Poor Life Choices IV - P71

You should be able to look for a tag on one of the diff cover bolts. Look for something like "8 8 355"--that means it's an 8.8 with a 3.55 gear ratio. If it says "8 8 3L55" it means it has the Trac-Lok diff.

In reply to Toyman01 :

I watched a vid on the blend door replacement that showed a similar procedure. Though I’m wondering if all the ripped out electronics under the middle of the dash might be related to the blend door motor failure. 

In reply to Will :

Thanks! I’ll check that once I get it home. 

Hello Fellow Panther Owner, I run a 03 GMQ here.. its my third one. Had a 2000 GMQ and a 2001 CVLX... I look forward to seeing what you do here. Parts are cheap and labor is simple as all get out... but the aftermarket is kind of drying up now. I wish there were more exhaust options instead of going to Stainless Works... I cannot stomach spending 1200 for headers and 1100 for a full exhaust... when that's more than I paid for the car (1700). Of course most exhaust shops here in my area like to balk at making a 2.5" exhaust. 

Got the car home this afternoon & took it for its first official drive to pick up Pizza tonight.

First thing: in the daylight I completely failed to grasp just how dark these windows are tinted. I had to use my flashlight to find the headlight switch(because the PD disables the interior lights), and had to roll down the windows to back into my parking space when I got home. 

It drives nice, just a couple faint rattles over the RR tracks & manholes. 

I need to find out how to re-enable the air bags, the beeping each time the car starts will get old. Fast. 

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Might look here if you haven't already https://www.crownvic.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php

I took a short trip on the interstate to pick up a new blend door motor at lunch. It seemed to run & drive fine at 70mph, though the shocks will need replaced in the near future. 

I also noticed a sticker on the window that it just had an oil change 400-miles ago. 

I think I’m going to skip the Nola autox Sunday, there’s a chance of rain anyway, and use the day to go over the car & figure out what I can do about the inop air bags & interior lights, swap the blend door motor, and hopefully the steering wheel & cup holder assembly too. 

When we still had these in our troop, they were constantly getting rear wheel bearings. Consider a proactive action lol...

Also lots of coil packs for some reason. Buy a spare, keep it around.

In the later cars, if they were left dormant too long, for some reason squirrels would chew up the fire suppression system wiring that was exposed on the bottom rear of the car.

Great cars for sure!

See if you can find one of the p71 cargo organizers, using one with a mind for how and what you pack in the trunk can reduce the potential for fire in a rear end collision. Biggest thing is stuff like the jack and other long tools. Pack them so they do not point at the gas tank.

In reply to a_florida_man :

Thanks for the tips!!!

Looks like I’ll be adding a neutral safety switch to the pending project list. It wouldn’t start when I left usps this morning, but thankfully I though to drop it into neutral & it fired right up!

In reply to Pete Gossett :

The existing switch may just be loose or out of adjustment, check that before buying one.

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Column shift automatic?  

Sure, I grew up with many column shift autos but really haven't owned one in a ton of years.  Shortly after getting The Gov't Mule, '06 F250 work truck, I experienced this same "no start."  A couple of underhand motions with my palm to the stalk to slap the stalk and assure that it is "up all the way."  I have had no trouble since and just attributed the issue to operator error on my part.  The error being having not pulled the shifter stalk up high enough.  It is sort of an un-natural motion pulling it up to park.  Now, my standard operating procedure is every time I put the car in park, I double slap the stalk upward just to assure that I am fully in "park".  

You might like this: On the track in Memphis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxlYC-0DGtc All you could hear when he went by was a whoosh and tire noise. The driver was no more than 18 or 19 and he was fast. Car was stock except for Mustang wheels and tires. I gave him more than 1 point by :)

In reply to NermalSnert :

Cool!

In reply to stuart in mn :

Thanks! I need to get it up in the air soon to check the suspension & brakes anyway!

In reply to John Welsh :

I tried wiggling it & moving it out/back into Park, but didn’t do it too forcefully. 

It looks like I may have a transmission fluid loss/use issue though. Disclaimer: I hate & suck at checking ATF levels. 

I ran to Walmart early this morning, and checked the fluid while it was still running when I got home. I poured in about 1/2-quart, waited a couple minutes & checked it again. It seemed within range to me. Around 11am we drove about 11 miles on the interstate. As I pulled off the trans seemed to slip, then re-engage. While swmbo went inside I checked the fluid & it looked almost completely dry. I limped it 1/2-mile to a gas station, bought a quart & poured about 1/2 in. I checked it a couple times, and it seemed to be covering at least the bottom hole on the dipstick, but it was also wet way past full. We drove about 5-miles back & had another stop, and it appeared there was just fluid on the tip of the dipstick, so I drove over to Advance to borrow their funnel & top it off. Just now I went out & let it idle for 5-min, then checked the fluid. I had to add another 1/2-quart+. 

I’ll be checking it after every drive now. 

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Check AT fluid while the car is running. 

Seeing any pudling or leaking at home? 

In reply to John Welsh :

Yes, running & warmed up. No puddles on the driveway. 

In reply to John Welsh :

Yes sir. Most Civilian and P71/P7B Crown Vic's were column shifted unless you had an LX Sport which moved the shifter to the console. A really rare one was the Mercury Grand Marquis LS with the HPP (handling and performance package) that came with a console shifter and of course the Mercury Marauder. Most HPP's were column shifted only as I recall. Of course the Lincoln Town Car was always column shifted right up to the very end.

It was an adventuresome day, primarily due to our van dying about 20-miles from home, but despite the setback I did get some work done on the P71 this afternoon. 

First, I think(hope) I may have pieced together the transmission fluid issue:

1. I suck at checking ATF and always have. 
2. I realized there’s a slight bend and the end of the dipstick, and like most dispsticks, it tends to twist one way or the other when you insert it. So if it twisted the wrong way, it wouldn’t measure accurately as it would be more parallel to the fluid level than perpendicular. 
3. The trans pan is weeping around the gasket. Not bad, but if the fluid hadn’t been checked during the extended period the car was off the road it definitely could have leaked out. 
4. I checked the coolant & didn’t find any ATF in it, so it isn’t a failed trans cooler/radiator. 
5. The gear selector lever on the trans has some play in it. I think the shifter was slipping between N and D as we were driving, causing what I thought was the trans slipping. 

After multiple level checks & short drives this afternoon I’m 100% confident it’s full. SWMBO will be driving it this week since the van is dead, so I’ll check it daily & make sure it’s holds. 

Here’s the pan.

Next I worked on the blend door motor  it took a bit to get enough access to see it, but what I found was this.

So i epoxied it back in place & will let it cure overnight. I may still need to replace the motor, but it sure wasn’t working like this!

Oh, and one other thing: I discovered yesterday the driver’s side of the front bumper cover wasn’t attached, so I clipped/screwed it back into place. 

Crown Victoria. The official car of open carrying at your second cousin's bar mitzvah.

Some day I'll get a P71... and do this.  

In reply to Ian F :

Oh trust me, “stage rally car” has already crossed my mind. 

Unfortunately the a/c still isn’t working, so I’ll have to open it up next weekend & see if the mount repair didn’t hold, or if the motor is dead. 

In reply to Pete Gossett :

What's crazy is I priced out the parts to do that conversion: a bit over $10K.  Which sounds insane until you start looking at the prices guys want for crusty originals that need $10K in sheet metal.