One problem related to steering linkages has been reported for the 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Pulling out into a street while travelling 10mph front end started to make crunching noise. Steering wheel would not turn smoothly and had to be forced. Contacted dealer , they replaced tie rods. A month later, the same problem. Replaced with a standard lower ball joint instead heavy duty lower ball joint. Mechanic said it was a design flaw.