New Acquisition - 1995 Mercury Grand Marquise

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z917990

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Hey Folks:

I just bought a 1995 Merc Grand Marquise (could not find the De Sade version) for my teenage son. The car appears to have been maintained. There is no sludge under the cap or under the valve cover. The transmission fluid appears clean and does not smell burned. The antifreeze/coolant needs to be changed. There is an oil leak of some ilk, possibly valve cover gasket or (worst case scenario) a rear main bearing seal. It has 150,000 miles on it. I am looking for recommendations for oil and other fluids. Off the top of my head, it appears to be a candidate for Maxlife 5w30. Does anyone know the quart capacity and recommended viscosity for this car (4.6 litre v-8). Thank you in advance.
 
The capacity is 5 quarts, the recommended viscosity is 5W20. I use 5W20 (Mobil Super 5000) in a '97 Crown Victoria with 280,000 miles on it and I change it at 5000 miles.
 
Originally Posted By: z917990
Off the top of my head, it appears to be a candidate for Maxlife 5W-30.


Yes, that's a good idea.
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I wish my kids would accept an MGM or Crown Vic. They look at them and say "Grandma car". Of course, if I'm buying...

Good choice! I'll bet the oil leak is simple.
 
Well, if my son doesn't want it, I'll drive the heck out of it. But I'm sure that he will be grateful for anything with wheels. BTW, I got it for $1700.00 all in. Not bad, I guess.
 
Mine is a 96 and i am running Valvoine 5w-20 the regular flavor at 5k oci's with an FL820 Motorcraft filter. At 138k and some change it's my dd and no problems to report. The transmission is a 4R70W (a good strong transmission) 4 speed auto, change your fluid and filter every 24k using MerconV and you'll not have any issues. A good tip for that engine is to clean the MAF sensor at oil change time they get dirty easily and kill the performance. You'll also want to change the pcv valve at least every 12 months the old 2v 4.6's like ours has the pcv valve not in the best of places for good flow and tend too gum up easily. You should have a lot of life in that old romeo 4.6 modular.
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Last edited:
Originally Posted By: z917990
Off the top of my head, it appears to be a candidate for Maxlife 5w30.


5w-20 was the specified grade, but I cannot see any real issue with using MaxLife 5w30, whatsoever. The MaxLife has served me well at slowing leaks, at least until a repair was undertaken.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: z917990
Off the top of my head, it appears to be a candidate for Maxlife 5w30.


5w-20 was the specified grade, but I cannot see any real issue with using MaxLife 5w30, whatsoever. The MaxLife has served me well at slowing leaks, at least until a repair was undertaken.

5w30 is the originally recommended grade...

At 100K+, I ran High Mileage 10W-40 in my '93, kept a minor rear main seal leak in check... Sold it to a friend and is now approaching 200K mi, the 4.6 isn't picky about oil...


The pre'96 4.6 have valve stem seal issues, and are a major PITA to replace(maybe you'll get lucky and they have been replaced), but other than that are solid...
 
Hmm... I had a 98 crown vic... Sold it to one of my employees. It's gone 160K miles on whatever simple 5w30 we could put in it.

Over the last 11 years it's got WPP varients, Mobil Clean, Mag1, Wolfs Head, Federated... It takes nearly 6Q to top off completely, but it still doesn't use oil, and has NEVER had any weird motor noises. The 4.6 is a dynamite engine.

My mother had one in a Lincoln, on the same plan, she went 170K miles before retiring the car due to rust.

The 4.6 is SUCH A ROBUST MOTOR!! Don't overpay for oil. Just get some API rated 5w30 and drive. The 4.6 does not need any "Magic Sauce"... it's one of Ford's best designs for long life.
 
mercury grand marquis and ford crown vic with the 4.6 should run over 350,000 miles with good care
they are good durable cars and get ok gas mileage also
 
Originally Posted By: TFB1
5w30 is the originally recommended grade...


Then it's one of the years that certainly were backspeced. What year did Ford officially make the switch on the CV/GM/Town Cars?

I have seen a few in taxi service with the valve stem seal issues you mentioned.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: TFB1
5w30 is the originally recommended grade...


Then it's one of the years that certainly were backspeced. What year did Ford officially make the switch on the CV/GM/Town Cars?

I have seen a few in taxi service with the valve stem seal issues you mentioned.

2001... The 4.6 had already been in production for 10 years at that point and had no issues on 5w30, or in my case 10W-40... Used it in both '92 & '93 4.6...

A 4.6 '95 T-Bird I owned a few months also got a fill or two of 10W-40...
 
Originally Posted By: TFB1

A 4.6 '95 T-Bird I owned a few months also got a fill or two of 10W-40...


Don't even mention 10W-40 around here. . . them thin oil boys will freak out.
lol.gif
 
Originally Posted By: TFB1
2001... The 4.6 had already been in production for 10 years at that point and had no issues on 5w30, or in my case 10W-40... Used it in both '92 & '93 4.6...


My own last vehicle of the type for personal use was a 1990 Town Car. That, of course, had the five litre, which got 5w30. If I were in the OP's position with that vehicle and maybe a minor leak or two, I'd go for MaxLife 5w30 without hesitation. It definitely slowed the leaks in the F-150.
 
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
mercury grand marquis and ford crown vic with the 4.6 should run over 350,000 miles with good care
they are good durable cars and get ok gas mileage also


Agreed. In my part of town, Rust will always get them before anything else will. Unfortunately, only the commercial and service users see the overall life potential of those cars.

The rest of us have to get a new car due to rust... hopefully we got to 200K miles...
 
Update: I found the owner's manual online - a pdf file. As some of you mentioned, this 4.6 has a 5 quart capacity and Ford recommends 5w30 (yes, this engine has been back speced for 5W-20, but I'll stick with 5w30). Ford also recommends 5000 OCI for normal service and 3000 mile OCI for severe service (there should be a third catagory for teenage driving - "catastrophic"). I went to my local Advance and got a 5.1 quart jug of Valvoline Nexgen 5w30 and a Purolator Classic filter ($1.00 upgrade from the Driveworks filter) and submitted my rebate form online. Net cost: $2.25. If Advance runs this sale again, I will stick with the Nextgen. As some of you said, this engine is not super picky. Thanks for all of your input.
 
You're very welcome. I really like the 4.6 Ford engine... Although to get mine all the way to the top of the dipstick, We'd usually have to put a bit more than 5Q. Just watch it amd make sure it's topped off. It's fun to see my old 'Vic still in my driveway (Sold it to an employee)... and even though the body looks tough, it always starts, and still runs great.
 
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