"Dude, your car is blinking it's headlights"

[ts-pa]

We just had a heavy storm pass by with high wind gusts. Neighbor calls me saying, "Dude, your car is blinking it's headlights".
It turned out to be water that was blown into the relay box next to battery making the intermittent contact. Had to disconnected battery for the night.

[1Marauder]

NOW THAT IS A ;)/&);--ING STORM!!!!!!!

Great neighbor too!!!

[ts-pa]

Great neighbor too!!!


Yes, he is! He is also the same man who chased my dog that jumped my backyard fence through the neighborhood, never loosing sight of her.

I should buy him a Steak & Ale as a "Thank you".

[babbage]

Hey Tom, long time no see! You can safely spay WD-40 (water displace) into the relay box, to keep it dry and protected.

How is your car otherwise?

[ts-pa]

My car, the 2000 white Grand Marquis with DOHC, still sitting in driveway waiting for a decision to repair or part out. I fire it up occasionally. Boy, do I miss driving it.

My 2003 MM ...It was fine when I first got it. Being financially strapped for the past few years has made it hard to keep on top of repairs. No ac or heat; so I open windows or throw on a coat. The five hour trip to CT a few winters ago was brutal though!
Radio occasionally works, CD works every time though.
Trans slips until it warms up in about a mile or two. I know it is from a worn out tail housing that leaks. Speedometer stopped working. I'm thinking it is also from the tail shaft housing issue. If I fill to top, it leaks out, so I keep it filled at the low end of the safe area.

Got several tickets for driving with old inspection stickers. What can I do, it was my only working car at the time. The last tickets ate up the money I was saving to replace the two bald front tires.

CE light is always on, can't get it to pass inspection. I replaced the cops and plugs, but still not cleared. A front coil spring broke and the rear air ride springs leaked, which were repaired with coil springs that were going to be installed in the white car. The rear hard break line catastrophically failed, thank God it was only a block away from home. I also replaced the master cylinder as it didn't fare well from being bottomed out. Shredded a few serpentine belts until I was able to replace the idler and tensioner.
The water pump failed. Exhaust broken at both mufflers, which were repaired very cheap cost at Low Cost Exhaust in Fairless Hills, PA.
Power steering is not fully functional, I'm getting very strong arms now.
Keypad on door doesn't register a digit, so I use the key. The power door locks on both front doors activate, but do not lock or unlock. I have duct tape holding the right turn signal housing and right mirror onto the car.
The roof clear coat is starting to wrinkle. I think that the front and rear bumper covers are the only body parts without damage.

I bought the Zack's big brake bracket for doing the upgrade, but decided to keep stock since it was less costly at that time.

A co-worker asked why do I still drive it. I told him that it has awesome seats! He looked dumbfounded. I explained that it is like the "It's a Jeep thing". That he understood.

I was at a store recently were a younger man went nuts over the car. Good thing it was dark, his ideal image of a Marauder would be shattered.

I tried to sell the car to someone looking for one to fix up. I told him all the above and he declined. I also tried to sell the white one, but the other man never called back.

So now I have a minivan to share with my wife. Got it cheap from a relative. I drive the MM about twice a week now.

This weekend, I'm looking at an older Volvo S70 that friends are selling cheap. They commented apologetically on how it has broken cigarette lighters. I just laughed and said it is in better condition than my car. This Volvo will eventually become my kids car. Buying me time until I can get mine fixed up. Perhaps taking the trans from the white one to fix the MM?

[babbage]

Wow I'm almost sorry I asked! Geesh that is too bad you are not closer I'd help you fix it.

I have a brand new high performance water pump I can send you for free. Pm me your shipping address and I'll send it. Get the codes read for free at auto parts store.. edit: you must have xcal2 or xcal3 that will read codes as well..

Transmission swap,is a bit of a beotch but can be done with jack stands - I did mine that way. You could just swap the tail shaft housing from one to the other I think, if your 2000 mgm has the same trans. Edit I have an 2003 trans I could send you the tails shaft from too.

Guess I'd try to save the MM and borrow parts from the Dohc 2000 that fit.

Any PA members near Tom??

[ts-pa]

Sorry to dump all of this out there. I wasn't even clear with what was done vs. what still needs to be done. It just gets overwhelming at times when you fix one thing then more things fail soon afterward.

When I had my previous higher paying job and my wife was working, things were so much easier. Things are starting to slowly get better now, but trying to catch up after the fact makes it feel like an ongoing project.
Guess one would insert the violin here, lol!

That's a mighty fine offer with assistance and the water pump! That was fixed when it failed. There are very decent people like yourself here on this forum and I'm not surprised by your generosity.

