hands on a full-size spare of appropriate size.
• Snug up the steering gear a little bit. Feel is great but it does have a dead zone that I'd like to reduce.
• Review of ignition components.
• Possible rebuilding of sway bar end links.

Quite attainable, I think. The caveat is that my friend may need to borrow me for a couple days to help him get some things done on his car for the same trip, which means I don't have as many days as it looks like. Departure is one week tomorrow.

Cool to know that there's a sequential kit for cars without a chmsl, most that I've seen need it or are a complicated mess. A friend has an S197 Mustang, the tails do sequencing with brakes too, looks dumb

I've bought generic interior push clips with very large heads a few times. One time we painted the "heads" beige to fit the interior, you could probably do the same.

I used 2-sided Gorilla tape to mount the front license plate straight onto the bumper of my Caprice, it's held through two winters, plenty of wind, rain, roadsalt, powerwashing, a mailbox and a Fiat. I think your trim should stay put.

Yeah, the WebElectric kit is well-behaved on cars with both CHMSL or not (as I have it on both), thanks to using the "is the turn signal on" input rather than the "is the brake light on" input.

I will have to explore the trim retainer options more, as noted above in this reply the option I found locally just didn't quite work. But the 3/8" retainer is not used almost anywhere else on a Ford as far as I'm aware, and I think it might have been sourced by the upfitter (ASC) that installed the carriage roof.

It looks like the Gorilla tape is holding, which is great. That can be the solution basically forever until it lets go, and then I either do it again or find a new solution.

The aftermarket sequentials I bought were for a 94-96 mustang. Little potted module that tucks behind the tail light assembly. It doesn't do the first solid options as I wager it's a purely passive setup. It triggers on brake as well as blinker.

The older versions of both the meter4it unit, and WebElectric (aka RJR Electronics) did not have a feature to cancel sequencing with brake lights, and they are by far the most well-known options as I understand it. The WebElectric/RJR ones are stuffed into, and potted within what I would describe as large rubber pipe caps (like a vacuum cap, for perhaps 5/8" pipe).

As long as your brake light switch isn't super light as many of the aero and whale ones seem to be, causing your brakes to flicker rapidly when holding the pedal only just firmly enough to keep the car stopped, I suppose not sequencing is fine. On the other hand, regardless of sequencing, the flashing brake lights are annoying.

without a CHMSL you'd just have to tap into the output of the brake switch. Thats what the CHMSL connects to, upstream of the turn signal switch. Only difference is you're running a lot more wire up to the front.

For a module that expects to see input based on the brake light switch, yes. The WebElectric ones specifically want to see when a turn signal is active, which on the pre-90 boxes with cornering lamps is super easy (still gotta run all the way to the dash, but at least it's at the bottom edge of the dash and not up through it).

[sly]

Yeah... My foot isn't that light on the brake. It doesn't trigger back and forth like that either though. I have tried that at night and checked the CHMSL as I can see the light bleed around the base at night and I can hold the car just barely with the AC on and not light the brakes, but I tend to hold the brake firm, so people don't have to deal with flicker with my car. Of course, in this area, anything to get people's attention helps... so it's not that bad a thing around here. I do miss small town life for that one reason. Traffic isn't a death race.

[kishy]

Progress for the evening:

I had originally planned to collect the left side tailpipe from my friend's house today, and then do exhaust work tomorrow. However, the pipe didn't arrive today as scheduled, so I have to push that to tomorrow.

I installed a transmission cooler. Resisting the simple option of using the little zip strip things to mount it to the AC condenser, as I've been warned they can act like little hacksaws over time, I came up with some hardware to mount the thing a bit oddly, but definitely not as oddly as how I did it in the wagon with plumbing strapping.











It's a little bit weird but it should work just fine.

I also tightened the steering gear just a tiny bit - maybe 1/4 turn - and it took out all of the slop. Steering effort is still as it was, and it still returns to centre just fine. Way more responsive on quick adjustments near centre though.

I tested out 3 different options for handsfree phone calls while driving:

• A cigarette lighter-based FM transmitter that supports Bluetooth phone call and music audio, with a built-in mic, so it can be your phone mic and the radio speakers can be the phone speakers.
  Testing ruled this out as an option, there is too much outgoing road/wind/car noise for the other party in the call.
• The phone mounted in the Ram mount as pictured recently, just using speakerphone.
  This is a viable option if the windows are up, but the windows are unlikely to be up, so I need to continue finding another option.
• My Jabra Speak 510 rechargeable Bluetooth conference call speaker.
  This unit was definitely the best option of the 3 that I explored. It is probably good enough. I really don't like any sort of in-ear earphones and fumbling to find it and put it in my ear while driving just isn't what I wanna do - some sort of "out loud" speakerphone call with acceptable noise levels is the goal.

