First flat tire

[Hauser717]

Dear Ford,

Today I had the luxury of changing my first flat in my 2004 Mercury Marauder. After pulling into a nearby church parking lot, I opened the trunk of my Maurader and removed the spare tire and the jack kit. I found the kit complete in it's cloth bag behind the spare tire and pulled it out of the trunk. After pulling off the velcro straps, I tried pulling the jack from the bag. It wouldn't budge. Same with the handle assembly. I pulled and pulled and swore and tugged and stood on the fabric while pulling on the jack. Finally, a passerby asked if I needed assistance. I asked if he had a pocketknife with him since today was one of four days since I was 12 that I did not have my pocketknife on me. After handing me his barely sharp Swiss Army knife, I cut the stitching on the bag to reveal the jack. So I tried taking the jack out. It wouldn't budge. I cut more stitching and tugged until finally I had split the bag completely open on one side. That's when I found out that the jack was GLUED TO THE BAG! The same was revealed of the jack handle. Glued to the bag. Was this done on purpose by some feeble minded engineer that that thought the jack should be secured better within the bag? Was it some jerk in the assembly line that didn't like Mercurys? Whatever the cause, it added to my frustration with the decidedly unwelcome situation.

Anyway, I am still happy to own my 2004 Mercury Marauder and hope to own it for many more years. At 137,000 miles, she still runs strong and still turns heads. One day, I will need to buy another car and hope that if Mercury isn't back (not holding my breath), that you will have another interesting and fun car that will please me as much as this car has. But please, keep the damn glue gun away from the spare tire kit.

Love,
Me

[DOOM]

Same jack comes in crown Vic's and grand marquis'!

I have owned all 3! Used my factory jack several times! Never had an issue like you are describing.

Glue??? Maybe someone pranked you.

[Blk04MM]

Lol first time i pulled out my jack it was glued to the bag as well.

[Hauser717]

Ha! If it was a prank, it was a long time in the making. I've had her for over 6 years now (paid off!!!) and this is the second time that I've moved the spare tire. The first was to check to make sure the jack and it's sack was present before I bought her. I doubt anyone else moved the tire since then. Maybe the original owner was a jerk? Hard to tell.

[Hauser717]

Thanks, Blk04MM! Justified! :D

[MyO4Rawdur]

mine wasnt glued but it was sure in there pretty good. i did finally get mine out but spraying some glass cleaner in the hole with the jack and then again with the arm. that was a pain haha i feel your frustrations though!

[bill64]

you have to remember these cars are built by people, granted a lot of it is assembled by robots. I remember my moms car which was a 75' torino with a vinal roof....in the trunck under the spare tire was a lot of left over vinal clippings that they left there from the vinal roof install at the factory. also, when I started to work on cars in the early 80's some of the old timers I worked with told me they found beverage bottles in door pannels, and in one case a sandwich....in brand new gm. vehicles!!! dont forget there is a lot of human involvment building vehicles so "things can happen"

[Krytin]

Never had the problem you describe an I doubt it hapened on the assembly line. Most likely happened at the dealership in response to a rattle complaint or someone had a bad idea for a bad joke.

[Blk04MM]

Thanks, Blk04MM! Justified! :D


no problem!

I never knew my jack was back there becuse I keep a small 2-ton in my trunk. I removed my spare to load tires in my trunk and i seen it. I pulled it out and went to remove it from the bag and was like WHAT THE :censor: is this thing problem. I had to pry it out the bag and noticed it was either glued to the bag or started to bond together since it probably hadn't been touched since the car rolled off the lot. Either way you are not alone in that situation

[IwantmyMMnow!]

you have to remember these cars are built by people, granted a lot of it is assembled by robots. I remember my moms car which was a 75' torino with a vinal roof....in the trunck under the spare tire was a lot of left over vinal clippings that they left there from the vinal roof install at the factory. also, when I started to work on cars in the early 80's some of the old timers I worked with told me they found beverage bottles in door pannels, and in one case a sandwich....in brand new gm. vehicles!!! dont forget there is a lot of human involvment building vehicles so "things can happen"

At the auto assembly plant break room....

Bill: "Hey Gus...that sandwich looks awesome! You gonna be able to eat it all? That thing is bigger than a footlong!"

Gus: "Thanks Bill....found it in the fridge. It didn't have a name on it and I forgot my lunch today, so I figured I'd teach the guy that brought it a lesson about putting your name on your food you keep in the fridge....there's only like 400 signs in here that say to do that."

Bill: "Wow...you have a lot of guts...and to eat it in here, too."

Gus: "I gotta get back out there anyway, so I'll just finish it there."

Bill: "I'm done, too....lets go."

Moments later out on the assembly line, Bill and Gus see their boss come out of the break room and yell,

"Have either of you guys seen my sandwich?"

[bill64]

At the auto assembly plant break room....

Bill: "Hey Gus...that sandwich looks awesome! You gonna be able to eat it all? That thing is bigger than a footlong!"

Gus: "Thanks Bill....found it in the fridge. It didn't have a name on it and I forgot my lunch today, so I figured I'd teach the guy that brought it a lesson about putting your name on your food you keep in the fridge....there's only like 400 signs in here that say to do that."

Bill: "Wow...you have a lot of guts...and to eat it in here, too."

Gus: "I gotta get back out there anyway, so I'll just finish it there."

Bill: "I'm done, too....lets go."

Moments later out on the assembly line, Bill and Gus see their boss come out of the break room and yell,

"Have either of you guys seen my sandwich?"
so what does this reply mean? and, are you serious??

[Timw286]

so what does this reply mean? and, are you serious??

I'm just as confused as you...

