[greenmerc]

Just picked up a 1994 Marquis for 1,400 bucks. I love the car. I've admired CV's for years, but I like the little extra chrome you get with a Merc.

Anyway, known issues are the power windows don't work. Motors are turning, but glass don't move. I opened up the drivers door and found two cables coming out of the motor assembly, but not connected to the tracks, just lying in there. Where do they attach? Also, three windows can be put down by palming the glass on both sides, but the driver's window refuses to go down manually. Any ideas or similar experiences?

The AC blows "luke cool" as I call it. Compressor is cycling just fine. Question, what type of refrigerant did 94's use?? And, where is the charge port for the AC system if I do it myself with one of those kits from K-Mart or Target?

The body has one minor ding in it, paint is fading a little but will bounce right back with a waxing (clear coat safe of course), and the engine and tranny is smooth and silent. 174K miles, but the interior is all intact, although needs detailing. I'm thrilled with the car, but want to start working on these little problems. Yeah, I'm excited, just got the car today!

 

[Nathan in MN]

Power windows are DEFINITELY the weak point of those cars. I don't know about the newest ones, but we've had an '85 Mercury Grand Marquis, '85 Lincoln Town Car, '89 Ford Crown Victoria, and '96 Ford Crown Victoria. ALL of them have had power window problems.

The ones that will go down if you push them are probably just bad drive gears, which you should be able to buy at your auto parts store. (I would recommend getting a shop manual for the car if you haven't already; I've seen those newer power window systems and I still don't understand how they work, so it may not be intuitive). As for the driver's door, do the cables that come out of the motor assembly run up and down when you operate the button? If so, that one might be okay if you can reattach everything the way it's supposed to be. Look at the other windows to see how they go together and you should be able to put it together.

As for the AC, if the compressor is cycling on and off every 10-15 seconds (give or take) then that is a definite indication of low refrigerant. It will use the R-134A refrigerant, so there's no conversion to do. The charging point is on the passenger side near the fender well. There are two points that have caps on them like a valve cover on a tire. One of those (I think it's the forward one of the two) will not fit the hose that you buy, but it will go on the other one. I believe that it is near the cylindrical shaped piece that is near the back of the engine compartment.

Also, being that the refrigerant leaked out, you might be wise to buy the stuff that has stop leak in it. Our '96 Crown Vic was in the same situation as yours, blowing "luke-cool", and we put the stop leak refrigerant in it. So far, it has continued to work great.

Sorry to be so long winded, but I've had a fair amount of experience with these cars, so I have a fair amount to say. If you have any other questions regarding this information, feel free to ask.

HTH,
Nathan in MN

 

[Nathan in MN]

Power windows are DEFINITELY the weak point of those cars. I don't know about the newest ones, but we've had an '85 Mercury Grand Marquis, '85 Lincoln Town Car, '89 Ford Crown Victoria, and '96 Ford Crown Victoria. ALL of them have had power window problems.

The ones that will go down if you push them are probably just bad drive gears, which you should be able to buy at your auto parts store. (I would recommend getting a shop manual for the car if you haven't already; I've seen those newer power window systems and I still don't understand how they work, so it may not be intuitive). As for the driver's door, do the cables that come out of the motor assembly run up and down when you operate the button? If so, that one might be okay if you can reattach everything the way it's supposed to be. Look at the other windows to see how they go together and you should be able to put it together.

As for the AC, if the compressor is cycling on and off every 10-15 seconds (give or take) then that is a definite indication of low refrigerant. It will use the R-134A refrigerant, so there's no conversion to do. The charging point is on the passenger side near the fender well. There are two points that have caps on them like a valve cover on a tire. One of those (I think it's the forward one of the two) will not fit the hose that you buy, but it will go on the other one. I believe that it is near the cylindrical shaped piece that is near the back of the engine compartment.

Also, being that the refrigerant leaked out, you might be wise to buy the stuff that has stop leak in it. Our '96 Crown Vic was in the same situation as yours, blowing "luke-cool", and we put the stop leak refrigerant in it. So far, it has continued to work great.

Sorry to be so long winded, but I've had a fair amount of experience with these cars, so I have a lot to say. If you have any other questions regarding this information, feel free to ask.

