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Ford Crown Victoria/Mercury Grand Marquis General Maintenance

tritium_mantritium_man Member Posts: 3
edited October 2014 in Ford
I have a 2000 Grand Marquise with 50.234 miles. I see the 2005 and 2006 Grand Marquise call for 5w-20 motor oil. It’s the same motor as in my 2000 question is can I use 5w-20 in my 2000 Grand Marquise.
I currently use mobile full synthetic 5-30.

Any thoughts
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Comments

  • euphoniumeuphonium Member Posts: 3,425
    Mobil 1 5-30 is great. If you ever get to 120,000 miles, you may need to mix half 5-30 and half 20/50 to get 12.5/40 which is working just fine in my 94 Town Car & 95 T Bird. ;)
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    iusecad: thanks

    tritium: my 04 Crown Vic 4.6L calls for 5W-20, but I use Castrol Synthetic 5W-30, same as I use in my 04 Ram Hemi...I fail to use how a 30 weight when hot can hurt the engine in place of the reco 20 weight...besides, is the actual difference even noticeable from 20 to 30 weight???...maybe in the cold tundra of Alaska/North Dakota and Montana, but in Georgia winters, where the temp spends two weeks below freezing and we call that "cold?"
  • jsylvesterjsylvester Member Posts: 572
    I'm going with 5w30 synthetic in my Grand Marquis - I use 5w20 only in the winter, at best. It is just too thin for my tastes.
  • johnclineiijohnclineii Member Posts: 2,287
    Why are you tasting oil? :P
  • euphoniumeuphonium Member Posts: 3,425
    Naturally, to ascertain if the engine is diabetic! ;)
  • jsylvesterjsylvester Member Posts: 572
    Reminds me of one of those low carb beers - speaking of which, having a beer may not be a bad idea.
  • euphoniumeuphonium Member Posts: 3,425
    "Alls well that ends (with a)swill." ;)
  • fscaranofscarano Member Posts: 44
    I drive a 2000 Grand Marquis 56-thousand miles. I currently average 24-26 MPG Highway. Tires at 34 PSI Mobil 1 5w-20 synthetic, any other ideas how to squeeze a few more extra MPG?

    Is Ford's 100.000 mile tune up good should I do sooner?
  • euphoniumeuphonium Member Posts: 3,425
    Weight is a factor. What you are hauling around in the trunk that doesn't need to be there should be removed. That goes for the back seat area as well. ;)
  • fscaranofscarano Member Posts: 44
    Trunk 2 soft ball gloves. 2 Motorcraft oil filters. And of course me in the front seat.
  • turbo301turbo301 Member Posts: 73
    If you're doing mostly highway driving, up your tire pressure to 37 psi at all corners.

    I'd say that MPG isn't too bad, though, for a 6 year old car.
  • fscaranofscarano Member Posts: 44
    Turbo301,

    Why 37psi for more fuel economy?
  • g45g45 Member Posts: 17
    More air increases a tire's rolling diameter, hence the amount of travel per tire revolution. This enhances gas mileage.

    It also mitigates in favor of wearing out the rear tires at their centers. So you had better be sure you are saving more on gas than it is costing you extra for tires.
  • bobw3bobw3 Member Posts: 2,989
    More air increases a tire's rolling diameter, hence the amount of travel per tire revolution. This enhances gas mileage.

    That would mean that you could put on larger tires and get better mpg?? I believe the reason for better mpg with increasing tire pressure is that it reduces friction. Just like if you were driving with tires more narrow. Just don't keep the pressure that high if it's snowing, because then you'll want more traction.
  • g45g45 Member Posts: 17
    "That would mean that you could put on larger tires and get better mpg?? I believe the reason for better mpg with increasing tire pressure is that it reduces friction. Just like if you were driving with tires more narrow. Just don't keep the pressure that high if it's snowing, because then you'll want more traction."

    Excellent analysis. I wish I'd thought of that!

    First, though, re your tire diameter remark:

    Yes, of course larger tires will result in better gas mileage because, once again, rolling diameter is increased. This is equivalent to changing to a higher rear-end ratio. Done within the transmission this is called "overdrive". All three approaches yield more forward travel of the vehicle per engine revolution.

    But your idea is cooler, more subtle, and I agree with it.

    One can ask, for a fixed final drive ratio, including tire diameter:

    With which tires will I get better mileage, those absorbing energy through added flex or those flexing less and running "harder"? I agree with you that absorbtion of energy by the softer tires, even when rolling diameters are meticulously held constant, will result in a larger throttle opening at the same vehicle velocity. It's because that lost energy, quite literally, has to come from somewhere. It WILL come from the engine and reduce mileage, just as you pointed out.

