harrycalahan
Now that you had it for a while, how do you like the Crown Vic?
I'm sill looking at various ones up for auction, so I am just curious. Thanks!
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Anybody know where to find a Crown Vic?
- Thread starter harrycalahan
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harrycalahan
Now that you had it for a while, how do you like the Crown Vic?
I'm sill looking at various ones up for auction, so I am just curious. Thanks!
Lol well, its like this. The 450 mile trip home from the dealership was great with exception to the rear axle. It had a whine that started 30-50 miles into the trip and got louder the closer I got home. Dropped the drive shaft and found the pinion had lost its preload. So $60 in bearings later, I rebuilt the entire diff. Just crawled out from under it a little while ago. Gotta put the axles back in tomorrow AM. So I havent driven it since bringing it home due to waiting on parts and holiday traveling. Should have it back on the road tomorrow. Other than that (in my case anyways), theyre solid cars. Im not new to them as I used to service a fleet that had 3 of them and one Town Car. Keep the oil changed and anti seize on the spark plugs and they will run 400k plus miles.
Now that you had it for a while, how do you like the Crown Vic?
I'm sill looking at various ones up for auction, so I am just curious. Thanks!
Does yours have the 3.27 limited slip? I know the cars with that (or a 3.55) seem to bring more $$ on the auction sites. Never owned one but have driven a few and they seem to be solid cars. Especially for the prices now - I can get a nice (well it's better than average) 2004 with less than 100K for around $2500-3000.
Thanks.
No mine is the LX model with an open 2.73 rear.
Okay - thanks. I'm sure she will provide many years of great service!
Ahh, Panthers; my favorite car series. I have been owning and driving them for years. All told I have had 8 of them.
While I currently miss some of the radio/phone integration conveniences current cars have along with the backup cameras (all things that I could upgrade with aftermarket items if I really start to pine for them), I get to have a real "full size" car with reliable rear-drive, chassis-on-frame construction. When it comes time to work on it, there is generally more room to get to things, parts are plentiful and the internet is full of help ( www.crownvic.net is the best place to start).
I have had CVs (LX and PI), GMs and a TC - never was able to find the right Marauder at the right price when I needed a different one. All were new-to-me (used). All were work horses. My one CVPI ('98), I got at 60K and drove it until it slung a rod at 232K (made it home and never knew it had a problem until it wouldn't start the next day). A '98 GM my wife drove gave its life protecting her in a T-bone accident (kept the car after it as totaled and used the engine & trans in the '98 CVPI that my kid drove for another 4 years). The CVPI had the 3.27 and was quite zippy, but never got better than 16-18 MPG (the 1999-2000 PIs w/ 3.55s had even worse mileage). The GM's & TC are all mostly 2.73, and to me the GMs feel more zippy than the TC (which is a slightly heaver car) but 20-21 MPG is a reasonable average MPG.
The early 1992-1993, had bad oil burning issues due to valve seals.
The first gen 1992-1997 had some braking issues and a windshield wiper motor issue.
The early second gen 1998-2001 had a bad intake manifold design.
Did not own any mid second gen so I never had to follow up on those.
The late second gen that I have had for the last few years has been relatively problem free.
The early AOD-E transmissions were OK, the later 4R70W/4R75Ws were better but you need to keep up with changing the oil in them or you will get a transmission shudder leading to a rebuild.
The last few years of CVPI's (2006+) have an hour meter in the cluster and you can should about 30 miles per hour of idle time to know the total "miles" the car would have counting the idle time a cop car will have.
IMO, cars that are coming off of government use now - especially police use - are going to be cars that are completely worn out. The last production of these was in August of 2011 so they have had 9+ years of (probably rough) service. Many of these cars were held onto by their agencies longer than they were in the past because the lights/radios/partitions would no longer be transferable to a new car. There were some aftermarket car refurbs done (redone drivelines & suspensions) to help agencies continue to use old equipment.