HTH,
Nathan in MN

 

[Nathan in MN]

Oops! Didn't mean to post that twice! Sorry! :doh:

Nathan

 

[ryoder]

The cables that you see are the regulators. The motor goes onto the back of this part. You can't fix the regulators,you have to replace them. I just did my driverside front and passenger side rear in my CV(GM are the same) and they're about $45 apeice from WWW.autopartsonsale.com and they work splendidly.If your fairly mechanical minded you can do it yourself in about 8hrs for all four. A professional can do it in about 4 hrs. If your not good with a grinder ,get someone to do it for you. Because you got to grind the rivets off to get the glass out then get the regulator out. If you go to the website that I gave you can see the whole part and get a better idea of how to proceed and if you want to tackle it yourself. Good luck and let us know how it goes!!

 

[nyfreakinrican]

Drivers window definately needs a new regulator the other windows can probably be repaired with new bushings in the motor you can get them on ebay for about $6 a window there are three bushimgs in each motor that fit between the gears that is usually what breaks. As for the rivets you can use a drill with a 1/2 in drill bit, a punch and hammer. That is how the factory manual tells you to remove it and then replace the rivets with nuts and bolts to make life easier in the future. My first one took me about 2 hrs I can now do it in about 40 min a window.
Here is a link to the bushings on ebay I was wrong it is $4 a window
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford...hZ019QQitemZ8077393902QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

 

[nyfreakinrican]

The link did not come up right just enter ford window bushings on the Ebay search page

 

[ryoder]

I fixed mine (temp) one time before by greasing the nylon bushings that travel along the metal guide. These things bind up and cause the motors to work harder. Mine did the same thing as far as going up and down slow and having to be "Palmed". Eventually the lines snapped on the regulator resulting in the replacement of the whole thing. So, thats why I said to replace the regulator.My motors did not need anything,even though it seemed so at first. Take the motor off the regulator and then check it to see if it moves freely and don't make any noises. If it does then you probably don't need bushings for your motor. The motors usually don't go bad,it's the regulators that bind and cause the motor failure eventually. So,if you can hear the motors running ,then it's your regulators.The same for the slow moving (having to palm)windows. That is why that I suggested that you go ahead and replace the regulators and save the trouble and expense of the motors. For the rivets ,rican is right ,you'll have to use bolts and nuts,but,don't use a punch,you'll most likely shatter your window. I used a dremmel tool on mine with a cutting wheel to remove the rivets.Then replaced with 3/4 hex head bolts with a washer on each side

 

[greenmerc]

Guys, thanks a million! First, all four windows are broke, not just slow. When I say manually open them, I mean sans any power assist at all. The cables to the regulator I'm sure are all broke. The drivers side rear had loose cables as well. I saw the nylon track guides and was going to lube those when I got it apart anyway, but now that you mention it, that seems like the logical culprit in my case, since the cable attachments broke loose.

The A/C issue sounds good, and I looked; there is one port lower and closer to the firewall. If I remember correctly, it is horizontal. While the the one slightly forward, is next to the aluminum cylinder and points straight up. I think you are pointing me towards this one, and it was my best guess as to being the low pressure side. Again, thanks guys, I'm pretty pumped about the car, but without A/C and windows stuck / a pain, the 90+ degree days are not going to be fun until I get at least one problem fixed. Later.

 

[ryoder]

When you get the regulators,it includes the metal track also.

 

[greenmerc]

Oh happy day! Ok, got the 134a with stop leak, low and behold, I have Air!! Now the pressure is off on the window job, and I can do the front, one at a time now.:driver: Oh, and I was wrong, it was the second, horizontal port on the black cylinder (accumulator?) that takes the charge.

One more question, the vent or drain tube that is mentioned in many articles as getting clogged and affecting A/C system performance. Where is that located? Next time I get to AutoZone I'll pick up a Haynes manual on this thing. Thanks!

 

[_JunkY4rdD4wg_]

In my own little world, in the situation of the window problems, I personally would just get new motors and regulator assys and replace them, takes care of future issues 99.9% of the time. On the A/C question, check the ports for thread placement, outer thread placement is R-12 inner is R-134a. In 94 not all manufacturers had gone completely to the R-134a refrigerant yet. A simple check of the A/C placard on the core support might reveal the info too. Just a little more info to help out if it can.