Hi. Can anyone offer me some advice on how to determine the color of the coolant my 2003 GM came equipped with? I bought it used in NY and I had the coolant changed by Maroone Ford at home without first looking at the color of the coolant. Maroone put in green. Another mechanic told me it should be gold and now I don't trust Maroone. The manual's no help and I read somewhere switching colors causes corrosion. There has to be a label or something on the car that tells me, no?smileys/smiley6.gif

I'm sure Ford put in the proper coolant. There are only 2 colors of coolant. Green and red. Red is called Dexcool and is only made for newer GMcars and would be clearly stated under your hood as well as in the owners manual. I'm sure your owners manual will tell you about your coolant. Look in the index for coolant or fluids, etc. Edited by: conan312

It's not so easy. The mechanic who said it should be yellow is a World Ford Mechanic. I do not know the mechanic at Maroone Ford who changed my coolant, but I do know the coolant is green and it was not filled up to the "cold fill' line. I cannot be certain I can trust any dealer nowto provide the correct info. This has to come from someone at the manufacturer level. Now here's thekicker, the manual states my car came with either a greencoolant or a gold coolant and to determine the color the car came with, to check the reservoir orwith my dealer.Well, I didn't see anything on the reservoir, and two different dealerseach told me a different opinion. I'd call Mercury customerservice, but they'll just tell me to see the dealer like they've doneall the times I've called them. http://www.mercuryforum.com/smileys/smiley6.gifEdited by: AngelD

Correct color used by Ford for all vehicles is green. Only General Motors uses the Dex-cool coolant-- looks reddish to orangish. As long as the coolant is silicate free and compatable with material in the engine, no problems should result.

Hi, 1breaux.
Thank you for your response. It was informative and helpful. Since I posted the question, I went to yet another dealer who told me that the coolant should be yellow but green is perfectly ok to use in its place and will not cause corrosion, the same thing told to me by the mechanic at World Ford. Since that's the second time that was said, I feel better about the green coolant. It seems Ford decided to change the color of the coolant to yellow specifically for the 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis but they didn't want people trying to use the red coolant. My theory is theywanted to avoid liability by scaring people to death with all that talk of corrosion and engine damage just in case someone decided to use the red color (which by the way, Toyota uses it too). With the second mechanic I found that what the two mechanicswere lookingat all along was a little icon of a coolant reservoir colored yellow and a checkmark next to it. I believe Ford should be more kind to it's customers and make things a whole lot simpler by killing the yellow icon and just printing a label on the damned thing simply stating in clear words "Use Motorcraft Gold Premium Coolant Only". How much more would it have cost to do that? 3 cents tops maybe???? Maybe it wasn't cost, maybe they just like to taunt their customers after their car's value goes down by $ 25 grand in just three years.smileys/smiley7.gifhttp://www.mercuryforum.com/smileys/smiley5.gif

I have a 96 gm and I could not find what the correct colour should be either. So I consulted my owners manual and itgave me a part number for the proper anti-freeze to use.I guess they want me to buy it from the dealer.Anyway I went to advance auto parts and asked them if they had the correct anti-freeze for my car and they gave anti-freeze that was compatable with either color and that is what I have been using and everything is just fine.

Of course it is fine, for right now. But once something is happening years from now, you wont track it down tothe wrongcoolant.


The 4.6 engine should get the green coolant Why? Pretty simple, it's designed for engines with different material (cast iron block/aluminum heads).


The red coolant isfor all-aluminum engines.


The gold/yellow coolant is for modern engines on which the cast iron material is special treated.


The worse thing you can do to an engine with cast iron parts: Using de-mineralized water. It will withdraw minerals from the cast iron parts, which will result in lots of debris in the cooling system.


It's like drinking salt water, it will draw salt out of your body.

As much as I appreciate the responses, I've got a whole other problem entirely now that made me completely forget about the coolant. My wipers and washer fluid pump turn on all by themselves at random times. This time I tried Gus Machado Ford since my experiences were not good at World Ford and Maroone Ford. Seems this third dealer is not the charm..........they had the car seven days and could not find the problem.There's a TSB # 549 describing a problem with the wiper motor getting corroded but it says nothing about the washer fluid pump. The dealer couldn't find anything wrong with the wiper motor. Someone there suggested a leak in the windsheild that wets an "electrical box in the firewall". Yet another said it was a leak in the keyless entry button pad. And yes, another thought it might be the "wiper control module". Basically all were grasping at straws because they couldn't find the snake on the ground that bit them.I suppose I'll have to eventually replace the windshield when the wipers get done scratching the hell out of it. Or..........I could take the fuses out andsell it back to the dealer who sold me this child of Christine's (keeping quite about the problems with the car like they did, of course). Either way, Thanks to all of you, from a future former Mercury/Ford owner.

The only time things can turn on by themself is, if they get power. No power, no movement.


The washer pump and wiper motor have an electrical connection. When you press on your turning lever, the washer pump, well, pumps water on the windshield, and the wipers start moving.


So this is the logical place to start looking. There is a spring inside the turn lever, if it is weak, it might be engaged. Simple to test, if you press it, is it firm? Can you pull it out further than it is comming out by itself?


Assuming this isn't the issue, the relais would be the next item to look at. It distributes the power from the main supply to the pump/wiper motor.


Greetings.

