IML: A primer for new owners of '90s Imperials like Ross

[David Whitney <david.whitney@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Welcome aboard, Ross and other K-Imperial lovers.

I, too, drive a '90s Imperial every day.  It's a joy.  While I love my two
'66s, the '91 is every bit as luxurious and it gets 30 miles per gallon on
the freeway.

There are three things that put these cars in the boneyard -- transmission,
anti-lock brake system and air ride suspension.

There is a wealth of information about the A-604 Ultradrive at
http://www.allpar.com, with the bonus that the site has a decided North of
the border focus.  Most importantly, don't let the fluid get too hot.
Secondly, regardless of what the dipstick says, only use Mopar 7176 fluid.
Never Dexron.  Ever.  For any reason.  Not even a little bit.  Thirdly,
always come to a complete stop between forward and reverse shifts and vice
versa.  And lastly, it's highly recommended that you start the car in
neutral and always shift into a forward gear before shifting into reverse.

The lifetime warranty for certain ABS parts is more liberal in Canada than
in the United States.  Check with your dealer.

Replacing the air ride suspension costs more than you paid for the car, I'm
sure.  If it fails, you can have it changed over to struts and coils using
parts from common K-cars like the Dynasty or New Yorker.  That's what I
did, and the only problem I have is when I put two adults in the back and
luggage in the trunk.  You can overcome that by going to conventional
adjustable air shocks in the rear if you want.  All of this is also
documented on allpar.

Last bit of advice -- look down at the bottom of the front door hinges and
see if the void is full of vegetation.  That's a common spot for standing
water that leads to rust.

We would love to see photos of your car.  You can submit them to the
webmonsters for publication on the 1990s Imperial pages.

Thanks,

David




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