    So it isn't just the rolling diameter which contributes to better mileage, but the reduction in rolling resistance as well, when the tires are run at greater pressure.
  • fscaranofscarano Member Posts: 44
    :surprise:
  • bobw3bobw3 Member Posts: 2,989
    I guess I'm still slightly confused on the larger diameter creating better gas mileage. You said it's the same as having a higher gear in the transmission, but if you had an automatic transmission for example, putting larger tires on the car would require more power from the engine to make one rotation of the tire, so the car would remain in a lower gear longer to provide. So I still don't see what would be gained in mpg by just adding a larger tire size. To me it seems like increasing tire size would would require more gas to be used to maintain the same speed.

    Here's a quote:
    http://autos.msn.com/Advice/Article.aspx?contentid=4018909
    "Even larger tires can have an effect. A tire with a larger "footprint" on the road that doesn't have a special rubber compound designed to improve fuel economy has more rolling resistance than a comparable smaller tire, and this can lower fuel economy"
  • turbo301turbo301 Member Posts: 73
    There's always a trade-off between fuel economy and performance when it comes to tires. That "larger footprint" of a more agressive tire kills your fuel economy, but the same frictional forces that do that are what allow you to corner better.

    A larger tire diameter effectively translates the rotation of the hub to a higher velocity at the outside. Just look at a record or CD as it's turning: the hub is fairly slow, but the circumference is moving very quickly. v = r*w, where "v" is the linear velocity (tangential to the circumference), "r" is the radius of the circle, and "w" is the angular velocity. Thus, the bigger the radius, the larger the linear velocity, which translates into a faster-moving car. Or, you could look at it from the other way: the less fast the hub has to turn in order to maintain a given speed, and thus the less fast the engine has to turn, thereby saving fuel.

    That's my theory, anyway ;)
  • bobw3bobw3 Member Posts: 2,989
    I guess I'll stop because my comments are becoming "circular" but when you say, "the less fast the hub has to turn in order to maintain a given speed, and thus the less fast the engine has to turn, thereby saving fuel." but the transmission is in between the tires and engine, so you'll still need more power in the engine to maintain the higher speed, regardless of whether or not the higher speed

    Using your CD example, if you put your hand on the edge of the CD when it's spinning (like the tires on the road), it's easy to stop the CD from moving, as compared to touching the inner wheel moving. So for a given CD motor, you can stop it easier on the edge then close to the center. To make it so when you pressed against the edge of the CD, the CD kept moving, you'd need a more powerful motor, which is the same as needing more power coming from an engine, which needs more gas to get that power.

    Anyway, I'm probably wrong.
  • turbo301turbo301 Member Posts: 73
    You can stop a CD by the edge better than in the middle because the torque you're applying is larger: torque is the product of the force times the radius, so the further out you grab, the higher the torque you apply (that's why torque wrenches have such long handles).

    However, in the case of a car, remember that it takes almost no power to keep a car moving - maybe only 15 hp or so to maintain a given highway speed. This is how the whole V8-6-4, "Multi Displacement System", etc. are able to be so effective at saving fuel. For us Panther folks who run on all 8, all the time, there are gobs of excess power that our motors make at highway speed that is virtually useless; thus, even though it may take more energy to get the outer radius of large tires spinning against the friction of the road, the engine doesn't need to spin any higher to transfer its already-excess power to the wheels. I think that that makes sense, anyway :). My background is electrical engineering, so it's been a while since I've used any mechanical stuff!
  • fscaranofscarano Member Posts: 44
    Any other G/M or C/V owners using the Back engineered 5w-20? I have read on other forums where it causes premature engine wear. And Ford is only using it to meet the CAFÉ standard. I started using it 2 months ago in my 2000 G/M no problems yet.
  • joe110joe110 Member Posts: 19
    I dont want to sound lazy but can someone give me their input on using synth 5W20? I am currently using it but I was always a castrol 10W30 and 40 person. Thicker oil in the summer.
  • ab5znab5zn Member Posts: 3
    I have a 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis with about 119,000 miles on the odometer. I discovered about a week ago when I checked my oil level because the oil light came on that my oil level was quite low. It took three quarts to bring it up to the full line on the dipstick. Yesterday I added about three more quarts.

    Not being a mechanic myself, I always thought that if a car was using oil, you would see it and smell it. Not so in this case. What could be wrong to cause the car to start using that much oil with no symptoms? How serious/expensive could it be?

    Thanks!
    Dave
  • p100p100 Member Posts: 1,116
    The most obvious sign of a car using oil is a puff of white smoke when a car is first started after sitting shut off for a while. In this case, worn valve seals permit seepage of oil into the cylinders.

