Welcome to the Crown Vics ETC blog!

On April 6, 2000, I purchased a 1998 Ford Crown Victoria LX HPP with 23,490 miles. I decided to start a little website for it featuring a running log of my experiences with the car. Vic 1.0 was retired in 2015 due to rust and electrical issues. Vic 2.0 was a 2006 P71 in Blue Pearl that belonged to my boyfriend. It was a Ford demo and never saw actual police use. It was damaged in September of 2018 with well over 186,000 miles. It was replaced by Vic 3.0 in October 2018, a 2008 P71 in Silver Birch with 120,971 miles. To read posts prior to 2010, click a link at right, or go to Crown Vics, ETC.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

SHOCKING!!

11/2/16
I can't believe I have been driving Vic 2.0 for a year now!  One stupid thing I did was to NOT take the snow tires off last spring.  Things came up and they just never came off.  So I drove in the heat with snow tires... needless to say, now I need to replace 2 of them!

I knew that the rear end has been leaking oil/grease, but a while ago I noticed another stain on the driveway, this one in the area behind the rear passenger wheel.  I thought someone was leaking brake fluid, but everyone's car seemed fine.  Wellp, I think I know what the stain is now.

Driving with snows on in summer, you can feel a little "squishy" at times.  So I didn't notice anything amiss.  A few weeks ago I started feeling a little... well... the way the rear of the car handled didn't feel quite right.  Then I went over some speed bumps, and it hit me:  a shock leaked.

When I go over a speed bump, the front end bounces evenly, but when the back goes over, the rear "wiggles" unevenly.  I did the old fashion shock-check (aka: push up and down on the rear bumper) and sure enough, while the car doesn't bounce much thanks to the police spec springs,  the passenger side DOES bounce more than the driver side.

Yup, snow tires never came off this year...
For kicks, I went to a dealer and was quoted roughly $80 each.  Need to decide if I am going aftermarket, or try to score a pair cheaper.  I sort of can't spend the money, but I can't stand a car that doesn't handle properly!

Another thing that NEEDS to be remedied at some point, but isn't a pressing matter, is the stereo system.  I MISS my old speakers and Sony deck.  The wiring harness won't work with the car's factory wiring, and me and wiring do not mix.  Hopefully when I hit the lottery I can make some upgrades...