'88 Marquis and... rust... - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

88Marquis · 10-25-2007, 18:35

Greetings all, I just acquired an '88 Marquis with exceptionally low mles (27K) but a fair amount of rust underneath the car, like it was parked in a salt solution for the past 10 years. Otherwise, the upper body is in great shape.

I have two systems that need a total re-do, brakes and fuel. With the brakes it's everything, maybe even hard lines. For the fuel system, even with the low miles, someone attempted to run a new line (looks like return line) and I note hard lines under the hood that just terminate like they were bypassed.

A shop manual is on order, meanwhile, any advice? I'm tempted to yank everything including the tank and run a fuel cell and braided line...

Nathan in MN · 10-25-2007, 21:05

Is the frame solid on it still? If it's got holes in it, don't bother with it...Grand Marquis are so easy to find it'd be easier to find another one if the frame is shot.

Not that you can't fix it if it's minor, but if it's got big chunks missing, you'll probably be better off finding one that's structurally sound and maybe swapping the interior from the other car (gotta be nice if it's only got 27k on it, eh?) into the other one.

Just my humble opinion, good luck with whatever you decide to do.

88Marquis · 10-26-2007, 08:08

Actually the frame is solid as are the floors, it's the lines and other thinner-guage parts that are crumbling. I seem to recall Ford having a recall on premature rusting of fuel lines but that was probably another year/car line anyway.

What I think I'll do is drop the tank and re-do all the lines, do it once, do it right as they say. Last thing I want to deal with is a leaky fuel line in an Upstate NY winter...

Nathan in MN · 10-26-2007, 12:28

Yeah, if the frame and floors are solid, go for it. As long as you're replacing the metal brake lines, do the rubber lines, too. One on each side of the front and one between the body and the rear axle housing. Those get stiff and like to crack eventually.