    In worse cases, a cloud of obnoxious white smoke appears whenever one accelerates. Real oil burning vehicles are therefore easy to spot.
  • bruneau1bruneau1 Member Posts: 468
    The CV and GM recommend a transmission service at 30,000 miles. I have read all the pros and cons of the usual drain or the power flush. What do most of you do? i think it is important to drop the pan and some say the flush can cause problems.
  • euphoniumeuphonium Member Posts: 3,425
    In 90k miles the tranny oil has been changed twice. When it starts to shudder again, it'll be changed again. The first change used Mercon V Synthetic. The last change used non synthetic, a lot more economical, and can't tell the difference. This is regarding our 95 T Bird with 4.6 and AOD tranny.

    The 94 Town Car has 127,000 miles and is still going on it's 2nd change.

    Just be sure to drain the torque converter too. Drop the pan? Wouldn't hurt if high mileage.
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    tranny fluid in my 2004 CV at 30,000 miles, complete flush, changed to synthetic tranny fluid, dropped pan and changed tork converter...

    While I honestly did not see any improvement in tranny performance, I do not expect to, any more than chganging engine oil shows noticeable improvement...I just do it for routine maintenance, hoping that the tranny will shower me with $150K miles of service or more...

    A clean tranny is a happy tranny...:):):):):)
  • turbo301turbo301 Member Posts: 73
    I've heard from a few mechanics that tranny fluid should never have to be changed for the life of a car. My '85 Grand Marquis was, and '80 Trans Am is, running original tranny fluid with no signs of performance degradation. It may be a different story for new cars, though; more compact designs with more electronics may require more frequent changes, but every 30,000 miles seems kind of crazy to me. I guess it's just the automaker covering his rear (speaking of which, a rear end fluid change strikes me as unnecessary in most cases, too!).
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    I can appreciate your view, but I just cannot see leaving any fluid in there that long...to me, tranny fluid gets as abused as engine oil, but we go longer because it is 18 quarts as opposed to 5-7...but, hey, thats just me...
  • marsha7marsha7 Member Posts: 3,703
    was the color of the fluid the same as your coolant???... if yes, could there be a water pump leak that drains along the block and falls somewhere that does not directly correspond to an area of leaking???...kinda like the roof that leaks at the left end, but the water drips and falls on the right end, the true leak is nowhere where you find the evidence of the leak...
  • p2minp2min Member Posts: 3
    Yes, I use the coolant that mixes with all coolants. But I have always kept the same color.

    Thanks, I have a water pump leak and I will replace it. Thank again for your help. I hope this fixes the problem, because the car runs cool.
  • agellius3agellius3 Member Posts: 4
    Are you sure it's Ford who is recommending the tranny flush, or was it a dealer? Because I had a dealer tell me I needed to do it, but I could not find any such requirement in the manual. I have an 03 GM.
  • gobiggobig Member Posts: 6
    Hello everyone. I'm new to this forum and I have recently purchased a 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis GS with 29,400 miles on it. An older woman owned the car. It has been garage kept and probably hasn't been driven much the last three years.

    This is my first Panther car and I'm not the typical age of MGM owners. I was going to give it a checkup. I know for sure I want the transmission fluid drained and changed in addition to the coolant. Is there anything else you guys think I should get checked out or be conscious of since it probably hasn't been driven more than 3,000 miles the last three years. Thanks in advance for your reponse!
  • captainkirk1captainkirk1 Member Posts: 3
    Dear Gobig,

    Nice to hear of someone else close to my situation....my purchase was of a '94 MGM GS with only 23k on it. I replaced the wiper blades, brake pads, and flushed the coolant system myself. I took to the dealer to have them flush the transmission. It had that stuttering vibration at 52mph because the previous owner didn't use the proper fluid when he changed it. The flush took care of the problem. I live in FL with hot humidity and am weary of anything rubber as I can tell by touch it is rotting. I also dealt with a leak. Everytime we get a bad rain, the right rear of the car fills up with water. I've taken the floor board plug out for drainage. I've had the car in two different dealerships over the issue (it's leaking around the firewall/AC unit) and have spent a few hundred bucks on it....to get no results. It seems worse when the car is parked on an incline with the trunk lower than the hood. So I sometimes back in to my parking space and this seems to do more good than anything. Good luck with your nice ride!
  • gobiggobig Member Posts: 6
    Thanks for the info! One other thing I recently noticed is on the passenger side of the car I hear something "flapping" in time with the rotation of the wheels. If I drive slower the flapping goes slow. As I speed up the flapping speeds up. I didn't notice anything sticking to the tires or protruding out from the side. I realize this might sound stupid. Anyone else ever have this?
  • thatdamncarthatdamncar Member Posts: 1
    I too have the "shudder", "jolt", "hippity-hoppity", 'shake you half to pieces thing' in my wonderful beast. I really shouldn't complain as the car was given to me as a wedding gift and other than the shake down thing, she works great.
    The RWD thing takes a bit of getting used to as my last car was a '90 Pontiac Bonneville.

