Toronto Mercury fan right here!

[JRED]

Hey fellas,
I was recommended to get in here by Rockettman on the GTAMC forums (Greater Toronto Area Mustang Club).
I have an 03 Silver Birch. Despite living in Canada, she's an American car.. so I have to watch the speedometer a bit more carefully. I had a budget, so she's the best I could find locally at the time.. so she needs some work. Miles are approaching 150k, and there's a few things here and there that need fixing.

My first car when i was 18 was an 86 Cougar. Loved it, and was upset when she died. A year and a half ago I picked up this Marauder since I've been wanting one long before they were released. I remember the Mercury website back when they were new, and i'm happy to finally have one.

As Rodney (my Rauder) is my daily driver, I also have a 1970 Cougar XR7 for the odd night in the summer. Between the 2, it's hard getting upgrades. Mostly i'm blowing my money on fixes.. so maybe with some help here i can get some good recommendations and tips to help me along :)

Nice to meet everyone!

[GetMeMyStogie]

Awesome, man. Welcome to the site!

There are lots of money-saving tips here on fixing the most common problems with the Marauder, and a few for uncommon problems too. The site search sucks, but google comes to the rescue (add 'site:mercurymarauder.net' to any google search to limit results to this site).

If you're handy with tools and car repair in general, I'd suggest picking up the Ford Shop Manual (2003 for Crown Vic/Grand Marquis - Marauder details are in there too), and the Electrical/Wiring diagrams manual. Actually, if you're not handy I'd recommend the shop manual too, as it's a great way to learn while saving $$.

My own MM has got 316 000 km on it, and it needs a thing or two as well. The supercharger swap will have to wait a little longer :(

[JRED]

Good call on the manuals.
I'm not handy with fixing cars, but would love to learn. I haven't done more than change the air filter :(
I just don't know anyone that is good... because I think i'd be a quick learner if I had someone to hover over and watch.
I think I saw a manual on crown vics/Grand Marqs at a local Part Source, but I didn't pick it up since I couldn't see any Marauder references on the front. I suppose most of it would be the same, so I'll go get it this weekend.
Where can i get my hands on a shop manual? Do you know?

[vtwoodsman]

Hey fellas,
I was recommended to get in here by Rockettman on the GTAMC forums (Greater Toronto Area Mustang Club).
I have an 03 Silver Birch. Despite living in Canada, she's an American car.. so I have to watch the speedometer a bit more carefully. I had a budget, so she's the best I could find locally at the time.. so she needs some work. Miles are approaching 150k, and there's a few things here and there that need fixing.

My first car when i was 18 was an 86 Cougar. Loved it, and was upset when she died. A year and a half ago I picked up this Marauder since I've been wanting one long before they were released. I remember the Mercury website back when they were new, and i'm happy to finally have one.

As Rodney (my Rauder) is my daily driver, I also have a 1970 Cougar XR7 for the odd night in the summer. Between the 2, it's hard getting upgrades. Mostly i'm blowing my money on fixes.. so maybe with some help here i can get some good recommendations and tips to help me along :)

Nice to meet everyone!


Hey JRED,

Welcome to the wonderful world of Marauders. There are plenty of service tips and modifications in the forums to be found. :cool:

[Gryphonzus]

A good Place to get Shop Manuals is on Ebay. They are usually listed as Marquis or Crown vic. If you are not in a hurry you can get both manuals pretty cheap, the shop manual and the wiring manual. Welcome to the Club and enjoy your new ride!

[hotford]

Welcome fellow MMer
Your close to me I'm in Pickering

[Mr. Man]

:welcome: and :congrats: on your new to you MM.

What kind of issues are you having. Post 'em up maybe we can give you an answer or point you in the right direction.:)

[GetMeMyStogie]

Yeah, ebay seems to be the easiest way to get the manuals lately. Look for the factory Ford shop manuals, stay away from the Hayes manuals and other offerings from your local FLAPS.

Big car shows/flea markets are another way. There was the annual spring auto motive flea market in Barrie just a couple of weekends ago - might have found one there. This show returns in the fall.

[JRED]

:welcome: and :congrats: on your new to you MM.

What kind of issues are you having. Post 'em up maybe we can give you an answer or point you in the right direction.:)

Sorry for the late response.
My issues are many small things that make it imperfect.

-The kick panel (or so i'm calling it) under the drivers side is cracked.. hangs down in front of the pedals; currently being held up with a pen.
-scratches on the rear bumper from me not knowing how to park the boat that it is. Also, a few marks on the doors from assknockers that park next to me in parking lots..
This can be fixed with a paint job, which i would love.
-small chip in driver side front corner signal.
-AC doesn't work.
-Fans can't be changed; it only blows out in the defrosters.
-slight tapping noise coming from the motor. hasn't impeded me yet though.
-need to change brakes; 70% pressure is where i start to feel it stop.
-gauges behind the shifter have both lights burnt out
-drivers side fog light is out.
-slight bubbling coming up over rear fenders; known issue with panthers though.
-engine is generally just tired. stock headers are rusting away (can post pics), and nuts and bolts are also rusted.
-windshield has a couple of chips. those can be fixed, but there are tiny specs all over it. likely just from being driven a lot. a new windshield would help when facing the glare of the sun.

maybe a few other things.. nothing coming to mind.

needless to say, there's a lot of potential money i could be blowing on this.. but i just love it too much to let it go!

[scruff]

welcome to the site

[blkZooM]

Sorry for the late response.
My issues are many small things that make it imperfect.

-The kick panel (or so i'm calling it) under the drivers side is cracked.. hangs down in front of the pedals; currently being held up with a pen.
-scratches on the rear bumper from me not knowing how to park the boat that it is. Also, a few marks on the doors from assknockers that park next to me in parking lots..
This can be fixed with a paint job, which i would love.
-small chip in driver side front corner signal.
-AC doesn't work.
-Fans can't be changed; it only blows out in the defrosters.
-slight tapping noise coming from the motor. hasn't impeded me yet though.
-need to change brakes; 70% pressure is where i start to feel it stop.
-gauges behind the shifter have both lights burnt out
-drivers side fog light is out.
-slight bubbling coming up over rear fenders; known issue with panthers though.
-engine is generally just tired. stock headers are rusting away (can post pics), and nuts and bolts are also rusted.
-windshield has a couple of chips. those can be fixed, but there are tiny specs all over it. likely just from being driven a lot. a new windshield would help when facing the glare of the sun.

maybe a few other things.. nothing coming to mind.

needless to say, there's a lot of potential money i could be blowing on this.. but i just love it too much to let it go!


The balded is what I believe a member named Fastblackmerc can help you on for a great price, better than going to a dealer ill tell you that much.

I use to only be able to blow through the defroster, sent it to him works like a charm now. He also sells LED light kits now I believe so you can get better lights than what you had before for the gauges that are out, so you can also contact him about that.

through massive research I've found out that, that slight tapping sound seems to have been a problem in the heads

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/stiegemeier-porting-331/668734-03-04-cobra-head-tick-explained-stiegemeier.html

I've posted a link of a Svtperformance vendor explaining what could be the cause a lot better than I ever will.

Oh, and welcome to the site.

[stevesoasis]

welcome to the site and congrats on the MM!!! :beer:

[a_d_a_m]

Welcome to the site; might also consider joining www.vicsters.ca as they occasionally do meets in the GTA region.

If you see a Marauder with Ohio plates, or a white Marquis with Marauder wheels and Ohio plates, say hi - it's probably me. I'm up in Brantford all the time.