HOW TO Change a Crown Victoria Grille

SO after installing nice new headlights in Vic 3.0, I decided to bite the bullet and also install the NOS grille I had been sitting on for MANY years.  

This is a simple install.  All you need to do is remove the black plastic filler panel/radiator cover, then use a socket (I forgot to note the size for you, I THINK they are 7/16") and remove the retaining nuts all around the back of the grille.  Swap grilles, and put the nuts back... simple!  But don't overtighten them... don't want to snap the posts!

Now is a good time to touch up the paint around the grille... you KNOW you need to!

Old on bottom... note the corrosion on the chrome

Looks like a new car!  Now that license plate holder needs to be changed...

PINK Massachusetts State Police Cruiser Spotted in Concord MA

LOOK!  There's Barbie's Malibu Dream Car!

Nope.   

I finally spotted the Massachusetts State Police pink breast cancer cruiser! It was parked at the Concord barracks, so I had to pull in to take a photo! I didn't want to look too conspicuous (in an old police car??) so I only took a couple out the window. Of course, it was cloudy so the colors didn't "pop" but you get the picture.

This cruiser was created as part of the Pink Patch Project, and to "raise awareness and show support for all who have battled and continue to battle breast cancer or any other type of cancer."

150,461 MILE UPDATE: Oily, Tired, and Tense...

Vic 3.0 has been getting some attention lately.  First new shocks/struts, then a new fan belt, then a new fan belt tensioner, and then today a nice (overdue) Mobil 1 oil change and a set of brand spankin' new Goodyear RS-A tires.  

The belt tensioner wasn't planned.  When we installed the new belt, we noticed that it took more effort than usual to move the tensioner to get the belt on/off.  On the belt went, and out into the ether emanated a horrible screech when I started the car.  I assumed the belt just needed to seat itself into position.

Wellp, the next day the sound was SO bad, not just when the car started, but every time I had to use the throttle from a stop.  I dropped by Upholstery Guy's shop and he suggested I get a can of belt dressing.  I took his advice, and it seemed to help.  By the end of the day, the sound was gone.  BUT every time the car started up cold, that screech was there, scaring birds and neighbors.

On to Rock Auto I went, and ordered a Motorcraft belt tensioner.  I planned on installing it myself as all I needed to do was remove one bolt, but Taxi Guy did it for me before I knew what had happened!  (150,327 miles)  Now, everything is nice and quiet.  I almost think I can hear a difference as well.  

As for the tires, I waited and searched and scored a set for a decent price.  RS-A's don't have a high treadwear rating (it's about performance, not longevity) but even so, they made me realize the old set NEEDED to be replaced.  They were all over 10 years old so had some age-cracking, and had worn enough to be good for dry weather speed, but NOT safe for rain.

Now, the last time I put this much money into a car, it ended up being totaled by my mother.  I sure hope nothing happens to this one, too!!  

Vic 3.0's Twin Back In Town

Now that "The Taurus" has left Mystery Mechanic's fleet, having moved on to a new life with a new owner, Vic 3.0's twin is back in town.  

We went out to where it has been stored, uncovered it, hooked up the battery and after two years it fired up first try!  (It is an Interstate Power Fast Series, for those who are curious)  All the tires had 25psi in them so my job was to pump them back up while MM worked on swapping a new wheel/tire onto his Little Red Trailer.  

Vic 3.0b has 139,294 miles and 278 idle hours.  Unfortunately, it also has a little transmission issue that we have to troubleshoot.  A good transmission was swapped into it already, but it still has issues.  Personally, I think we need to look into the torque converter but it could be some other things as well.  It is a good solid car so MM wants to get it all happy again.

OF NOTE, I found a gas receipt inside dated 11/3/19, just before we put it into storage.  The price of regular was $2.28/gallon............................ today, I paid $4.89 at a CHEAP station... average in Massachusetts is about $5.05.

The twins are together again!

HOW TO... Replacing a Police Dome Light After 14 Years

A familiar accessory to anyone who has been around a police car is the snazzy dome light used in place of the vehicle's stock light.  It is known by many names... sun, ticket light, cop dome light, work light, etc.  The latest ones are LED and have both red and white lights.  But Vic 3.0 has the old clear-bulb version.  Wellp, somehow a crack had developed in the light's white plastic cover.   Earlier this month, I tried to push the crack in a bit, to make it look better, and instead I ended up with an actual hole.

Such a flaw is not tolerable.

