considering a marauder

[jazzkiller34]

my lightning lease is coming to an end soon and i need to decide what my next vehicle will be. i like the marauder for several reasons: performance (although i would upgrade to the trilogy set up), luxury, and price to name a few.

are there any common problems with these vehicles that i should be aware of? what should i look for when evaluating one? with the trilogy s/c, will i need to get a custom tune as well? anything else that i would need to get with the s/c in order for the vehicle to drive like it's stock (gears, internals, built tranny, etc.) or will the car drive fine stock? one last question, does anyone know of any good tuners for these cars in so. cal, or at least a shop that will be able to put my s/c on and do it right?

thanks for all the help!

[MM03MOK]

:welcome:

Take a look at the survey we have going now.

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=22863

All superchargers come with a tune but since you're in SoCal, you first need to find out about the emissions issuing facing a California install. There are a few threads and discussions in the West Coast Forum about SCs.

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=32

With an SC, your car no longer drives like stock, :woohoo: so I'm not sure what you mean. The tuning takes care of any changes necessary regarding shifting and fuel tables, if that's what you mean.

Whether you need anything beyond the SC depends on what your goals are. Some SCs are "stock" and run perfectly fine for the owner. Some have done gears, exhaust, etc. There is plenty of information for you to search here and plenty of knowledgeable owners to chime in.

[Breadfan]

With most kits you will not need upgraded gears or a built tranny. Obviously these things can augment a kit, but the kits available will come with a base tune for a stock Marauder. As you order the kit, if you ahve any other upgrades, you specify those so the kit manufacturer will include a tune that matches your gear ratio and any other upgrades you may already have.

So yes a bone stock Marauder can be transformed with a kit - and the kit will have all you need.

However, with most superchargers you'll realize the stock tire size in the back is a bit narrow for the extra power - many have their rims widened to 9.5" and put on Nittos (305 width drag radials or 295 width street radials.)

However that being said there are those who have blowers and stock tire sizes, so it's not a necessary component for a supercharger upgrade, however to get better launches it's probably the next thing you'll want.

As for major issues, let's see...early cars have some paint issues, may be thin paint. The main issue is that bird droppings and acid rain seem to affect these quicker, many have reported small white-discolored spider webs on the paint. Many times these are deep in the paint and wax/polish will not fix.

Some have even managed to get a repaint from Ford. From what I've heard this primarily affects the early build 2003 cars with Black paint.

Other issues with some 2003's includes scarring on the axles/axle bearings. This can cause problems in the rear-end. There is a TSB but no recall on this. I'm not sure what to do to check it out - I had mine checked when I had my gears installed - mine were fine. So this pretty much requires a visual inspection from what I know - so it could be timed with a rear-gear fluid change or a ratio upgrade.

Thats the big issues I can think of at the moment - I'm sure others can chime in also scan through the "Garage" forum and you'll find plenty of examples of these issues.

[bigslim]

Since you have expressed that you may do a Trilogy setup I will tell you about my experiance.

First off, with the Trilogy supercharger you really don't have to do anything with it but drive it. It comes with all the tuning. Also, by it being a "Roots-Type" blower it makes enough bottom torque to move the car well. If you feel like you need more you can always install bigger gears, stall and headers. You could also do a pulley change to get more power. Depending on the size of the pulley you switch to you may need a new tune for the car. I would do the blower first and then see if you want more power.

I will also say that others have installed kits from other venders (F.I.T. Industries, Reinhart, Kenny Brown) and have had good results. The choice is up to you. You will find that there are many mods for this car to keep you more than happy.

[bigslim]

I forgot to add that the car will drive like stock until you get into the boost.

[Marauder2005]

If you get a Marauder, shoot for a 2004. It seems they have better

all around reliability...

[jgc61sr2002]

Welcome to the MM site.:D :welcome:

[DEFYANT]

Welcome to the site. Check out my signature. Yeah, I am very happy Trilogy customer.

This car is a great racer on the weekend and can cart the family (4 of us) to the grocery store or take a trip. The trunk is big enough to load up and not run out of space.

[jazzkiller34]

thanks a lot guys for all of the info. i realized i didn't write what i was trying to accomplish, so i appreciate you guys trying to cover all aspects. since i'm not looking to be king of the drag, it looks as though all i would have to do is get the kit from trilogy and have one of their certified cali shops install it. and it seems as the the '04 is the one to get. thanks again for the responses and if anyone has any other suggestions, please don't hesitate to post 'em.

[Marauder2005]

You don't want to be "king of the drag" but your going to get a trilogy

kit. LOL Well, you can throw that idea right out the window :) . All you

need after a S/C is landing gear...

[Bradley G]

"Spinning the skins through second gear?":burnout: ... "I, Hate when that happens" :P
Good luck on the Trilogy set up, I agree with Slim, do the blower first , then
decide, if you want more .
Welcome to the best car site!

[CRUZTAKER]

.... anything else that i would need to get with the s/c

Whether it whistles or whines...you'll be pleasantly surprised.;)

[AzMarauder]

Whether it whistles or whines...you'll be pleasantly surprised.;)

Barry.. Barry... Barry... :rolleyes:

My Trilogy does not whine... it MOANS ! :D

[MENINBLK]

thanks a lot guys for all of the info. i realized i didn't write what i was trying to accomplish, so i appreciate you guys trying to cover all aspects. since i'm not looking to be king of the drag, it looks as though all i would have to do is get the kit from trilogy and have one of their certified cali shops install it. and it seems as the the '04 is the one to get. thanks again for the responses and if anyone has any other suggestions, please don't hesitate to post 'em.

The 2004 is also the HARDER model to find...
There are more than 7500 2003s made and less than 2500 2004s made.

[Donny Carlson]

Barry.. Barry... Barry... :rolleyes:

My Trilogy does not whine... it MOANS ! :D

Does it do this all the time, or only when you rub it in certain places?

[CRUZTAKER]

Barry.. Barry... Barry... :rolleyes:

My Trilogy does not whine... it MOANS ! :D

YES DRILL SEARGENT! ;) err, UH, uh ....Seargent MAJOR!!!

I am not even worthy to F with you. :bows:


Does it do this all the time, or only when you rub it in certain places?

Eww...