Clapped Out! Crown Vic/Marquis/Town Car Front Suspension Rebuild Part 1 

Nice job keeping this old beast on the road, these things are tanks, and built to last!

I'm replacing everything in my 97 marquis it squeaks so bad man lol along with new shocks and exhaust can't wait to get it all done love the car it was,grandpa owned its whole life so its been took care of for the 23 years its been on earth ❤

I undertook a similar job on my 1983 Caprice Classic about 18 years ago. Replaced the factory upper and lower control arm bushings with polyurethane ones from Performance suspensions (advertised in Hemmings). Along the way I also put in their deluxe sway bar, HD performance springs, obviously new upper and lower ball joints, and a whole new steering linkage (except the Pitman arm which was fine). Put Bilstein shocks on it. Took a LOT of perseverance and some "talking to" at times, but when it was finished, that big B-Body handled like a sports car. The toughest part was loading and unloading the springs in place with the compressing tool. Pretty spooky! I'm contemplating a similar replacement on my 2000 Grand Marquis (67,500 miles). Glad to see that the upper and lower control arms are available nowadays for reasonable money. Thanks for posting the video. You have my unflagging respect for endeavoring to do all this.

I wound up putting loaded upper and lower control arms on my grand marquis. I had a HELL of a time getting the drivers side lower ball joint to break free. Took me over an hour. Finally ran the pickle fork air hammer attachment in as far as it would go then beat the stud as hard as I possibly could and it finally broke free. Never seen one so stuck before.

I did a 96 CVPI full front end that I scooped up at a city auction in 2017 for $800. Had 90k miles and was used by the gas department supervisor. Did all new upper lower control arms, ball joints, springs and shocks, wheel hub and bearing, tie rods, pitman arm, idler arm, center link, sway bar bushings, sway bar links, pads and rotors. Kicked my ass, but it's still driving perfectly today.

Great video. I find myself having a panic attack when I take a look at the undercarriage part of my car. Lol oil metal just gives me the idea that there's so much wrong and it can be overwhelming very quickly!

I went with preloaded lower control arms. They come with lifetime warranty. Just swap them out. Cheaper when you consider your labor.

i had the same problem with detroit axle when I did mine as the sway bar links where incorrect. they later changed the part number, after I was left buying new sway bar links. Then I found the joints were dry and had to use a grease needle to fill the boots and the grease worked its way in. I was unhappy to have noise coming from the front end after all that work.

Nice job bud. But I’m not quite sure why you wanted to put poly bushings in there anyways. Poly are good for a performance application, but not a car like this. They have a tendency to squeak and they’re harder and absorb less vibration than rubber. Which detracts from the smooth cushy ride that a town car is supposed to have. I’m sure it still rides fine, but just saying I would’ve used rubber all around from the get go. Just my .02 I’m hoping to pick one of these cars up soon.

Thanks for this video!! Im going to be tackling the very same procedure in my 93 Crown Vic

25:00 I remember struggling with this nightmare on my ‘99 retired cab. I wasn’t so lucky to have anticipated the repair. My lower ball joint on the driver side actually BROKE while I was driving with the ball bearing part still stuck in the control arm and the threaded part still stuck inside the knuckle. I was still relatively inexperienced at working on crown vics and I had such a hard time removing the broken lower piece that I ended up just replacing the entire control arm with a new one that already had the new lower ball joint attached. After nearly two days of pounding with a sledge hammer and barbecuing the upper part with a torch I finally took the knuckle to a tire shop and watched in complete embarrassment as the tech pounded the piece out of there in less than ten seconds with three good whacks (he had a much bigger sledge 😂). Recently I had a similar experience with a ‘98 grand Marquis. Finally broke down and BOUGHT my own ball joint press from eBay. Not only was it CHEAPER but I actually got a more complete kit than the ones that they loan out from AutoZone and O’Reilly.

Great video. This will be my second video of yours I've watched. The first was the lincoln LED light upgrade. I've changed out my old headlights and this will be next on my list to change out. It's great to be able to watch how it's done. Thanks

I can see why everyone tells me to just buy the loaded control arms

Fantástico video 👍 mejor que otros videos.

Just had to laugh at 33:08 "gotcha bitch" was exactly what I would have said. Too funny!!!

hell yeah, good vid!

I've replaced everything in the front except for lower ball joints and control arm bushings. Now i regret not doing those first. I wonder if i can press out the bushings because they dont cost much on rockauto and the pre assembled arms have cheap ball joints.

awesome video thanks for sharing. question. what was a ball park number for the cost of all those parts thanks.

I tried taking the damned lower control arm bushings on my 95 today, ended up just buying new moog control arms lol. what a bish job those are

This my second video ever this channel... I like other car guys . Always seem to have a sense of humor

Ever hear of a pickle fork for ball joints?

The makes me think of ace ventura 😂

Nice job!

6:36 he explains why

i just replaced Everything under the front end of my 95 towncar except controll arm bushings

Is there some wackiness in bushing size, depending on whether it came with or without the handling package?

Doin it the hard way.

Dude how the hell did you reach that bolt on the driver's side upper control arm with the plastic shielding and brake lines in the way? I'm having a hell of a time.

17:33 What brand of impact drill is that?

Min 28:46.. he said what i was thinkin since 7 minutes into video.

I am confused on replacing only the bushes or replace the complete control arms. Wot u suggest on my 2007 grand marquis? Is the a complete bushing kit for upper lower control arm?

How did you remove the coil spring?

I wanna stiffen my 94 town car up as much as possible. Any thoughts?

Are the upper control arm bolts special bolts or not? Need to know If I gotta order some to do my control arms that are on the way.

Hey man great video... I have a Crown vic 2010 and recently replaced rear shocks rotors and brakes and ive had the problem when driving over small bumps the rear hits pretty hard... i dont know what else to replace any help or guidance would be appreciated thanks

Is that a Dewalt torque wrench you are using? If so, what size? 3/8 or 1/2 inch drive? I'm thinking about getting one.

where can i get that kit? Can you give me the link of the page where you bought them?

He said vi jay oh .... ave reference!

Son I see you still learning use a 4 pd hammer when you do suspension work

I have a diesel pickup and the engine is weak. Would you recommend a 4bt or 6bt swap? It’s an 05 Duramax that’s weak.

You didn't film the part i need 😔

Are they different than the Crown Vic front end?

something you are doing that always bugs me, Why dont you invest in some real hammers like a 2 lb shop hammer ?

Constant sniffling is irritating

Bro... Please explain better man .. your stumbling all over your words

(Disliked for strong language).