Vic 2.0 Gets Intake Transplant

Anyone who has owned Crown Vics for long enough learns about the old silent recall for the intake manifolds.  Vic 1.0 eventually got it done, and now 2.0 is at Taxi Guy's shop getting it done.  When Mystery Mechanic owned the car, he had to replace a coil pack due to what appeared to be the start of coolant leakage.  A few weeks ago after smelling occasional whiffs of coolant, I had another coil pack go on me while on a highway.  Taxi Guy stated that he could try to save me money by adding a bunch of sealant around the top of the coil pack to try and keep liquid out of the cylinder. 

But the smell continued, and I noticed that the overflow tank was empty.  Two full bottles of coolant later, this past Monday, someone noticed a nice green puddle under the car.  I got on the ground to look under and see where the drip was coming from, but without a jack I couldn't see past the air dam.  I started wondering if the water pump was bad.  The next day I started the engine and stared under the hood to see what I could see.  Sure enough, coolant was dripping out of the intake and onto the new coil pack!  From there it dripped down the front of the engine, which is why it looked like the water pump was bad. 

Watching one of the last Ringling Brother's circus trains (4/4/17)

Never seen an intake so bad you could literally see the leak, and hear the steaming and gurgling after shutting the engine off.

Another issue to figure out is the water leaking down onto the carpet by the brake pedal.  I have been smelling a musty odor for a while now, and the carpet under the floor mat has been damp.  Bob at Belmont Seat Cover helped me remove the driver seat and pull back the carpet, which revealed a solid floor, but standing water!  I vacuumed it all up, set a hose on the windshield, and turned the water on.  Sure enough, water started to drip inside the car.

I still have to determine if the issue is the recently replaced windshield, or something in the cowl by the wipers. 

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...