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Sedans Ford Crown Victoria/Mercury Grand Marquis Ford Crown Victoria/Mercury Grand Marquis Transmission/Suspension
87 messages, Last post on May 18, 2009 at 10:29 PM
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| I recently purchased a 2003 Grand Marquis LS Ultimate Edition with only 10,500 miles on it. I love the car as I am a junkie for all the bells and whistles, especially like the large digital readouts on the instrument panel. I am NOT happy with the way the car rides. It seems very stiff and you feel every pothole. It seems to me that a large luxury car like this should have a more comfortable ride. My wife's 2002 Camry has a smoother ride than this car. It is equipped with the original Michelins, which I understand are a quality tire. Short of running the tires under-inflated which would impact mileage, is there anything I or the dealer can do to make this car ride better? | |
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Replying to: galeinaz (Jun 07, 2006 10:02 am) Indicators of the package include: dual exhaust, oversize tires, higher rear end gear in the differential, 3.55 instead of a 3.25, thicker stablizor bars, extra heavy duty shocks that are stiff. Decoding the numbers on the door will help you know what you have. If you can adjust to the above, you will appreciate its qualities over time. Improved handling is safer than yawing and pitching. 
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Replying to: galeinaz (Jun 07, 2006 10:02 am) |
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Replying to: galeinaz (Jun 07, 2006 10:02 am)
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Replying to: agellius3 (Jul 11, 2006 12:11 pm)
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Replying to: galeinaz (Jun 08, 2006 9:03 am) My only suggestion is to possibly swap out the rear air bags with those that go on the Town Car - any year should work. Or, I would see if the dealer has a different part number for a new model Grand Marquis - maybe they have softened the settings in later model years. |
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Replying to: galeinaz (Jun 08, 2006 9:03 am) I think the problem was addressed in later years. I am not sure if they used softer suspension bushings, different shocks, or what. I have rented newer GMs and TCs and found the ride much better than the 03's. You might want to explore this with a high volume dealer. I guarantee you they had some buyer reluctance to the ride of the 03's and they might have suggestions regarding shocks or other fairly simple modifications.
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Replying to: brucelinc (Jun 09, 2006 4:56 am) The car rides like a truck but it corners like a sports car. In addition to my MGM I own three British classic sports cars, all now antiques, as well as a Ford F350 mason dump with the dual rear wheels. So I speak with some experience on this. I can live with the stiff 2005 MGM ride because of my sports car background. But I am very sympathetic to those who bought an MGM expecting a softer, big car, ride. What a surprise for them! Really when I bought my car earlier this year I was attracted by the O/D, the rack-and-pinion steering, the Michelins, the V-8, and the leather. I settled for the watts-linkage rear; what I really wanted was IRS. But the MGM did seem like sort of a sports car, cloaked as a big fat hunk of "Detroit Iron". Little did I realize the (relatively) hard seats and tight suspension would give my MGM more of a sports car feel than I ever anticipated. Folks who like the MGM but want the traditional softer ride need to locate and purchase a low mileage example of a 2002 model year MGM. I'm pretty sure the 2002 cars are free of the dreaded intake manifold problem found in 2001 cars all the way back through 1996. If I have the years wrong somebody here will correct me. But I never would buy a car having a coolant crossover made of plastic (this was part of the intake manifold); not unless the seller gave me a $750 discount so I could have that problem fixed.
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Replying to: g45 (Jun 09, 2006 6:41 am) . Don't confuse wallowy isolation for a good-quality ride; a '73 New Yorker could give you the former, but would almost be dangerous in hard maneuvering or an emergency stop, not to mention putting your rear to sleep. The modern Panther strikes an excellent balance, IMO. BTW my 91 year old grandmother thought the ride of my '04 CV was exemplary - I don't even want to guess how old you guys must be LOL! 
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Replying to: turbo301 (Jun 13, 2006 7:36 pm) Yes, that one took me by surprise, too. Not sure if he was serious or kidding. By the way, your Grandmother is just a kid. When she gets a little older, she might find your CV a bit rough for her tastes. Seriously, I know the '03s were firmed up but I think I read somewhere that later models had some retuning done on shocks, swaybars, and bushings to soften things up a bit. That change (unless I dreamed it) may have been on the '04 and newer ones. I recall chatting with my Lincoln dealer after driving the '03 TC and he told me that they were getting a lot of complaints about the '03 TC and GM ride.
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