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Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis

3244 messages, Last post on Aug 25, 2009 at 8:13 PM
You are in the Ford Crown Victoria/Mercury Grand Marquis Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
| After driving a new GM/CV about 10 to 20K miles the shocks will loosen up, and the ride will be completely "normal" (whatever that means). Shocks continue to get loose as the miles pile up, and the ride gets softer. Note: this does not apply to top quality shocks such as Koni and Bilstein. | |
| I've found a local shop that will replace the air ride suspension on my 95 GM for about $400. He said they just use Monroe shocks...I didn't want to press him too much, but anyone know what kind of shocks he would use? Just regular Monroe shocks that would work on a standard GM? I'd like to do the replacement myself if I can figure out which shock to order for certain, but I'm a little concerned about just trying the the plain $20 monroe shocks, it just seems too simple! Wish that mechanic was willing to give up his trade secrets... | |
| Thse issues I've addressed in post #1538 go far beyond normally tight new shocks - New 02 cars do NOT ride anywhere near as hard as new 03's. | |
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The shocks have nothing to do with the air springs. They are "springs". You can replace the air springs with steel coil springs for about $250 parts and an equal amount for labor or you can replace the air springs for about the same amount of money. This assumes the rest of the air spring system(compressor,sensors,tubing,etc.)is functioning properly. |
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I feel that Mercury is addressing the complaints of the Automotive Magazine people that say the GM is soft through the twistys. I generally, feel those folks don't know much anyway. After all, I don't read complaints about outdated rear wheel drive, poor mileage, and expensive high octane fuel on BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes, and Lexus automobiles. If I want to go through the twistys, I take my '91 Miata stick shift; if I want to go from point A to B quick, I take my '86 Honda 1100 CC Magna; but, If I want to drive up 300 miles to Chicago to visit my daughter and haul a lot of her stuff, I take the '00 Merc GM. I expect a good ride on a long haul with passing power. I also expect 150K miles out of the vehicle. Those Auto mag guys grew up thinking a MiniVan/SUV is the state of the art in ride quality and good mileage. I have a '90 Ford Pickup to get that kind of ride and mileage. |
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| I'm interested in more low-end torque. Right now my 2000 mgm has single exhaust and the 2.73:1 axle. How much additional power can I expect going to duals? going to 3.27:1? Is the cost even worth it? I love my car, but would like to get the most out of the small-block v8. Thanks in advance. | |
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In response to the person from GB, I can say that I am also the happy owner of a 2003 GM LS. I too noted the slightly harder ride which accompanies the better handling. Frankly, I don't understand what consumers seek when they opt for a "handling" package or complain about a "squishy" ride. I had a 1996 GM before this one and it didn't seem to hold the road on turns as well as my 2003. The speed sensitive steering in the 2003 gives me a feeling of a more solid ride but again I don't know what what people want from better handling. Does a feeling of solid control on the road have to be a trade off for smooth riding over bumps? I would point out that Mercury made a special point of touting the new suspension features of the 2003. To my untrained view, these features result in a more stable but perhaps less cushiony ride. I suspect that the firming up of the 2003 relates to the introduction of the Marauder which shares a common platform. I doubt that Mercury would want to go through the expense of separate frames for the Marauder and the GM so the the GM has benefited (or suffered) from this. Lowering the tire pressure (within prescibed limits) might help the rough ride a bit. I am not sure whether I prefer having a firmer ride over a softer ride if that becomes a choice. Again the 2003 GM spells out extensive suspension changes which sound pretty good to my untrained ear. Incidentally, where and under what circumstances can a GM be bought in Britain? What about the location of the driver's position? I think I like my 2003 GM very much but I am very suggestible and until the posting about the smoothness of the ride, I thought it was doing well on that score. |
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| So did the '03 Town Car get the firmer ride as well? I thought the whole reason people bought these cars were because they were roomy and comfortable. Maybe Ford should start to divide the lineup here a little bit. Crown Vics are the universal cop car. Give the Crown Vic the firmer ride. Leave the Grand Marquis and Town Car their tried & true comforable selves. Maybe some differentiation between the models would actually help sales. | |
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| Anybody compare the ride to an 03 Buick LeSabre? | |
| dch36: Keep the 2.73 and twin out the exhaust which may increase your hp by as much as 10%. You will appreciate the economy axle more than the possible performance. | |
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