Scud

Hey guys, my buddies are driving cross country and recently their '97 Grand Marquis broke down. I don't know a ton of details but apparently there's a coolant leak and the tow truck driver seemed to think it was a rear coolant reservoir or something. He said it was a common problem on Grand Marks and the part should be about $200 and then it would take about 3 hours of labor.

Has anyone heard of this particular problem or have any ideas what it could be? Does the quoted price seem reasonable (~$400)? Thanks a lot for any help

 

pvidrummer

What the tow truck driver said does not make sense. If your grand marquis is leaking coolant, the problem could be one of the following.

-Broken hose
-leaking radiator
-leaking coolant reservoir(located in engine compartment)
-bad water pump

I suggest YOUR BUDDIES figure out what is wrong with the cooling system before waving around some money.

Goal #1- locate the leak

Try finding the coolant leak. Dont turn on the engine, just pour water into the coolant container and observe. Check the coolant reservoir for leaks, then the lines that connect to the radiator and the engine, also check the radiator and the water pump(its behind the engine fan.) If you can't locate the leak. Pour as much water into the reservoir as possible and turn the engine on. NOW BE VERY ALERT watch for any hissing and leaks and especially WATCH THE ENGINE TEMPERATURE make sure the reservoir is full.

Call your local parts store for parts prices and labor costs.

Good luck

sheebeehuh

There's a very good chance it is the intake manifold. These cars have plastic intake manifolds and the front coolant crossover is prone to rupture and leak (dumping out all of the coolant). They can also crack in the rear where the heater hose nipple attaches. A new-improved replacement manifold is available which has an aluminum coolant passage instead of the original's plastic coolant passage. The new intake cost about $200 and takes about 4 hours to install (I know, I have done 2 of them).

There's good info on the problem and how to fix it here...

Autoclinix.com: Ford/Lincoln/Mercury Intake Manifold Repair