[screamn]

Glad you got the spare on with no additional problemos.

I thought you might also have the issue of the spare being flat but you must check it frequently.

I try to make sure and check my spare tire is inflated to what is on the sidewall for the psi at least twice a year.

Nothing like having a spare tire that is flat and trying to replace when you have a flat tire.

[Bluerauder]

That's when I found out that the jack was GLUED TO THE BAG! The same was revealed of the jack handle. Glued to the bag.

Might be that it was just held in place with that sticky/gummy stuff originally. Kinda like the stuff that holds credit cards or gift cards to their paper/folder card. After all these years, it just solidified into a glue-like substance. :dunno:

To be honest, this is the very first time that I have heard this issue even mentioned here. Still learning new stuff. :D

[ajdereicup]

At the auto assembly plant break room....

Bill: "Hey Gus...that sandwich looks awesome! You gonna be able to eat it all? That thing is bigger than a footlong!"

Gus: "Thanks Bill....found it in the fridge. It didn't have a name on it and I forgot my lunch today, so I figured I'd teach the guy that brought it a lesson about putting your name on your food you keep in the fridge....there's only like 400 signs in here that say to do that."

Bill: "Wow...you have a lot of guts...and to eat it in here, too."

Gus: "I gotta get back out there anyway, so I'll just finish it there."

Bill: "I'm done, too....lets go."

Moments later out on the assembly line, Bill and Gus see their boss come out of the break room and yell,

"Have either of you guys seen my sandwich?"


That was good. I could picture that happening

[IwantmyMMnow!]

so what does this reply mean? and, are you serious??


I'm just as confused as you...


Most work places have a break room with a fridge, where everyone puts their food, and there's usually a sign/piece of paper or two (or more if theft is rampant) taped to it that says "label your food" or similar...

So Gus takes the sandwich, but he doesn't know it's his boss's sandwich (no name on it), he just thinks it's some other assembly line worker's.

He doesn't eat it all in the break room...he takes it with him as he and Bill go back to work on the line. Their boss comes out a few moments later and asks if they have seen his sandwich....Gus doesn't want to get caught, so he puts the sandwich in a car that is moving along the line.....

Get it? It's called a joke...or in this case, 'biting satire'....

And I am serious...seriously delusional....muahahahaha!!!

[JimmyXR7]

Dear Ford,

Today I had the luxury of changing my first flat in my 2004 Mercury Marauder. . . But please, keep the damn glue gun away from the spare tire kit.

Which tire was flat?
Front or Rear?
Punchtured with Nail or ?
I have 2 polished wheels, one with front tire (5K on it) and a second wheel with a rear tire on it (wear indicator bars ready to show wear).
I am trying to determine which tire to put in as the spare.
Jim

[bill64]

Most work places have a break room with a fridge, where everyone puts their food, and there's usually a sign/piece of paper or two (or more if theft is rampant) taped to it that says "label your food" or similar...

So Gus takes the sandwich, but he doesn't know it's his boss's sandwich (no name on it), he just thinks it's some other assembly line worker's.

He doesn't eat it all in the break room...he takes it with him as he and Bill go back to work on the line. Their boss comes out a few moments later and asks if they have seen his sandwich....Gus doesn't want to get caught, so he puts the sandwich in a car that is moving along the line.....

Get it? It's called a joke...or in this case, 'biting satire'....

And I am serious...seriously delusional....muahahahaha!!!
AHHH !...I see. kind of thought you were picking on me, lol. however ive seen some pretty messed up cars, brand new. one that comes to mind was a s-10 4wheel drive. when it was put into 4 wheel, the drive line would just bind. the factory installed mis matched front and rear axle gear ratio's!

[Hauser717]

JimmyXR7,

It was the driver's rear tire. I figured I picked up a nail but the guy at the GoodYear where I had it repaired said it lost the bead.

Dunno if that helps you with your decision.

[JimmyXR7]

JimmyXR7,

It was the driver's rear tire. I figured I picked up a nail but the guy at the GoodYear where I had it repaired said it lost the bead.
Dunno if that helps you with your decision.
Thanks, I heared that the front tire can kick-up a screw or nail and set it up to puncture the rear tire. So I am puting the worn rear tire in the trunk as the spare. Jim

[Bluerauder]

Thanks, I heared that the front tire can kick-up a screw or nail and set it up to puncture the rear tire. So I am puting the worn rear tire in the trunk as the spare. Jim

That has been my experience too. Front tire does the set up and the rear tire gets the puncture.

[1stMerc]

The problem is they put the bag on the jack before the paint fully cures and the summer heat just cooks on. I have that problem if i have to go long stints between jacking up the car.

I thought you were going to tell us about the wheel being frozen to the hub issue.
There is a thread for that one.

This one is a first.

[Mr. Man]

Try getting the full sized spare out of an '03, What PITA.

Can't think of a good reason why the jack would adhere to the case either. I'd imagine the jacks are assembled elsewhere and should be fully cured so it doesn't sit that the paint was wet when the jack went into the bag. The anti-rattle scenario seems plausible though. Another MM mystery.

[JimmyXR7]

Try getting the full sized spare out of an '03, What PITA.

Can't think of a good reason why the jack would adhere to the case either. I'd imagine the jacks are assembled elsewhere and should be fully cured so it doesn't sit that the paint was wet when the jack went into the bag. The anti-rattle scenario seems plausible though. Another MM mystery.
It was tough the first time. Took forever.
So the next time, I climbed into the trunk and sat on the latch area. I was able to get 2 hands on the cylinderical tie down to spin it. On my 1986 Grand Marquis, the wing nut could easily spin. Jim