So online I went, expecting to find tons of those plastic covers on Ebay.  I was surprised NOT to find many at all!  A few listings were what looked like cheap bulk lots.  I did manage to find a seller with NOS GM-bagged ones.  So they got my money, and I got the part.

While trying to pry the old cover off, it basically disintegrated in my hand.  On went the new one, and now things look a bit nicer.  

If YOU need to replace your dome cover, do a search for either "Signal Stat 77-570" or GM part number 10160922.  More digging will probably turn up a Ford part number as well.  

HOW TO Replace Crown Victoria Hood Struts

Last winter, I made a mental note that Vic 3.0 needed its hood struts replaced, as the hood wouldn't stay open, especially on really cold days.  Well, that mental note was forgotten until a year later when temps again started to go down.  I finally ordered new struts from Rock Auto and installed them in December, just before my entire family got COVID... (not a fun experience...)

If you have never replaced these struts on a Crown Vic, it is really pretty simple.  You will need something like a thin flat screwdriver (some sort of hook tool would be even better) and maybe a hammer.  

The struts attach to posts on the car via a type of spring-clip.  To remove the old struts, put the screwdriver (or hook tool) under the metal clip.  Pop it off the top and bottom posts.  To be safe, you may want to place something like a wood board against the hood to prop it open.  Do NOT use your head... 

You can now pry the old strut off the mounting posts.  Take the new strut and LOOSEN the spring clips.  DO NOT REMOVE THEM!  I accidentally popped one off and it took extra tools and anger to get the thing back on.  All you should do is LOOSEN them so that you can push the strut onto the proper post.

Make sure the strut is firmly pushed onto the posts, then push those clips down against the strut.  In other words, re-seat the clips.  The strut should now be firmly attached to the car, and your hood will no longer slam down onto your noggen.

I noticed that the original struts were made by the same people who made the replacements, Stabilus.  I like to use OEM parts when I can afford them, so I was happy about it.

The correct Stabilus part number is (T)SG404024.

2008 Ford Crown Victoria Window Switches

Crown Victorias are usually pretty beefy cars.  Part of the reason is that they are simple.  What cars tend to be maintenance nightmares?  Cars that are "complicated".

One part that seems to have issues on the later cars are the window switches.

Vic 3.0's driver's window switch started to act strange not long after I took the car over.  I'd have to "finesse" the switch to get the window to go up, but not all the time.  It got worse and worse, and I started thinking I better start looking for a used set of switches.   

Of course, what happened?  It stopped working... with the window OPEN.

Now, I had it in back of my head Mystery Mechanic had a set of switches in his basement.  I looked around and found them.  BUT, I quickly discovered they worked, but had the same problem!  We then remembered that his '08 ALSO had the issue, and the part was the bad one.

I was at least able to put the window back up.

I decided to take apart my totally-toasted one to see if it could be fixed.  I thought perhaps some contacts would be cleaned.  In the end, I couldn't fix them and just gave up.

A trip to our favorite junk yard later, and I had a new (used) part in-hand.  This was in September 2020 and so far, they still work fine.  

There may be folks out there who know how to fix the switches, or may want to try it.  Below are some photos to help those people out.  

NOTE:  The switch style changed one last time, I think in 2009 or 2010.

Ford part number:  5L1T-14540-AWB

Exploded view of parts

Little dust/water guards slip right off... notice the copper connectors

View of bottom with connectors

ADDITION TO THE FLEET: 2016 Ford Police Interceptor Utility... aka: Explorer

In March 2020 Mystery Mechanic added the first Ford Police Interceptor Utility (aka: Explorer) to his fleet.  It is a 2016 with about 95,000 miles on it.  He's not sure if he's going to replace the Taurus with it or not.  For now, we are working on making it neater and seeing if it needs any mechanical work.  Weather has prohibited any real down-and-dirty-dirt-removal.

As you can see in this (crummy) cell phone pic, it was originally black and white.  The good thing is the white was a WRAP, so no painting was needed to make it all black!

Still dirty, but doors unwrapped, roof still white...

A bit cleaner... until the rains came...

HOW TO Change a Cabin Filter in a 2016 Ford Explorer / Police Interceptor Utility

The following is a pictorial guide to changing the cabin filter in a 2016 Ford Police Interceptor Utility, aka Explorer.  From what I have seen, this procedure SHOULD be the same for police and civilian models up to the 2019 model year.

