What have you done to your wagon lately? (Let's keep the thread going!)

Discussion in 'General Station Wagon Discussions' started by Dogbone, Jul 25, 2011.

  1. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2014
    Messages:
    14,928
    Likes Received:
    2,950
    Trophy Points:
    710
    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    Fixing #10 went a long way toward fixing #9.
     
  2. OrthmannJ

    OrthmannJ Always looking for old ford crew cabs

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2009
    Messages:
    16,018
    Likes Received:
    4,410
    Trophy Points:
    833
    Location:
    Yakima Washington
    What color are you going to have it painted?
     
  3. 101Volts

    101Volts Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2013
    Messages:
    3,012
    Likes Received:
    268
    Trophy Points:
    198
    Wagon Garage:
    1
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Well, now the hood won't close. I won't drive the 90 Grand Marquis while salt's on the roads but I'd like to fix this hood issue so I can drive the Wagon at all next year. I've never fixed a hood that won't close, is there anything special to it on this model?
     
  4. OrthmannJ

    OrthmannJ Always looking for old ford crew cabs

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2009
    Messages:
    16,018
    Likes Received:
    4,410
    Trophy Points:
    833
    Location:
    Yakima Washington
    Do you mean it won't latch? Or is something preventing it from going down all of the way?
     
    101Volts likes this.
  5. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2014
    Messages:
    14,928
    Likes Received:
    2,950
    Trophy Points:
    710
    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    Check the release cable. If it's too old, it'll stick in the release position, preventing the latch from closing. My '83 had that problem.
     
    101Volts likes this.
  6. 101Volts

    101Volts Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2013
    Messages:
    3,012
    Likes Received:
    268
    Trophy Points:
    198
    Wagon Garage:
    1
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    It won't latch shut.

    Thanks, Andrew. I'm looking into the cable replacement and I'm having a bit of difficulty finding one; Autozone doesn't have one, Advance Auto Parts has one that is rated poorly by one person, NAPA doesn't have one but O'Reilly's at least has one that comes up in the search; it's a "Dorman HELP! Hood Release Cable Kit (Part # 03323, a Universal Kit) for $22:

    https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/...1990/mercury/grand-marquis?q=hood+cable&pos=2

    The same cable kit at Dorman's website:

    https://www.dormanproducts.com/p-930-03323.aspx

    This universal cable is 94 inches long. I haven't measured the length of the hood release cable on my car, does a 94 inch cable sound right for my 90?
     
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2019
  7. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2014
    Messages:
    14,928
    Likes Received:
    2,950
    Trophy Points:
    710
    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    Pretty darned close. But, first verify that the cable is the fault; push on the handle and then try shutting the hood. If it does latch, it's the cable; if not, it's the latch.
     
    101Volts likes this.
  8. KevinVarnes

    KevinVarnes Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2010
    Messages:
    3,028
    Likes Received:
    310
    Trophy Points:
    195
    Wagon Garage:
    1
    Location:
    Grand Rapids, MI
    Why don't you try working the latch and the cable with some oil/grease and make sure they are free first before you start replacing parts.
     
    101Volts likes this.
  9. Grizz

    Grizz Are we there yet???

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2016
    Messages:
    2,410
    Likes Received:
    982
    Trophy Points:
    398
    Wagon Garage:
    1
    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    Drove it! 2B30DB3E-4AB5-49C8-B28F-33E9BF98D660.jpeg
     
    101Volts likes this.
  10. kevdupuis

    kevdupuis Membrane

    Joined:
    Jan 3, 2010
    Messages:
    639
    Likes Received:
    345
    Trophy Points:
    175
    Location:
    Belleville On
    Watching mine turn into a snow bank.
    [​IMG]
     
    fannie and Grizz like this.
  11. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2014
    Messages:
    14,928
    Likes Received:
    2,950
    Trophy Points:
    710
    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    The block heater was quoted as saying "Fick, es ist kalt!"
     
    fannie likes this.
  12. OrthmannJ

    OrthmannJ Always looking for old ford crew cabs

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2009
    Messages:
    16,018
    Likes Received:
    4,410
    Trophy Points:
    833
    Location:
    Yakima Washington
  13. OrthmannJ

    OrthmannJ Always looking for old ford crew cabs

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2009
    Messages:
    16,018
    Likes Received:
    4,410
    Trophy Points:
    833
    Location:
    Yakima Washington
    The rubber bushing for the top motor mount in the Freestyle has been disintegrating for a while now. I only think about it when I drive the car (which isn't much, since it's the Wife's DD) but I finally got around to ordering the new one.

    It doesn't seem like it would be that complicated to R&R this piece, but as with most repairs on modern vehicles it turned into a real pain in the neck.
    IMG_1209.JPG

    New mount
    IMG_1210.JPG

    Old mount:
    IMG_1212.JPG IMG_1213.JPG

    New mount installed:
    IMG_1214.JPG

    Only took about three times longer than I figured it would... :16suspect:
     

    Attached Files:

    Grizz likes this.
  14. Grizz

    Grizz Are we there yet???

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2016
    Messages:
    2,410
    Likes Received:
    982
    Trophy Points:
    398
    Wagon Garage:
    1
    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    Looks like a tight fit:)
     
  15. OrthmannJ

    OrthmannJ Always looking for old ford crew cabs

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2009
    Messages:
    16,018
    Likes Received:
    4,410
    Trophy Points:
    833
    Location:
    Yakima Washington
    It was. My forearms were soar for a week after squeezing them in there to get to the last two bolts.
     

Share This Page