Thank you 92Mercury. I am going to try taking the car to a Lincoln Mercury dealer this time. I've been taking it to Ford dealers all this time because I thought the GM was mechanically identical to the Crown Vics. Two people have told me to take it to a Mercury dealer because they are not the same. That may explain why this last Ford dealer was not aware of TSB 549. I'm also going to try getting rid of the car if and when this problem is fixed. It doesn't even have 35,000 miles on it and considering the problems it has had so far (torque converter, A/C condensor, headlights and wipers), I don't want to wait to see what happens when it reaches 50,000 miles.Ok, so who's interested in a nice silver 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis LS Ultimate with 34,000 miles on it for only $ 12,000.00???? Any takers??http://www.mercuryforum.com/smileys/smiley8.gifhttp://www.mercuryforum.com/smileys/smiley8.gif

I can understand how you feel. However, I'd rather have your issues than a "Check Engine Light" or other severe electronic issues.


And: what else could you drive which gives you the smoothness of a ride like the MGM, with a V8, being rated 18mpg/city and 27mpg/highway?


Just some thoughts.


Greetings!

Sometimes the little things are magnified by experience and circumstance. The better part of my two week vacation has been spent trying to fix the car. It could have been better in that I could have used my car like I planned for a nice road trip. But it didn't turn out that way; my vacation was ruined because of the carand I still had to bear the expense of rental cars and deductibles.I was trying to avoid those expenses in the first place. Now I have to work another year before I can take another2 weeks off.


I've wanted a GM since I was a kid (30 years ago) and now that I have one it's given me nothing but trouble. I consider these problems to be minor on a car that has at least 75,000 miles on it but certainly not on one with only 34,000. I've had severe problems with an '85 Ford LTD I owned once too. An '88 Chevy Cavalier had problems similiar to the ones I'm experiencing with the GM now which only serve to remind me of that time as well.


On the other hand I've been a long time Toyota owner as well and I'veknown what it's like to have a reliable car even though I didn't really likeanything about those cars except theirreliability. Maybe if I had never experienced the above, the wipers, the torque converter and A/C would have seemed minor. But alas, everyone has their own shoes in which towalk.

Hello, 92Mercury.


Thought you'd like to know you're right so far. I took my GM to a Lincoln Mercury dealeryesterday afternoon. They had the diagnosis in a little more than an hour........it's the multifunction switch. They're going to have the part ready to install on Monday.


Even though it's a relief to finally identify the problem there is still that nagging regret of all the time I wasted on Gus Machado Ford.Their incompetence cost me a lot and not just financially.


Maybe some day I'll accept the price I'm paying for the smooth ride and V8 power.


I've forgotten my manners and have not responded to your greetings - I'm sorry - greetings to you too. I'll let you know next week if the new multifunction switch did the trick (and of course you may choose to ignore the info if you don't really care to know; it would be understandable).http://www.mercuryforum.com/smileys/smiley4.gif

What about that? Why would I ignore? Naa, far away from that.


I see your point, I would be mad as hell as well, if I had all the issues you had, on such a new and low mileage vehicle.


Neverless, I faced the same issues. Sometimes the shops just don't have a clue. I consult a repair manual, to get the basic idea, then take it to my dealership (which did fair so far) to get an estimate.


Might want to check out others?


I'm trying to deal with some issues on mine as well. But, one step at a time. If I had to get another car, wouldn't know which one. So I paddle around, as long as the smooth ride gets me to where I want to go.


Am glad to hear that you finally got some valueable input, and eventuall one part fixed. Maybe they can help you with your other issues, if not resolved yet.


Sometimes it's the little things, and with the big and expensive parts around, people do not pay attention to them anymore. Neverless, electric issues are the most common for those "weired issues".


Good luck, keep us updated!Edited by: 92Mercury

Hello!


It's refreshing to seea tolerance forsoap boxes; thanks for reading.


It's been a week and all is well. Pines Lincoln Mercury in Florida saved the day. I took the car to them on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 and they started working on replacing the multifunction switch when they noticed the wiper motor also needed replacement, just like TSB 549 predicted.Theyreplaced the motor and the multi switchas well as the rear left power window switch.


The power window switch hadn't been working for a while and I didn't pay it any mind until I had the other repairs done because everything was covered under Ford's ESP Basecare extended warranty. I had purchased the extended warranty about a year ago when I had the alleged problem with the torque converter.


I figured with only the $ 100 deductible I can have it all done including the power window switch and that's just what I did. Why not milk the extended warranty?


Funny thing happened whenI was checking out all the new and used cars at the dealer as I waited to have the repairs done. I saw a GM identical to mine. Same trim (LS Ultimate), same silver color, same grey leather interior, same year. It had only 2,000 miles more than mine.


I paid $ 15,600 in October 2005 for mine. Can you guess the sticker price onthe one I saw?It was $ 16,995.00. To see it another way, that's almost $ 1500.00 more than what I paid a year and a half ago. And far, far more than what I owe on mine ($ 12,000.00).


I don't think anyone who negotiates the price on a $ 17000.00 sticker can bring it down to $ 12,000.00 very easily. Suddenly I found myself looking at my car in a new more favorable light.


Hey, maybe I'm not so bad off after all. Maybe I even like my car. At least until something else happens...............http://www.mercuryforum.com/smileys/smiley16.gifEdited by: AngelD

Great news! Especially that you still have warranty.


I live in a city where the roads are terrible. When riding my Explorer, I feel like I have to see my dentist to get the loose fillings replaced.


My MGM just floats over it, and thus it has a V8, it's getting 20 mpg (EPA rating) versus 15 on the Explorer. Not to mention highway, where you can add an additional 7 or 8 mpg.


I think the Crown Vic's and Grand Marq's will hold their value, if not slightly increase it. I can not think of any other V8 in a large sedan, which delivers such a smooth ride for this kind of money.


Take care.