What did you do to your Mark VIII today?

new radio.

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2015-09-11 17.09.09 by Chris Bratten, on Flickr
 
Sounds like a fun trip. 105k miles? Just to the point the frilly electronics like seat back and forward and column tilt start breaking, but mechanically if cared for should be fine.

I have a 276,000 mile 2000 Grand Marquis and I load up the entire family and do 600+ mile trips all the time. It isn't perfect, and is starting to show the miles, but is pretty solid and a good driver still.

I even have taken to using my 97 Mark VIII for the 300 mile trips, if it isn't a full family of 4 outing, but the Grand Marquis is just a better road car with much more trunk space and 2 more doors for the entire family.
 
Seems like all I've done this summer is wash it, which is a good thing I suppose.
Winter maintenance is coming up so I will be buying a IAC valve since the cleaning didn't fix the 90+ degree condition so I suspect it won't help with the extreme cold (<15 degree) either. Oil change, winter wheels and a lube will finish that off. Will also be lubing (CRC Clear silicone spray) the door seals, window channels and locks to help prevent them from freezing, saved me a lot of hassle last year.
 
Got the back seat section of interior cleaned. Decided to wait until the rear window tint was done before I tackled this. Ivory interior is a pain but it came out really nice. Now it's on to the front seats/door panels. Wash day tomorrow and finish up the wax job. Already waxed the hood, roof, & trunk so have the sides left to finish. Had the mufflers removed last week and tips replaced on 'straight' pipes and got a radio with cd player. Road ready now.
 
Thank goodness breathing is automatic (so far) because I can't even do a photo gallery!! I have several pics posted on the LOD site and have pics of 'bird posted on TBN but sure can't get anything on here. I'll do a little research and see if I can't figure this out. Seems I need to downsize photo size and, once again, not a clue. Good thing I know how to drive.....
 
Brake line under the radiator sprung a leak last Wednesday. Had a friend come tow it. :( He replaced all of them which gives me peace of mind as the rears were just as crusty. Shops were quoting $700+, got them done for just about half of that including the tow. :)

I was going to start the long list of pre-winter maintenance this weekend but it's far too cold, hoping for a couple of warm days soon..
 
Most of the winter maintenance is done. Still have to switch wheels, lube door seals and poke the block heater plug through the grill.

I picked up a set of led side view mirror/puddle assemblys from Carlos due to the fact that both of mine had some leds out. The new ones had the typical dirt inside so I opened them up and cleaned/resealed. Also installed a new iac as well.

Just a couple pics of the original 165k units. Looks like the main entry point for water and bugs is the opening where the terminals pop through.

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The ones from Carlos were in much better shape inside. No bugs or moisture damage. California is good for some things ya know...


Cleaned the housing, closed it back up with permatex adhesive and sealed the terminal opening. Took about 20 minutes each checking every so often for cut depth. I'd imagine it would take 5min each if using a dremel. Helpful hint: The clear plastic part is pretty fragile and will crack if you try to pry it open to early, luckily I figured that out on the old assembly.

Broken dremel disc= Rusty Hacksaw and steak knife. ;) Using a razor blade will take you all day and likely cut off a finger.

P.s. From what I've read they need to be cut open, heat will ruin them.

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hmm I like the 03's better just because they aren't silver, but I like the R's as well.
 
Ever since I got the crusty brake lines replaced I've been on a little bit of a prep/painting spree of some of the rusty bits. Did some stuff on the irs last week and since I'm upgrading battery terminals and cleaning up the big 3 I decided to go ahead and take care of the power steering resv bracket. Wasn't looking for perfection, just wanted to clean it up and get it one solid color. :)

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Ever since I got the crusty brake lines replaced I've been on a little bit of a prep/painting spree of some of the rusty bits. Did some stuff on the irs last week and since I'm upgrading battery terminals and cleaning up the big 3 I decided to go ahead and take care of the power steering resv bracket. Wasn't looking for perfection, just wanted to clean it up and get it one solid color. :)

Now I want to do this.
 
Before- Rusty, too much loom, peeling tape and I didn't like how a couple of the wires were routed either due to the lack of proper inputs.

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After-

Painted ps bracket and cleaned the grounds. New terminals with set screws (4 & 8awg) for factory leads and a post with soldered ring terminals on each for the big 3 and amp wires. Also rerouted my Alt wire behind battery and secured the fuse holders better.

Not a huge fan of the blk and red stickers, not sure if adding them to the covers looks better or worse than the company logo. :confused:

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