The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Wife's non chevy car

This may not be the place to post but here goes, if not I am sure I will be advised, 92 merc v-8 grand marquis,all power, the problem, at times the car feels as if it is under a load,brake pedal become extra hard and the car will start to run hot, it will also lose power when trying to accelarate, when in this condition, you will also smell like something is burning, this condition will usually happen about every 200 miles. when it gets in this mode, you can stop the car and restart and everything is back to normal, it has 4 wheel disc and abs,no lights every come on the dash to indicate a problem, a mech kept it 4 days and never could find anything, does any one have a clue, the brakes appear to bo ok, could this be a transmission problem.. sorry for the length,....Fred

Do you have to shut off the engine to get it to quit it or just stop & take off again? When it does this, with the engine running & trans in neutral, would it coast freely or feel like the brakes are dragging?

Good question,,, does it slow down by itself when going down hill in neutral?
probably already done this but check to see that you do not have too much brake fluid in the mastercylinder resevoir.

A friend of mine is a victim of the blue oval as well , and his engine (early 80's Windsor) has all the accessories running off one drive belt. This meant that when the A/C compressor seized, he also lost the power assist on brakes and steering. I'm fairly sure his water pump is on the same belt, which may explain the engine temp going up. Is the burning smell a glazed (or melting) belt? Do all the pulleys still go around?

Thanks for the reply.

shut the eng off and restart seems to make it normal/ when it is in the mode the car appears to have the brake on somewhat, it is hard to increase speed, but everything seems to be ok by looking, belts. brake fluid, acts sort of like the abs system is active.....Fred

Joker have you asked to dealer if there are any non published recalls for your vehical? They can run your vin and tell you over the phone. The other thing, I don't remember if this was f o r d or chevy or someone else but I thought that the dealerships had a way of posting a problem to see if anyone had run accross the same thing. Can of a private internet just for dealers. You may want to ask if that is something that they can do for you.

Have you had ANY work done on the car recently?

I had a car that would not accelerate, I could smell burning, and it ran hot. When I got it home, I popped the hood and saw red hot exhaust manifolds. My problem was a clogged catalytic converter. The car had 130K miles on it when this happened. You may want to check this out.

Good Luck,
Phil

Cat converter or torque converter gets my votes. If the brakes don't show signs of glazing or overheating, its likely in the tranny, as restarting the engine wouldn't clear a plugged converter. But it might unlock a lockup-style TQ thats trying to crap out. What does the tranny fluid smell like? any shifting probs?

4ord sux,

chip

Could a leaking vacuum brake booster be the culprit? Turning the engine off would release the vacuum, hence why power would seem to be restored.

Easy way to check - run the car until the symptom occurs, then jack it up (while still running!) and see if all the wheels spin freely. If not, brakes are locking up and you need a new booster.

-Boyo

p.s Mercury!? This is a Chevy forum!? Sorry, just had to do my moderator duties.

Thanks for the tips, when the car gets in this mode you have to stop it and restart, otherwise it would burn up by the time you tried to check it out with the cars on the jack...Fred

Shutting the car off and restarting it sounds like there may be a computer problem, either with the main ECM or the ABS computer.
I strongly suggest having it hooked up to an analyzer to diagnose or at least eliminate most possibilities there.
-
OR trade it on a good lo Chevy

Fred: My Vote is ABS system. popcorn The Truth is Out There (If it was older I'd say voltage regulator)

I would agree but you would thing that some type of warning light would come on,luke , you are right, my wife would look good with a 55 chev convert that we had when we first go married, boy that would cost something now...

Have the dealer disable the ABS, this is probably pretty easy. If the problem doesn't return it is likely ABS/computer related.

might be a good idea, would the power brakes still work, I guess they would , huh?

I thought the ABS would only work when you're pressing the pedal? How would the solenoids generate line pressure unless you had your foot in the M/C? Somebody give me a sanity check. (Well OK maybe thats too much to ask.)

chip. you are probably right, the problem with this deal is that a lot of folks will not look at it unless it is broken when it is brought in, one guy kept it four days and found nothing..it is a funny deal...thanks...Fred

Okay, Fred, it's been awhile, but I'll take a stab at your problem.

1. I seem to remember a pretty common problem on those damned AOD trannies in the Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis cars-issues with torque convertor lockup.

2. Again, it's been awhile but I don't believe unhooking the ABS computer will "futz" anything up, it'll just throw a code.

3. As mentioned above, plugged convertors may also be a problem...F**d has had issues with plugging on several different models in their line-something to do with degradation of the catalyist elements inside, if memory serves.

4. Wanna get online and nose around "The Wonderful World of Dearborn?"

www.inford.com

5. Final tip-might not sound nice, but here goes-F**d techs, like any other OEM, have brand specific training and diagnostic equipment at their disposal. It just might be worth a trip to the local dealer to save yourself headaches down the road. Sorry 'bout the long post, Fred, hope it helps.

Regards,
Wannabe

P.S. Let us know how things work out, wouldja? Thanks Fred.

Ahh S**T!!! :o :mad:

Sorry, Fred, don't bother with the above link...I forgot you need a password... :o

Regards,
Wannabe