Hello, I''m a Mopar person by nature but recently my family purchased
our first Ford product. My mom''s Town and Country was T-boned, and
although it protected her very well, it was totaled. Last week we
bought what seemed like a great deal, a 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis. I
looked it over as best I could, and with the exception of a window
motor, a driver''s seat, and a couple pieces of trim everything seemed
to be working great. We''ve been driving the car since Thursday, and
I''ve gotten to learn more about it, including some issues.





<ul>[*]Driver''s seat frame broken (fixed)[*]Passenger window motor is dead (will fix next weekend)[*]check engine light has come on when car is warm but never hurts the car''s performance (I''m thinking O2 sensor)[*]ground wire needs to be reattached (will do tomorrow)[*]a/c works great when it works, but sometimes only blows hot air
[*]the big one...transmission[/list]Tonight we were driving it on some errands. When I put the car in
reverse to back up out of a parking spot the car should shudder and
barely go backwards....it was as if the parking brake was on (which it
wasn''t) This just started happening, and its till shifts it''s forward
gears fine...is the transmission going? I hope not as I''d hate to have
bought a money pit. Transmission fluid is pink and at normal level by
the way.





Thank you!


Edited by: hanyou_kimura

 

Oh, and I should add, that I just went outside and moved the car, it''s been off for a few hours now and it backed up fine.

 

You might of hurt the Grand Marquis feeling by driving it like a Mopar. it sound like she forgave you and all is well now.





it sound like you have a clogged trand filter. change the filter and when you are down ther drain the torque converter and add the recommended amount. it is about 12-14 quarts when you drain the converter and drain the pan. Check and grease the linkage for the shifter.

 

I don''t drive it like my Mopar...because my Mopar handles better than it. LOL

I drove it more like a `71 Cadillac Sedan Deville I had for a little while. The Mercury isn''t sporty like my Intrepid, but I like the cruiser feeling just the same, and so it''s cool having cars with different driving characteristics.

Anyway, I''m going to take car of the trans filter tomorrow, hopefully that''ll fix it. We''ll see. Thanks for the help!

 

It is always a good idea to drain the converter when you have a clogged trans filter. Even if the fluid is already red because the clogged filter may have let some dirty stuff in there causing it to sometimes flow through and get in the way of the bands or check valves. This is probably why you get the problem from time to time.

 

One quick question. I heard that messing with Ford transmissions can sometimes make them worse. I''ve never owned a Ford before, so I don''t know. I wouldn''t think a filter and fluid change would hurt it, but is there a chance it could get worse? Thanks

 

those guys will tell you anything to keep you from buying a Ford or Mercury.


Change all of the fluid. the torque converter and filter. Changing part of it will just make it look red abut it is really bad fluid. The guy that you purchased it from might of put in the wrong fluid or added old with new stuff. read the dipsdtick for the correct fluid. I think it is mercon V

 

Well I have to thank you sir. Today I changed the filter and drained the converter then added fresh fluid in. The Reverse issue is gone. I also unclogged an intake hose which was causing the check engine light to come on and cause the temp to hover slightly over the halfway point. Light''s gone and its running temp is now below the halfway mark.

All that''s left is a new compressor and some matching wheels or hubcaps.

Does this site have a Member''s Ride''s Showcase?

Thanks again!

 

Ues it does. You can also put a pic on this one, i would love to see it.


i am glad the trans is working the way it should. this should be a lesson to everyone. Change all the fluid and change it when it is suppose to be changed. red fluid does not mean it is good.


Hopefully you get many years out of the mercury and maybe you will become a mercury guy and retire the old Mopar shirts

 

I''ll never stop being a Mopar fan at heart, but I love cars in general, I have a wide horizon. :P

I''ll get some photos up soon.

A new development. Today my mom was driving the car and told me it got very warm. It didn''t go into the danger zone, but the gauge was pretty close. The car didn''t overheat though.



Do the Panther''s tend to run warm in that way? Normally the gauge reads
about halfway as in most cars. Could it be a thermostat or something
else?

Edited by: hanyou_kimura