1997 mercury grand mark!

[gregamorton]

guys im looking at getting a 97 mercury grand marquis to make as a driver. The car has set for a few months and the battery is bad. They put a new fuel pump on car and it was running well and done a fluid change. They said they added about 5 gallons of gas when put pump in. The car set for a week or so and she tried to crank and it would not start. They believe someone sihoned the gas out and they burned new pump up. Will these pumps burn up quick like that? The car has 97000 miles 4.6 auto loaded out and clean as it was owned by older lady. What do yall think about this? I can get car for $500. Car is setting on 4 good tires and has not been modified at all. Thanks ahead of time. I gotta get something with a little better MPG!

[tsherry]

guys im looking at getting a 97 mercury grand marquis to make as a driver. The car has set for a few months and the battery is bad. They put a new fuel pump on car and it was running well and done a fluid change. They said they added about 5 gallons of gas when put pump in. The car set for a week or so and she tried to crank and it would not start. They believe someone sihoned the gas out and they burned new pump up. Will these pumps burn up quick like that? The car has 97000 miles 4.6 auto loaded out and clean as it was owned by older lady. What do yall think about this? I can get car for $500. Car is setting on 4 good tires and has not been modified at all. Thanks ahead of time. I gotta get something with a little better MPG!

I have had a '92, and currently have in the family a '93, '94, '97 and 2011 Crown Vic.

I don't believe that a fuel pump would fail for that reason. When you turn the key 'on', you should hear relays under the hood cycle, and listening in the trunk or near the LR tire, you should hear the fuel pump relay cycle as well. If that pump relay is silent, it's either not getting power or its faulty. I'd bet that it's not getting power. Check the inertial switch in the trunk (probably still on the left side, behind the trunk carpeting, above the floor level) to see if it's tripped. If it's not (button will be 'out') check the fuses and relays that feed the pump.

$500 is a pretty good price. We bought our '94 for that, with a customized front end thanks to a deer. That one had 63K on it at the time. Put a new front clip on it, repainted and cleaned it, good to go. These cars last a **long** time given good care, but watch out for the dreaded transmission vibe--that'll be a torque converter going south.

Tom S.

[MaxKlinger]

I gotta get something with a little better MPG!

I love the Panther cars and have more than once considered buying one. Sounds like this one has some real potential. But if your priority is minimizing fuel consumption, this is not the car for you.

[Cipher43]

I'd bet that it's not getting power. Check the inertial switch in the trunk (probably still on the left side, behind the trunk carpeting, above the floor level) to see if it's tripped. If it's not (button will be 'out') check the fuses and relays that feed the pump.


Tom S.

We had an 87 that did the very thing described here and it ended up just being the inertial switch flipped. That or a fuse being blown could be the reason they parked it in the first place.

I would buy it if I were you.

[gregamorton]

Thanks for the reply's guys. I think for fuel mileage it is what im looking for. I have 4 trucks and none get over 14mpg and 2 are diesel. A car that gets close to 20 mpg is cheap transportation compared to what im dealing with day to day with 2 diesel daily drivers. I have heard from many that these cars sip gas on the high way at around 25mpg. Can any body tell me what theres gets on avg and highway??

[MaxKlinger]

I would estimate 12 City, 23 Hwy, 18 average. You could probably stretch it if she's in exceptionally good shape and you drive very carefully.

The guys over at CrownVic.net are probably a better resource.
http://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php

Here's something else to consider. Fuelly.com has interesting statistics on fuel economy from people all over the world. There are more than 91,000 registered vehicles. Panthers are not registered in big numbers.
Crown Vic:
http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/crown%20victoria
Grand Marquis:
http://www.fuelly.com/car/mercury/grand%20marquis
Lincoln Town Car:
http://www.fuelly.com/car/lincoln/town%20car

Seriously, as much as I LOVE big sedans, at $4/gallon I couldn't justify buying a Panther. So I bought a Focus instead, and it gets, on a bad day, way better fuel economy than a Grand Marquis would on a good day. The primary difference? about 1,100 lbs of steel you're pushing around.

Good luck.

[gregamorton]

Thanks for the site info there is some very good looking cars over there!

[9t3svt]

My parents just sold their 97 Grand Marq and it had over 270k on it. They bought it with 54k, nothing but general maintenance, ball joints once, and upper intake. Oh yeah, spark plugs changed once. Motor is going in a 96 Mustang. Lots of the miles on crappy Nebraska gravel.

[tsherry]

The three of our CV's with the on-board computer that tracks fuel mileage are all pretty similar: 17.9 in city driving, lot of stop and go, and 23.9 to 27.9 on the highway. 23.9 was pretty much 55-60; 27.9 was on a trip between LA and Washington, where we were doing 75 - 80. My former '98 Lincoln TC got about the same mileage.

I'll stick with these as long as I can find them with low mileage. It's insane to spend well into four figures for a repair on a 'modern' Ford for what I can do on a Panther body for hundreds of dollars or less.