(NOTE: things didn't go quite as planned, so I don't have as many photos to share as I should)

This is the filter I picked up at the dealer, Motorcraft FP-68.  It wasn't cheap... Not sure why it cost more this time than the one I installed into the Sedan!

You will need to semi-remove the glove box door for easier access to the old filter.  Remove everything from the glove box FIRST!  That's right, all the sugar packets and napkins from Dunkin Donuts, etc.  

There is an ELASTIC TETHER that slides into a hole on the right side of the glove box door.  It helps the door from opening too far.  Slide that off.

At the top of the glove box opening, there are TWO PLASTIC TABS THAT POINT DOWNWARD.  They also help to retain the door when it is open.  I pushed them backward instead of forward so as not to break them off, but basically you need to get them out of the way of the glove box door so it will open all the way.

Now, I did NOT take the glove box door off to install the filter.  You MIGHT want to, though, as just as I thought I was done and happy, the door somehow got bumped and part of the hinge popped off.  I'll get into that debacle later...

This is what you see when you look into the glove box opening.  It is just like in the Taurus.  Basically there is a little cover, or "trap door", if you will, that has two latches and two tabs.  Undo the latches, and slide the cover down. 

This is what the cover looks like (front & back), with the tabs and latches where you can see them.

Here's the old filter still in place.  You may need a small screwdriver to help nudge it out a bit so you can get a better grip, then just slide it out.

We don't know if the filter had ever been changed, but it sure needed to be!

The new filter in place.  I added the date and mileage for future reference.

All you need to do now is reinstall the little filter cover, reattach the elastic tether to the side of the glove box door, and close it.

NOW, if you find yourself needing to remove OR reinstall the door, you need to know that there are two white plastic pins which actually come out.  We didn't know that, so when one side of the door popped off the pin, we didn't know how to reattach it.  A peek at the 'net resulted in the realization that one of the two plastic pins was not installed properly.  It was basically jammed into the wrong position.

After much car-repair-Yoga, temper flaring and use of large tools, I got both pins out.  We then put the cover in place, latched it, and slid the pins into place the way they are supposed to be installed... minus the fact we still need to lock them in.  In the photo below, you can see one and how it is slightly off-kilter.  But you get the idea.

This is a shot of an Explorer in a junk yard.  Someone had broken off the glove box door.  You can see the two white plastic pins which act as pivots.  The door is NOT SUPPOSED TO PRESS ONTO THOSE PINS!  Remember that if you find your door has popped off BUT the corresponding attachment hasn't broken off and flown off into oblivion...

And there you have it... your Interceptor will now smell like a daisy!!

(... well... a little better than before, anyhow...)

NY Port Authority Crown Victoria from the World Trade Center Parking Garage

A Port Authority Police car that was damaged on 9/11. It was recovered from the parking garage at the World Trade Center.  (AP photo 2016)

(Stephen Nessen/WNYC 2016)

128,000 Mile Update

My 128,000 mile update is that there isn't much to update you on!  Still have a mystery exhaust leak, and need a new windshield.  Otherwise, things have been ok (knock on wood...).

Classic Ford ‘Crown Vic’ Police Cruiser Becomes Vintage

SOURCE:  Milford Daily News - J.Phelps

Once a staple of police departments across the country, Ford Crown Victoria police cruisers are nearly all off the road.

The classic cop car is still featured as one of the main photographs on the Ashland Police Department’s website. But the department recently got rid of its last “Crown Vic,” a 2010 model used by K-9 Officer Chris Alberini and his partner, Dax.

The Crown Vics were known for being spacious, powerful pickup and great visibility, said Ashland Police Chief Vincent Alfano.

“It is the quintessential police cruiser,” said Alfano, who has driven a Crown Victoria, Explorer, Taurus, Charger and Chevy Caprice for work. “The Crown Vics stand out as the most solid, reliable workhorse. They had all the horsepower and handling that you needed and it was just very comfortable.”

Natick, however, still has a 2011 Crown Vic in service used by the high school resource officer. And the Franklin Police Department has four of them, although none are used for patrols.

Ford Motor Company has made police cars since the 1950s. The Crown Victoria Police Interceptor was introduced in 1983. By 1998, the model dominated sales of all pursuit vehicles in the U.S. and Canada, according to Ford. But the company stopped making the Crown Victoria in 2012, prompting many departments to switch to SUVs or Dodge Chargers.