My favorite: The '10 TC hands down. Best ride, best seats, quietest interior and best appointed. And it should be since the TC was the luxury version. The TC is also the most Grandpa of them too, right down to the hood ornament. I bought it a few years ago with 35K miles on it (has 58k now). To me the GM and the CV are interchangeable in styling and feel (and they are since they were exactly the same other than the badging, front grill and taillights). Since I am and old school guy (and an middle age one) I haven't yet been able to talk myself into a newer truck since a FWD small SUV isn't something I want and they have quit making cars now. That and I still like to be able to work on my own vehicle to save a buck (I was super pissed that I could not even jack up my wife's '13 Edge and put it on jackstands!). So I hope to have my TC for another 4 - 5 years (or more) - unless the right truck comes my way.
Good luck with your CV
harrycalahan
, I hope that you get a lot of use out of it. (BTW, Ol' Yeller saw quite a bit use this summer; put over 30 hours on her.)
While I currently miss some of the radio/phone integration conveniences current cars have along with the backup cameras (all things that I could upgrade with aftermarket items if I really start to pine for them), I get to have a real "full size" car with reliable rear-drive, chassis-on-frame construction. When it comes time to work on it, there is generally more room to get to things, parts are plentiful and the internet is full of help ( www.crownvic.net is the best place to start).
I have had CVs (LX and PI), GMs and a TC - never was able to find the right Marauder at the right price when I needed a different one. All were new-to-me (used). All were work horses. My one CVPI ('98), I got at 60K and drove it until it slung a rod at 232K (made it home and never knew it had a problem until it wouldn't start the next day). A '98 GM my wife drove gave its life protecting her in a T-bone accident (kept the car after it as totaled and used the engine & trans in the '98 CVPI that my kid drove for another 4 years). The CVPI had the 3.27 and was quite zippy, but never got better than 16-18 MPG (the 1999-2000 PIs w/ 3.55s had even worse mileage). The GM's & TC are all mostly 2.73, and to me the GMs feel more zippy than the TC (which is a slightly heaver car) but 20-21 MPG is a reasonable average MPG.
The early 1992-1993, had bad oil burning issues due to valve seals.
The first gen 1992-1997 had some braking issues and a windshield wiper motor issue.
The early second gen 1998-2001 had a bad intake manifold design.
Did not own any mid second gen so I never had to follow up on those.
The late second gen that I have had for the last few years has been relatively problem free.
The early AOD-E transmissions were OK, the later 4R70W/4R75Ws were better but you need to keep up with changing the oil in them or you will get a transmission shudder leading to a rebuild.
The last few years of CVPI's (2006+) have an hour meter in the cluster and you can should about 30 miles per hour of idle time to know the total "miles" the car would have counting the idle time a cop car will have.
IMO, cars that are coming off of government use now - especially police use - are going to be cars that are completely worn out. The last production of these was in August of 2011 so they have had 9+ years of (probably rough) service. Many of these cars were held onto by their agencies longer than they were in the past because the lights/radios/partitions would no longer be transferable to a new car. There were some aftermarket car refurbs done (redone drivelines & suspensions) to help agencies continue to use old equipment.
My favorite: The '10 TC hands down. Best ride, best seats, quietest interior and best appointed. And it should be since the TC was the luxury version. The TC is also the most Grandpa of them too, right down to the hood ornament. I bought it a few years ago with 35K miles on it (has 58k now). To me the GM and the CV are interchangeable in styling and feel (and they are since they were exactly the same other than the badging, front grill and taillights). Since I am and old school guy (and an middle age one) I haven't yet been able to talk myself into a newer truck since a FWD small SUV isn't something I want and they have quit making cars now. That and I still like to be able to work on my own vehicle to save a buck (I was super pissed that I could not even jack up my wife's '13 Edge and put it on jackstands!). So I hope to have my TC for another 4 - 5 years (or more) - unless the right truck comes my way.
Good luck with your CV
harrycalahan
, I hope that you get a lot of use out of it. (BTW, Ol' Yeller saw quite a bit use this summer; put over 30 hours on her.)
