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Hey, a newbie here. Bought an 01 grand marquis with only 60,000 miles and love it. Haven't owned a ford since the 65 fairlane and the 74 gran torino. anyway, i have put about 4,000 miles on my 01 and now at times it begins to shimmy while going down the road. it starts in the rear and works its way to the front. When i pulled over to check for tires or the like i smelled what seemed to be like a sticking brake rotor on the left rear. is this a common problem? I plan on taking it apart and checking out the pads, etc. According to the paper work the previous owner had alot of brake work done at 59,000. pads, rotors, etc. thanks for any input you can give.


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Sorry man, can't help you. I'm fairly new to the Mercury thing, and know nothing about the previous generations. I too would suspect some kind of mistake from the previous brake work. Hopefully it's something easy to spot and fix yourself.

Rich

 

How do you define a shimmy? Do you use the e-brake regularly? Is the problem intermitent or constant? Let me know.

 

The problem seems to be related to the e brake as the first time it happened was after using the e brake. It was funny as I know the ebrake released and had no handling problems but smelled "burning brakes" when i got home. I did not use the ebrake again and a couple of days later my wife said something about the car shaking and the smell was back. It went away for a week or so and then the other day it happened again. It hasn't happened now for a few days. that is about all the input I have at this time. Thanks for your help.

 

Sounds like the left rear e-brake is malfunctioning. Rear disc or drum? You did say brake rotor but I just want to be sure.

 

I had a problem like that on another car I had one time. It was a minor problem that was easy to fix. The way I narrowed it down to which side was the problem, was that after driving it when it displayed the symptoms, I felt the rear wheels. If the brake is dragging on one side, it will generate heat (which you are smelling), and you should be able to feel it in the wheel. The hotter wheel is the side with the problem.

 

Yes, it has 4 wheel disc so it is a rotor. hasn't done it since i last posted so "out of sight/smell out of mind". Hopefully I will have time this weekend to take a look at it. would love to have any suggesitons by then

 

Just make sure the pad still has some meat on it. Just pop off that tire and check it out. Try lubing the e-brake cable, at both ends, with something that is applicable. Make sure the cable or hose is o.k. Let me know.