I was thinking the same as you with the trans. Pull trans out from the 2000 and switch tailshafts.

The codes were read by a parts store, don't recall what they were. The did refer to ignition issues and suggested to change spark plugs and ignition coils. Did those things, which made the car run better. After clearing the codes, they come back within a minute. Other websites mentioned that the ground might have a fault or the PCM has failed.

I just can't keep chasing my tail on these issues while driving it without the inspection. The last LEO that stopped me warned me that if he sees me again, he would impound it. That is part of the reason why I got a small loan to buy another car right away. My plan now is in the meantime to get these other cheap hoopties in decent shape for my family, then work on the MM once I have them done.

[ts-pa]

My kid is pretty good with artwork. Perhaps buy a blank magnet sheet to make a personalized bumper sticker: My other hooptie is a Marauder!

[babbage]

good to hear you are getting back on track, post the CEL codes here and we can help you. let me know if you want the 2003 tailshaft...

[lifespeed]

Holy deferred maintenance, Batman! Nothing a little $$ and time couldn't fix. When you let it pile up like that it gets overwhelming.

[ts-pa]

Holy deferred maintenance, Batman! Nothing a little $$ and time couldn't fix. When you let it pile up like that it gets overwhelming.

Of course I understand this and wish I could keep up with it.

When you are faced with a decision of only having a few bucks available, but needing oil for the heat, gas in the car to get to work, and food on the table vs. getting the car fixed, the decision becomes quite clear on which has priority. My family always comes first before any car!

[lifespeed]

Of course I understand this and wish I could keep up with it.

When you are faced with a decision of only having a few bucks available, but needing oil for the heat, gas in the car to get to work, and food on the table vs. getting the car fixed, the decision becomes quite clear on which has priority. My family always comes first before any car!

Best of luck improving your situation. I've have some barely-used air springs I would be willing to let go at half price, but I suspect that won't help you.

[F1erceK]

I can send you a replacement PS pump if that's the issue, no charge. If so PM me your address.

[ts-pa]

Lifespeed... Thank you for the kind offer! I did replace the rear air springs with coils that I had been saving for my other car before it was wrecked. So I'm good there. I know it is not as smooth as the air ride, but I don't mind it at all.

F1erceK... Thank you also for your kind offer! It looks to be the rack and pinion is the issue, as it is coated with fluid. I also noticed that the ps/trans cooler has a leak from a very small hole on the PS side. The pump isn't making any bad sounds, so I think it is still OK. I only need to add a few ounces once a month.

I'm mostly concerned with any issue on the car that prevents the State Inspection from passing.

I bought the MM modified, it basically has 4.10 gears and a CAI. Any other mods are unknown to me. So, if the CE issue is actually the ECM, how would I get the current tune off of the existing one and onto the replacement?

[ts-pa]

Here is part of the back story with my last attempt at the inspection. Maybe others might learn from my mistake...

Got the car in overall passable shape with many repairs over a 9 month period. Then the CE light came on a week before I was ready to take it into the shop. Went to an auto store to read the codes. Changed the plugs and COPS as was recommended, spending the remainder of money I had left at that time. Went to shop with receipts in hand asking for an exclusion based on spending more than $150 trying to get the CE light off. The manager explained that THE SHOP had to do the work trying to get the code to clear for the exclusion to be valid. Even though I did the repair the previous day! I had a long email exchange with the State explaining my predicament asking if i could still get the exclusion, but they basically said you're SOL. So with no money to continue dumping into this car, I have been driving with expired stickers.

[ts-pa]

OK, an update...Bought the Volvo S60 from a friend of a relative, comfy seats kind of like the Panther cars.

The good: I passed three State LEO and two local LEO without having a heart attack this week, WOW, what a relief not having that stress!

1st issue: Either these lights really suck or no low beam headlights.

2nd issue: This tiny little tire picked up a 1/2" diameter bolt dead center of the tread. Good thing I needed that almost worn out tire replaced anyway and they are CHEAP compared to the MM. Found out that the spare is dry rotted. Got to buy that too.
So now until payday; thunk thunk down the road I go.

3rd issue: I'm a small dude, but this car feels so tiny to me. It's going to take a while to get used to it's small size. Good thing I'm eventually passing it along to my kid.

At least I'm finally moving in the right direction! Great folks here offering help to get my MM back on the road, Thanks to you all!

[babbage]

Good to hear, now you can get the MM fixed while driving the other car.

[lifespeed]

Good to hear, now you can get the MM fixed while driving the other car.

I guess these cars have reached the age where you need a "beater" car to drive while the Marauder is "down". Mine is sitting in the garage with a spun bearing right now, so I can sympathize. Sigh . . . :mad: