Well, DUH

[Jimsbowies]

Yesterday, I took my '04 MM (DTR) and daily driver to the local Ford store for service...I like these guys there alot and they always are more than fair when dealing with me on this car or my '99 GT convertible, '03 SVT Cobra or '07 Shelby GT.

Told service writer I wanted oil and filter change, top off fluids, replace a bulb in turn signal and BALANCE my tires. Returned a couple hours later, paid and departed. Pulled out onto the highway (a very busy one) and squeezed the throttle to merge into traffic and BAAM....motor begins shutting down! I manage a U-turn right back into the dealership, find the service writer and he takes it for a quick spin...same results. He says DUNNOH!

Gets mechanic who does the same, he returns saying "same"....but notes that the traction control light is coming on and off.

Service writer says "swear we didn't do anything except oil, filter, bulb, balance and ROTATE the tires". At just that second, I look down and realize some dunderhead has put the rear tires up front and front in the rear. So I explain YA CAN'T DO THAT! That the sensors think something is wrong and will shut down the engine. The mechanic and the service writer have this "duh" look on their faces :D Almost funny.

But then they do say that they only service one other MM at this dealership and apparently they've never "rotated" that owner's tires improperly.

Nonetheless, tires get returned to correct corners of the car and I depart with knowledge that in this case, I've educated the automotive technicians and not the other way around...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

[Pat]

Yea, many of us have shared that experience. I've often wondered why the T/C on Marauders is so unique. Other FML cars/trucks don't have that tire size issue. Prolly an answer somewhere. Just don't remember it.

[Egon Spengler]

:thanks:I knew that I had a marauder and they have different size tires and that they couldn't be rotated. My rears were getting bald from a couple of burnouts and I looked at the spare and wondered if it is the front size or rear... I came to find out that I have the same size all around... I posted a thread on the mercury marauder club website and found that I have a 300a Marauder and that there are certain features that mine has that others don't and vice versa. Apparently I have a full size spare, the same size tires all around, front pockets on my seats, an in dash clock and a couple other goodies.... AND NO TRACTION CONTROL... I guess they took alot of features out of the 300a to compensate for the price of the traction control system... These websites are very informative and have helped me greatly in obstacles I have had to face with this vehicle. Also helped alot with figuring out what kind of wheels and tires I can put on my car for the winter and downsizing to a 16" wheel in lieu of the 18"... THANKS GUYS!

[finster101]

UH..... they are not supposed to be the same size. If you don't believe me I'm sure a few others will chime in. 235 in front, 245 in rear ALL cars used the same tires and configuration.

[FordNut]

That's right. Somebody replaced the rears with front size. At extremely high speeds the same size all around can cause the ABS light to come on.

[wchain]

Traction Control Equipped cars have an offset programmed into the ABS Brain to 'see' more rotation from the smaller tires up front vs the larger tires in the rear.

Swapping them front to rear will give the ABS/TC module the signal that there is a problem, if the 'problem' gets large enough, the PCM will cut off fuel to alleviate the problem.

[VAmarauder03]

uhmmm yep your rears got replaced with the wrong size tire.....i wonder how many people will post in here saying that...just to get the point across lol:P

[Bluerauder]

I make them write "DO NOT ROTATE TIRES" in big black letters on the service ticket. And I do a walk around the MM to check for tire size, rim damage, oil level, etc. before leaving the lot. I have grown very cautious after years of dealing with "stuff" done wrong. When you are 57 you will understand. :rolleyes:

[Dragcity]

Hence - I work on my Marauder......

[TiTo35]

Yea...Uh...I was sure ALL MM had 2 different size tires....:cool4:
I wonder how yours ride...:rolleyes:



:thanks:I knew that I had a marauder and they have different size tires and that they couldn't be rotated. My rears were getting bald from a couple of burnouts and I looked at the spare and wondered if it is the front size or rear... I came to find out that I have the same size all around... I posted a thread on the mercury marauder club website and found that I have a 300a Marauder and that there are certain features that mine has that others don't and vice versa. Apparently I have a full size spare, the same size tires all around, front pockets on my seats, an in dash clock and a couple other goodies.... AND NO TRACTION CONTROL... I guess they took alot of features out of the 300a to compensate for the price of the traction control system... These websites are very informative and have helped me greatly in obstacles I have had to face with this vehicle. Also helped alot with figuring out what kind of wheels and tires I can put on my car for the winter and downsizing to a 16" wheel in lieu of the 18"... THANKS GUYS!

[SATX]

In non-traction control cars will smaller rear tires cause a problem with the ABS?

[RCSignals]

ALL Marauders have different size tires front to back

They can be 'rotated', but side to side not front to back