I also took a closer look at the sway bar end links. Only one bushing on one link is cracking apart, and it's still in one piece at the moment, but that may change. I'm very tempted to replace the one bushing since I do have some hanging around, and the hardware doesn't look too rusty to let me do it either. But it's probably fine for a little while too.

This brings the hit list down to:

• Tail pipes - pickup of remaining side, and installation of both.
• Quick wash/detail, including interior.
• Full-size spare of appropriate size (a friend is selling me a set of HPPs and he says two have good tires, in the same size as mine, so this may be taken care of)
• Review of ignition components.
• Air conditioning, if I get to it (looking like probably not).

[gadget73]

check the sway bar to frame bushings for slop too. That can make a lot of noise and it may not be obvious how bad they are without a little prying to see how much things move. Have a slightly wonky one on the Mark VII and it makes an obnoxious bang under random conditions.

[kishy]

I did end up going back out the same night and rebuilding the one end link. I replaced just the one bushing; the others are also a bit dry and hard, but it's easy enough to pull these apart to do them individually as needed.

At some point in driving since doing that, I have heard the clunk once more, so that was not the cause. I checked the front end bits for play and found none, so I'm really not sure what it might be. The sway bar bushings to the frame look very decent but I'll look closer at them with a prybar.

Yesterday, I decided to go out-of-order in my priorities and installed air conditioning. Reman compressor (from a mystery eBay listing, not a store, taking a gamble, but we know my old one needs to be resealed because it's coated in oil), all 3 hoses new, reusing the clutch, condenser and evaporator, and attempting to reuse the drier. I know, I know. It just didn't ship from the same location as any of my recent RockAuto orders and isn't quickly/immediately available at retail nearby, so I figured I'd give it a shot.





Referencing what I did for smog delete on the 84 TC, I saw that I used a 6K560 belt and had to fight to get it onto the tensioner due to it being slightly too short. Well, I can say confidently, 6K560 wasn't going to fit on this car without bending something unbendable. I looked at the 84, then back at this, and realized the tensioner pulley is substantially larger on the 91. That was a Duralast part I bought in probably 2014. I went to my parts stash and found new idler pulleys of two designs, both smaller diameter than the 91 part, and swapped one on. Now, the 560 belt fits the same as it does on the Town Car.





Vacuum wouldn't pull past "halfway between 25 and 30 in-hg" (let's call it 27.5) but after about an hour and a half, the visible moisture coming out of the vacuum pump had stopped for a while, so I figured I'd close it up and see if it held vacuum. In a half hour it was down to just over 10 in-hg, so that sounds like a no. Being a noob with this stuff, my belief is that this mean there is a leak, but is it also possible that the vacuum was still pulling moisture out of the desiccant in the drier?



Either way, it would make the most sense for the next attempt to be with a new drier, and is very unlikely to be before the trip. Not too keen on trying to fill the system with anything (aside from the oil that I had put in it) as long as the vacuum drops as quickly as it did, so even refrigerant with stop leak or dye (which actually, the oil does have in it) are out until it seals up better to begin with.

With the evaporator having been new in the late 90s, I'm hoping it has no issues. The condenser is obviously subject to more abuse, but it doesn't have any oil stains on it.

After that adventure, tracking said my tailpipe had been delivered, so I ran over to my friend's house in Michigan to grab it and my pile of other assorted purchases. I stopped at AutoZone and picked up a cap and rotor kit (the Duralast bits have been good to me on the wagon), as well as a pair of 2" turndowns as a fallback plan in case I can't get the tailpipes to mount up nicely. I had a return to mail back, and had 20 minutes to get to the post office before close, so I drove the car at ludicrous speed (but obviously within the speed limit, of course, I would never speed, how dare you even think that) to get there successfully. This car is buttery smooth, holds the road well, corners confidently...it's very good.

And on the shift points: if I'm into it just a little bit more than basically nothing, they all move up, but 2 is still very short.
If I'm accelerating rapidly to highway speed, it will not go into OD until 120kmh, or I let off the pedal, whichever comes first (and generally those events coincide).

• Tail pipes installation
• Quick wash/detail, including interior
• Full-size spare
• Review of ignition components.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

With regards to the A/C, the vacuum drop more than likely points towards a leak given such a short time frame. At work there's been a few cars where the A/C system was left open for about 24 hours (typically on Chargers getting engines or cam/lifters), so usually the tech would just apply a vacuum for about 90 minutes to get the moisture out. So far, no issues for A/C performance on those cars.

Usually if there's a vacuum leak fail on the system, one of the guys has a set of gauges with a air chuck fitted to it so the system can be pressurized with shop air and then all the connection points can be sprayed with soapy water to find the leak point, assuming the evaporator hasn't failed and is leaking in the case.