Inherited 99 Mercury Grand Marquis with poor maintenance record. Where to start?

[OilSwag]

The car has 165,000 and my mother has been driving it the past 10+ years. My grandfather bought the car new used in 1999 with 1K to 2k miles on it. I had a 4.6 mustang for years so I can vouch for engine dependability.

The bad, this car had absolutely no maintenance done to it. She only worked on it when something was broken. I just recently had to replace a couple front ball joints. 2 upper ball joints on drivers side and 1 upper on the passenger side. So I haven't done anything else to it.

Do I start with the things that probably have never been touched liked a transmission filter fluid flush change and the same with differential.

Or do I start with engine side with various things like plugs,etc.

I'm not going to restore the car and right now it's a temporary thing for me as my transportation for the next 6 months.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

Given what you outlined, I would do plugs, air filter, oil change , anti-freeze first. If trans is shifting fine, it can wait a bit. Same for differential unless you know there are issues with it.

 

[TCL]

Brakes.

 

[jims5600]

Change the brake fluid!

 

[andyd]

How does it start and drive? Check fluid levels, top diff, off change oil and filter. Smell ATF ,if it isnt black/ or burnt smelling and trans shifts okay. How are the tires? Do brakes grind? How many miles do you want to get out of it? Being 25 yrs old, I'd be checking the brake lines. The clips that hold the lines to car trap dirt/make rust

 

[eljefino]

Trans, Coolant, PS, and brake fluid.

 

[GSCJR]

Brakes.

+1

...and tires; safety first.

 

[bdcardinal]

One thing to be aware of is the bleeders on these are easy to snap. Also don't be alarmed on the rear where one caliper is on the front and the other is on the rear of the axle. It's a Panther thing.

 

[Taildragger]

I would start with the classifieds.

 

[ripcord]

I think this one of the years where the plastic intake manifolds break and leak coolant? Might want to give it a once over, especially where the heater hose connections are.

 

[Nick1994]

If it runs good and gets reasonable fuel mileage, and you really are only driving it for 6 months, just drive it and leave the rest alone.

Of course look it over for anything that might strand you, but otherwise I’d run it into the ground.

 

[JimPghPA]

Compression test of all cylinders. If any flunk, don't throw any money into it.

 

[ecotourist]

If it has good compression I would do some basic maintenance on it whether you intend to keep it or not. A Grand Marquis is a reliable car and if you decide not to keep it, it should be readily saleable and for a decent price.

Just don't make the mistake my secretary made. She put cheap tires on a car she intended to sell and then decided to keep it. Meaning she was stuck driving a car she wanted to keep, but with poor tires. So fix what you do fix properly.

 

[OilStainedNapkin]

Id start off with all fluids as it’s pretty straight forward. Then move to maintenance items like plugs, air/fuel filters, tb cleaning, etc

 

[Donald]

The car has 165,000 and my mother has been driving it the past 10+ years. My grandfather bought the car new used in 1999 with 1K to 2k miles on it. I had a 4.6 mustang for years so I can vouch for engine dependability.

The bad, this car had absolutely no maintenance done to it. She only worked on it when something was broken. I just recently had to replace a couple front ball joints. 2 upper ball joints on drivers side and 1 upper on the passenger side. So I haven't done anything else to it.

Do I start with the things that probably have never been touched liked a transmission filter fluid flush change and the same with differential.

Or do I start with engine side with various things like plugs,etc.

I'm not going to restore the car and right now it's a temporary thing for me as my transportation for the next 6 months.

It's a 25 year old car with 165K miles. I think that says it all.. Fix what is needed. You said you only need it for 6 months. It's not a Porsche or BMW.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I didn't hear your planning to dump it after 6 months, simply that is your only plan for now?

If its in decent condition body wise, I would just start hitting the maintenance items - plugs, fluids, any hoses that look suspect - wouldn't take long - I owned a 2002.

After that just fix things as they come up.

 

[Gasbuggy]

JMOD! Joking.

By 165 they would have been forced to do some maintenance. I had an 01. I would be stunned if the intake was original and all the coil packs.

Don't flush it, just pan drain and filter. If there's a white plastic thing in the trans pan, it's never been changed before.

 

[factorytuned2012]

Brakes and fluids 1st

 

[andrew_j]

If for only 6 months make sure brakes, tires and exhaust are safe and follow your family member maintenance plan. Why bother?

 

[supton]

If only six months, then do the least. Maybe an oil change. Do check the tires, cheap ones are better than ten year old ones.

Why only six months? passing along to the next family member? getting different car in the spring? no title so it will have to be parked before registration is due? It kinda goes against the grain here to not over maintain a car, but there can be good reasons to do so.