    I have just discussed that last suggestions of tranny and torque converter flushing with my husband and we will definately try this as we have no record of this being done.
    ">link title :confuse:
  • ragdollgirlragdollgirl Member Posts: 66
    My '94 GM (now with 205k miles)had tranny shudder at about 2 years old and 34,000 miles. An independent transmission place told me to put Chrysler trans fluid in it because it contains some kind of additive to reduce friction, which the Ford fluid did not. Never had the problem again.
  • srd277srd277 Member Posts: 2
    My father was attempting to replace the fuel pump. During this process, the fuel lines on the fuel pump broke off in the quick connectors. Fuel lines all the way to the engine compartment are very rusty. He is wondering if anyone has any suggestions on the best way to go about replacing the entire fuel lines.
  • horswillhorswill Member Posts: 2
    Great start to the New Year. Last night driving home in my 2000 GM an apparent mis-fire started. Seems to be at any load, but still accelerates reasonably under full throttle. I was thinking plugs, leans etc. Then the temp gauge went to max for a second or so before returning to normal. Did this a couple of times on way home (8 miles). Also, the traction control light came on and stayed on.

    This morning, the 'check engine' light came on.

    Any suggestions?
  • horswillhorswill Member Posts: 2
    FIXED IT!

    Don't know what caused the Temp Gauge flick, or TC light to come on, but I went to Murrays, borrowed their OBD 2 diagnostic gear, said No 8 misfire. Changed No.8 coil. now fine!

    Glad that was cheap and easy ($63 inc tax). I also treated it to a new set of plugs, as they weren't too great (though color was fine), they are due for replacement at 100,000 miles (car's done 85,000), and they were only $24 including tax.
  • jsylvesterjsylvester Member Posts: 572
    Glad the fix was simple - as is just about every repair on the Grand Marquis.
  • rhill7rhill7 Member Posts: 3
    We just bought a left over 2006 GM with the handling package. I am accustomed to doing or at least understanding our vehicle maintenance. What is a source for the Factory Service Manual?

    Thanks in Advance. :)
  • amcardriveramcardriver Member Posts: 3
    Only 50k on the clock, regularly check the power steering oil and this weekend checked the pump, but from time to time the steering feel gets a bit stiff. Its soft in straight line but hardens as I turn the wheel left or right and then it eases off as the car runs into turn. The same when straightening up. Can't think what can be wrong saying that the oil and pump seem to be fine.

    Tyres are less than 12 months old and wheels have been aligned and balanced. Very annoying feeling but main concern is safety when driving at speed. Any suggestions please?
  • serge99piserge99pi Member Posts: 4
    my 99 cv pi gets 200 miles tank (BAD) it also dies out when i start it like it is running out of gas changed plugs,air control valve, termostat,belt.Just got car 2 weeks ago from priest looks mint 138000 miles my taxi has 350000 miles it starts right up ,also check engine came on, it is -10 in chicago my cab does not have any problems like that also 99 cv pi e-mail sergetaxi@yahoo.com 847 757-1271 cell
  • ronslakie1ronslakie1 Member Posts: 57
    Sounds like you need a new IAC valve about $50 from autozone and an easy install.
  • serge99piserge99pi Member Posts: 4
    that was first thing i did it was ok for 2 days now it is back the way it was before and i am only gettin 13 mi per gallon pretty sure it is related maybe o2 sensor or that other air controling sensor not iac
  • collins14collins14 Member Posts: 39
    My Dad owns a 2001 Grand Marquis. He said the engine light came on this morning- the car has about 58K miles.

    I have owned cars where the check engine light comes on at 60k just as a routine maintanence type thing. Is this true with the grand marquis also or does he need to be concerned and bring it in to the shop?
    Thanks
  • euphoniumeuphonium Member Posts: 3,425
    Check for a low coolant level in the Reservor.
  • esfoadesfoad Member Posts: 210
    And make sure the gas cap is on correctly and tight, this can also trigger a CEL. If it's none of the above, it's probably a sensor.
  • nineteennineteen Member Posts: 1
    What is sounds like is that you car misfires. If it is only happened on idle , I'd believe in the Idle Air Sensor, but otherwise, I'd start checking vacuum hoses and EGR valve. Drop in vacuum can cause change in fuel mixture and engine could stutter, as well as burn more fuel. If vacuum is OK, start going through "electrical" route - plugs/coils/wires. If that checks out check fuel pump + injectors.
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