2002 Grand Marquis LSE!

[mercurygm88]

I broke out the heat gun and for the most part got the dents out of the rear bumper cover. Driver's side still has a little dent down low, the rear dent only came halfway out but it looks a lot better. I also was able to get the rear exhaust hanger on the drivers side back up where it belongs. I think I can do a bit better on the dents but I'm gonna live with it for a bit, and if I start not noticing it I'll let it go. I also feel like I'll have better luck going in stages rather than trying to do it all at once. This means that as of right now there's nothing that needs fixed or attended to on the car "knock on wood" I'd post a pic but it's raining and the lighting in my garage sucks.

[mercurygm88]

While replying to another thread I just thought of something. The plastic coolant crossover issue was a problem on 1998-2002 cars correct? Was there ever a factory replacement intake or were you forced to use the shitty Dorman unit? I've heard that the Dorman P.I. intake is not up to snuff and actually robs some power. Therefore I'm wondering how do I tell if mine is the shitty Dorman unit or something else? I think I went through this fiasco with my '01 Town Car but never asked about it. I just used my google fu and in the end accepted that I had some kind of intake that didn't leak and that was good enough. If I do have some shitty aftermarket intake manifold I'm not going to change it unless it ends up being a problem. But I'd like to know what I have. I wouldn't say the car feels underpowered, out of the four 4.6 powered panthers I've owned the LSE seems to have the most get up and go. Even more so than the '03 TC which was rated at 4 more hp and had the same rear axle ratio.

[gadget73]

There was an OE Ford upgraded intake I believe. Ford fixed a bunch of them under extended warranty, I can't imagine they would have used a Dorman part to do it. Not sure if the supply is gone, or if its the price of the OEM part that drives the Dorman sales tho.
Easy way to tell, look at the front-most part of the intake. If its black plastic you have the old design. If its aluminum its the revised one. Ford part number would confirm if its the genuine article.


some things just have more zip than others, despite being "identical". Not sure why but if you drive a dozen supposedly identical cars one of them is likely to be just a little bit better than the others.

[mercurygm88]

There was an OE Ford upgraded intake I believe. Ford fixed a bunch of them under extended warranty, I can't imagine they would have used a Dorman part to do it. Not sure if the supply is gone, or if its the price of the OEM part that drives the Dorman sales tho.
Easy way to tell, look at the front-most part of the intake. If its black plastic you have the old design. If its aluminum its the revised one. Ford part number would confirm if its the genuine article.


some things just have more zip than others, despite being "identical". Not sure why but if you drive a dozen supposedly identical cars one of them is likely to be just a little bit better than the others.

It has the aluminum crossover/thermostat housing. But so does the Dorman, I don't suppose the part number is visible without taking the thing off? Either way I'm not going to change it but I'm curious what's on there.

[gadget73]

no idea, not deeply familiar with the 4.6 but I'd be surprised if its not somewhere visible when installed. Maybe somewhere around the throttle body?

[IPreferDIY]

The plastic was up to early 01, shortly after they changed over to PI motors. Not sure how far back they went, but certainly 1998. Ford did have their own replacement kits for NPI motors, but they were typically expensive, at least up here. The PI ones are currently available as "Ford Racing" units, but they are pretty much exactly the same as the factory ones. The Dorman PI units have the PI ports but with the NPI runners, so don't bother with them. If you look at the runners and see that the bend in the coolant pipe behind the water pump is necessary (the NPI pipe went straight back), you presumably have the proper one. Also, brass inserts for the COP bolts are a pretty good indication that it is genuine Ford. I don't really feel like digging out my spare intake manifolds to check for part numbers, but something else you can look for if still in doubt is indications that separate gaskets were used on the heads, since only the aftermarkets have integrated gaskets.

[mercurygm88]

The plastic was up to early 01, shortly after they changed over to PI motors. Not sure how far back they went, but certainly 1998. Ford did have their own replacement kits for NPI motors, but they were typically expensive, at least up here. The PI ones are currently available as "Ford Racing" units, but they are pretty much exactly the same as the factory ones. The Dorman PI units have the PI ports but with the NPI runners, so don't bother with them. If you look at the runners and see that the bend in the coolant pipe behind the water pump is necessary (the NPI pipe went straight back), you presumably have the proper one. Also, brass inserts for the COP bolts are a pretty good indication that it is genuine Ford. I don't really feel like digging out my spare intake manifolds to check for part numbers, but something else you can look for if still in doubt is indications that separate gaskets were used on the heads, since only the aftermarkets have integrated gaskets.

Thanks, I'll check it out when I get the chance and see if I can find a part number. Am I correct that the plastic intake with plastic crossover was used from the factory 1998-2002? Or did it go away when the PI motor came into being? Being an 02 and a fairly late ish 02 having been built in March of 02 I'm almost 100% sure I have the PI motor. If it did have the plastic crossover factory I'm guessing it lasted until May 2019. That's when the service records say the gaskets were changed, so I suppose it's possible the original was replaced then. I can't picture a 90,000 mile 4.6 leaking from the oil pan, valve cover, and intake cover gaskets but all of those were replaced last may. At least I myself am not having any issues with the car.

[mercurygm88]

Intake has a ford logo and part # on the drivers side. Looks like it’s the real deal.

[mercurygm88]

I waxed the car today, by hand, with paste wax. What an ordeal.

Also found more scratches and paint chips I was unaware of. For as well as the previous owner(s) took care of this thing mechanically they sure didn’t much care about it cosmetically.

[sly]

For as well as the previous owner(s) took care of this thing mechanically they sure didn’t much care about it cosmetically.

Pretty much my mantra at this point with my vehicles. Traffic is sketchy AF at times and every vehicle has been hit at some point.

[gadget73]

Thats the bad part about hand washing and waxing, you find paint issues that you did not realize existed.

Did you clay it first? I got a lot of crap out of what looked to be reasonably clean paint on the Mark VII, but the bar turned tan or grey depending on what part of the car I was cleaning. Definitely much whiter afterward. Paint was also smoother. It had been decently cared for in terms of washing and waxing over it's life but it was definitely due for some deeper cleaning.

[tjc78]

Clay bar really works wonderfully to prep for a nice wax job.

[mercurygm88]

I've never done the clay bar thing myself. I kind of always figured that was more for show cars and other cars that aren't driven everyday. Being that I always have daily drivers that are never perfect I've never really felt like it was worth the trouble.

[87gtVIC]

It can be a quick process. Spray detailer on panel and gently rub clay back and forth until you feel no resistance. Move on. Dont drop the clay.

[VicCrownVic]

I waxed the car today, by hand, with paste wax. What an ordeal.

Also found more scratches and paint chips I was unaware of. For as well as the previous owner(s) took care of this thing mechanically they sure didn’t much care about it cosmetically.

I also did some hand washing today and found more scratches that I hadn't noticed before. There are some issues that I noticed last time I washed, but the stuff I noticed today isn't as noticeable. Still the nicest car I've ever owned, and like your LSE it's still pretty good looking.