Eric's 1989 Yellow Grand Marquis

[Eric62]

Finished the tune up today and a quick test drive made me feel like it was worth the effort... I'll know more once I get out and run some errands in the next few days.
Also, some pics of the rims and hubcaps that will eventually go on it. I bought 3 rims on CL and unfortunately I did not check them close enough as they are all different... oh well, I have 1... 3 more to find.
More pics of the gauges... I have always liked these gauges, and even though they are not a perfect match, they are silver in the center and have the green stripe which matches the green light in my factory gauges.

[Eric62]

A few more of plugs, wires, cap, rotor











The front drivers side wire is looped around the metal air cleaner tray and the original had a protective sheath... I had a few spark plug heat shields laying around... fought with trying to get it over the boot for a few minutes before taping it up. Just thought I'd share with other new guys like myself. My lower back is now killing me... no way I could do this for a living, lol.

[Eric62]

Made the 1200 mile trip to MI without any issues... Hopefully I'll have the same result.
Before I left, I got the temp gauge working, although it is off... The sending unit seems off by 40 deg, but it is the sending unit that Summit recommends for the gauge... I have been trying to find the correct one, but they don't seem to have a 60-240, even though that is what their brand new gauges are. I might have to call.
My rearview mirror had fallen off and I glued it back on... fell off within 3 hours of my trip. I've never been able to glue them on successfully after they have fallen off... has anyone else had any luck? I might get an old one that screws to the roof somehow.
I wanted to get the heat working, but ended up not having time as I spent some time changing the oil again, gathering tools, checking spare tire, jack, packing tools, etc.

[gadget73]

I've done it, but I found that the glass and the tab must be absolutely clean and you have to follow the instructions to the letter. I want to say you prime both sides but only put glue on one, temperature has to be right, etc. I've failed at it more times than succeeded though. I used to have a local glass shop that could fix them. 10 bucks and it never caused me trouble again but dude and the wife had issues, he closed up shop and moved out of state.

[Eric62]

I've done it, but I found that the glass and the tab must be absolutely clean and you have to follow the instructions to the letter. I want to say you prime both sides but only put glue on one, temperature has to be right, etc. I've failed at it more times than succeeded though. I used to have a local glass shop that could fix them. 10 bucks and it never caused me trouble again but dude and the wife had issues, he closed up shop and moved out of state.

I bought the kit and did follow the directions exactly... Yes, primed both but only put glue on the metal. The glass shop is a good idea. The kit was $10 and I'm not buying another one, lol.

[gadget73]

thats what I decided years ago, but the last time it happened, dude had already closed up shop. Took two tries, its holding now though. I've probably bought 5 of them and its worked properly once.

[BigMerc96]

Heh. I'm glad I've never had to deal with the rear view coming unglued. Don't know how, the mirror in my Town Car has been loose from the glass since the day I bought it in 2012. My buddy hasn't been so lucky. The mirror in his '91 fell off on a hot day, that one went up no problem with one of the kits. The one in his Town Car was on the back seat when he bought it, that one put up a fight. 1st kit didn't hold. 2nd kit didn't either. 3rd kit held great, so great that it came off a week later with a piece of the windshield still attached!. I don't remember how he eventually got the mirror attached, pretty sure it was done at a shop, and it was about an inch too low because of the missing chunk of glass where it was supposed to be.

[VicCrownVic]

The rear view mirror in The Scab was on the front seat when I bought it. The first attempt held for a little over a year, second has been on there for a little over a year I think. I read the instructions beforehand each time and laid everything out to make following the instructions to the letter easier. It seams cleaning, prep, temperature, and holding the button in place for at least the minimum suggested time are all important to the process.

As mentioned, an auto glass place is probably the best bet though.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

The one in my ‘97 had a period where it would fall off each year when it got hot, so I’d usually come out to find it dangling by the power wire. I gave up on those little kits you get at the parts store and was pointed towards Permatex’s Five Minute Epoxy. It’s one of those two part deals, but I cleaned the glass and button with rubbing alcohol, put a small dot of that stuff on the back, and held it against the windshield for a minute, then let it cure over night.

That was at least three or four years ago and it has not fallen down since.

[DerekTheGreat]

I had to put one in after a junkyard run. Some old dude told me to put the Permatex kit in the trash and just use super glue. Haven't had to give that a shot yet but I will. If that fails, then I'll try that five minute epoxy a shot next.

[Eric62]

Thanks everyone,
I will take it to a glass shop at some point as I don't want to keep buying glue kits... if it falls off then I'll just take it back to the glass shop.

[Eric62]

I almost made it back to FL from MI a week ago, but had to call AAA for a tow 80 miles from home. My amp light came on at the end of day 1 driving while at a stop sign. Once I had engine RPMs up a little it went away. I assumed that as long as I was on the highway, I'd be fine, but as it turns out it was not. The battery finally completely died... luckily the tow showed up within 20 min. At the time I was kicking myself for not finding a parts store and either buying a new battery or an alt, but that would have been $100... as it turns out, the AAA tow was free and once home I replaced the alt and the alt wiring harness with the one off my parts car, and all is fine again. The big connector on the alt was severely corroded and had a corroded splice as well... I'm guessing the wiring was the main problem. It is probably time to do the alt upgrade that I have seen here. I also plan on moving the battery to the trunk and upgrading all the battery cables as well as they are looking pretty bad.
When in MI, I also did title transfer and plates for my latest vehicle... 1994 2500 suburban with a 12v Cummins with NV4500 5 speed. Now that I have 2 vehicles again, I can tear the GM apart for a few days and still have transportation.

[gadget73]

Thats the usual fail method for that alternator. Connector gets loose and it melts. Its not a good design.

12v swapped Burban? Interesting.

[Eric62]

Thats the usual fail method for that alternator. Connector gets loose and it melts. Its not a good design.

12v swapped Burban? Interesting.

ahhh... ok... I'll be pretty busy for a while, but I will be pushing the alternator swap up the list a few places.
I was planning a trip to Vegas, but the car is not ready for a trip that long and I really don't have the time.
Yes, I love Cummins engines... no computers and they start immediately no matter how cold it is or how long they have sat... within reason. The guy I bought it off of did a very clean job on the swap and I got it at a price where I would have had way more money into it than I paid and probably could not have done as nice of a job. Very happy with it so far... The GM will be for running errands around town and road trips where nothing needs to be towed. Mostly using the Suburban for towing my trailer.

[gadget73]

Always sort of dug the "grid heater" design the Cummins engines used. No glow plugs to fail, and it gets the job done faster in the cold anyway. Its also a very capable engine, either of retarded power or longevity, depending on how much the injection pump gets screwed with. Some more power without being in the land of obnoxious smoke levels is a nice place to be.