Engine Cooling System Problems of Mercury Marquis

Engine and engine cooling system. Suspension front wheel bearing.

See all problems of the 1997 Mercury Marquis 🔎.

My intake manifold cracked while driving today 4/12/2006 resulting in coolant spraying and reducing my visibility on a mountain road resulting in a near head on miss to oncoming traffic. After further research I found out that the manifold has a know defect by Ford which without my prior knowledge or notification agreed to the settlement of a class action suit. Due the terms of the settlement I have been excluded - which is one reason for writing this message. However, the more important reason is the known potential danger of this defect on the lives of others without having the responsibility to address the problem. Today could have resulted in a fatal injury and the Ford company is just looking at the dollar size instead of doing the responsible thing. It's a real shame and I hope odi can do something about it. I was luckily today, but others may not be in the future. There should have been a recall - that would have be the responsible thing for Ford to do. Someone has to force them to take a more common sense approach to these types of matters - it doesn't make good business sense or good public relations not to. I am counting on you to help do something about this and help save future lives and injuries. The car had to be towed 100 miles and the cost of repairs is going to be close to a thousand dollars in total. . Read more...

See all problems of the 1996 Mercury Marquis 🔎.

My 1997 Mercury grand Marquis overheated and blew steam and antifreeze throughout engine compartment and on to windshield. This was caused by the a crack in the water jacket portion of the intake manifold. I was told by the dealer that this is a common problem and manifold has been redesigned but is not covered by a recall and the repair expense ($989 plus tax) would be my responsibility. He also stated that this identical problem on police cars and some others is covered. A call to Ford motor company rendered same results. I bought this car new and it has only 60000 miles. I have the old manifold.

While traveling about 40 mph in traffic without any warning, my check engine light flashed on immediately followed by the heat gauge maxing out and a buzzing noise began sounding. What appeared to be smoke was pouring out between my hood and cowling. I managed to stop the car and lifted the hood. Antifreeze smell was strong, water was shooting into my alternator and the engine was excessively hot. I had the car towed to a reliable garage and they determined that the intake manifold had split open, but the "smoke" was actually steam and no fire had ensued. Later that day, the mechanic called and said a new manifold would cost about $400, and about another $400 in labor. The final bill was actually $820 and $60 for towing. Upon notification that a newly designed manifold was now being sold, I became suspicious about why Ford would do that. I checked Ford and was told "my VIN# was not part of any recall, period! after checking this NHTSA site however, I found several interesting facts. There were about 300 complaints of this same rupture - I believe the number of people not reporting this problem were several times higher. I also found out that all 4. 6 liter engines at least in 1997 and 1998 had the same problem. I also discovered that Ford had "quietly" and I suspect "illegally" did a selected recall on fleet vehicles and police vehicles without telling anyone else. Why would Ford be allowed to selectively correct an engineering defect. Is my life worth any less than a fleet car driver? I called fords consumer hotline at 1-800-392-3673 and spoke with a rep named vicky. She had the audacity to say my VIN# had no recall and she never heard of this problem, furthermore that she had no access to this site nor was aware of it. If ever a company needed reprimanded, Ford does.

1996 Mercury Marquis. The vehicles engine/cooling system failed.