“It truly is the end of an era and a bittersweet moment as we bid farewell to our ‘old faithful’ Crown Victoria,” reads a post from the Ashland Police Department.

Alberini now drives a 2014 Ford Police Interceptor Utility, commonly known as an Explorer, with all the necessary equipment for Dax.

“The K-9 cruiser was not used all three shifts, so its service life was extended,” said Alfano.

Many departments are now using one of the other sedans made by Ford, or the Dodge Charger or Chevy Tahoe.

Alfano said police cruisers built around the body of a Ford Taurus work well for detective and administrative work, but lack the space needed for standard patrol work.

Cruisers now mostly come standard with all-wheel drive and meet tougher rollover standards.

MHQ in Marlborough outfits cruisers for many police departments, including the Massachusetts State Police. Now, Ford police cruisers come standard as hybrid models.

40 states competed for the American Association of State Troopers’ best police cruiser contest

Natick police received the last Crown Vic outfitted by MHQ in May 2013. The company put a decal designating it as the “Final Edition Crown Victoria.” Many MHQ employees signed the inside of the trunk to mark the occasion.

Of the four Crown Vics left in Franklin’s 28-vehicle fleet, three are used by detectives and one is used by officers to go to court assignments or training events, according to Police Chief Thomas J. Lynch.

“These vehicles do not accrue mileage as fast as regularly deployed Patrol Division vehicles,” he wrote in an email to the Daily News. “As the four remaining CVPIs accrue mileage, years of service and eventually meet our vehicle replacement policy, they will be replaced with Ford Police Interceptor utilities or sedans.”

For many years, Hopkinton School Resource Officer Phil Powers drove the department’s last Crown Vic. He often joked he’d retire with it.

The car now sits in the parking lot waiting to be traded in or fixed up to be used for details.

“I got attached to it, because it was a very nice car,” said Powers, who has been with the department for 31 years. “They are going to be extinct very shortly.”

He got to keep it longer than most because his duty as school resource officer didn’t require a front-line car.

“What I like about it was you could see a lot better,” Powers said. “You didn’t have as many obstacles in the car. There was more space than the Explorers. They were closer to the ground.”

Alfano said many veteran officers, like himself, miss and have a soft spot for the Crown Vics.

“I wish in the perfect world that Ford looked at engineering a four-wheel drive version of the Crown Vic,” he said.

Jonathan Phelps can be reached at 508-626-4338 or jphelps@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JPhelps_MW.

Massachusetts Police License Plate #1 Spotted!

I managed to snap a decent photo of Massachusetts police license plate #1 on a Boston PD Interceptor... the catch is it was in Concord MA!

HOW TO Change a Cabin Filter in a 2013 Ford Taurus / Police Interceptor Sedan

The following is a pictorial guide to changing the cabin filter in a 2013 Ford Police Interceptor Sedan, aka Taurus.  From what I have seen, this procedure SHOULD be the same for police and civilian models up to the 2019 model year.

First, get yourself a brand spankin' new filter.  We went with a Motorcraft FP-68 (AE9Z-19N619-A).

You will need to remove the glove box for easier access to the old filter.  Basically, you squeeze the sides of the box so that it opens all the way... then it falls out and everything falls onto the floor, which is why you will remove everything from the glove box FIRST!

Prior to starting this project, I watched some videos online so I would know exactly where to look for the filter.  So when I stuck my head under the dash I started to worry, because I didn't see ANYTHING that looked like the slot where the filter lives.  I kept following the vent ducts and didn't see a darn thing... Then I got mad and looked straight forward, and THERE IT WAS.

Basically there is a little cover, or "trap door", if you will, that has two latches and two tabs.  Undo the latches, and slide the cover down.  Now you will see the nasty old filter staring at you.  Slide it out and marvel at the nastiness!

As you can see, the cabin filter DOES actually DO something!  This vehicle started life 130,940 miles ago as a police cruiser in New Hampshire, which may explain all of the pine needles and dried leaf bits...

I wrote the mileage and date onto the new filter, just to be anal...

 

Make sure there's no leftover nastiness in the air-box, and install the new filter.

Now you can reinstall the glove box.  This means you can reorganize all of the old registrations, inspection receipts, and sugar packets.  NOTE that the left side of the glove box has some sort of plastic limiter which fell apart when I tried to reinstall the box.  One end has a tab that slides into a slot on the box.  This part connects to a second part with an odd elastic fitting.  I think I got everything back together correctly.