REPAIR: Transmission Lines (approx 177,000 miles)

(June 2024 - approx 177,000 Miles)

This one's almost too painful to recollect!  But here's an abridged version of the repair experience... 

There had been some random drips appearing under Vic's front end for a while, but I couldn't actually see anything dripping.  Fluid levels all were pretty OK.  Then the drips got worse, and I was actually getting wispy smoke from under the hood, so we got under and looked around.  Sure enough, the transmission lines were rusting through in two areas.

LONG story short, as many of you know, these lines are no longer available from Ford, and it appears NO ONE offers them aftermarket.

I managed to score an NOS set, and we thought we could install them ourselves in Todd's driveway.  ANOTHER long story short, do NOT try this job at home unless you have a lift and LOTS of patience.  In the end, especially after one fitting snapped off in the housing, we had to give up with the old lines still stuck on the car, and have the car towed to a transmission shop I had used before for my Javelin.

Other than their obviously using another vehicle to push the car into their shop, they did a great job.

Transmission fluid had been seeping through these areas, then actual drips began

Take a good look... HARD to find

Car vs. Man... guess who won that day?

Vic takes a trip to the transmission shop

REPAIR: Rear Brake Rotors & Pads (approx 170,000 miles)

Rear Brake Rotors & Pads - 12/2/23 (mileage approx 170K)

Went with Bendix

Crusty old rotor

Old vs. New Rotor

Old vs. New Pad

Emergency brake shoe... the less said, the better!

REPAIR: Gas Tank Straps (approx 167,000 miles)

On 10/5/23 (mileage approx 167K) I noticed something was making a noise under Vic.  At first I thought maybe a spring had broken, as it had a metallic rubbing/scraping sound, and seemed to have to do with the car moving up and down.  Then, one day while driving home on the highway, I noticed the gas gauge was reading all funny.  

When I got home, I looked under the car, and didn't see as much sunlight as I expected.  Why?  Because the gas tank was hanging down!

One of the two metal straps that hold the tank up had rotted away.  The other wasn't far behind.

Parts were ordered, arraignments were made with "Jeep Guy", a friend not afraid of rust work, and we towed the car to his shop.

"What's that strange noise?"

Strapped up off the ground

Borrowing municipal parking lot for a few minutes...

Ready to hit the road the next day!

HOW TO Replace Driver Side Window Switches in a Crown Victoria

NOTE that all versions of the plastic switch panel are prone to breakage of the mounting tabs.  If you are like me, it will annoy you to no end having a panel that pops up all the time.

These photos are from my '08, but will help you with older versions as well.

The job is otherwise very simple.  The hardest part is removing the switch-block from the panel.  I suggest two thin screwdrivers to keep the panel pried apart for easier removal.

New switches

Look for the small slot where it is safe to insert a flat screwdriver

Try not to mar the plastic

You do NOT want to break this tab!  Older versions are worse...
The plastic is more brittle and has an added metal "gripper"

Electrical connectors that need to be removed

There are four locator tabs that you need to deal with

NOTE the location of more mounting tabs!

Old switches removed.  Notice the "shmoo" that collects around them!

REPAIR: Replacing the Wiper Motor on Dad's '11 Crown Vic

When my mother passed away, her low-mile 2011 Crown Vic was taken over by my father, after we sold his 2010 Grand Marquis in 2023.

He recently told me his wipers weren't moving very fast.  I checked, and sure enough, they were moving slooow.  When I switched them to high, they moved at normal speed.  So I knew what was coming: a new wiper motor.  It wasn't making any struggle-noises, but I knew things weren't good.

Sure enough, in between snowfalls, the motor quit altogether.  Panic set in, as we had just got snow, but were due to have a warmer, rainy day.

Panic set in, as I no longer had access to indoor work space.  So I decided I was going to brave the cold and swap in a spare rack/motor unit we had in storage for just such an emergency.  

I started the project at roughly 1PM, and finished at about 3PM.  Even though it was well under freezing outside, my fingers worked just fine.  Probably because they never got wet with snow.  One thing's for sure, having done the job a couple of times before AND finally having power tools made the job easier and quicker!

The snow has stopped, the job begins...

Top cover removed

New (used) unit installed... this is where tons of organic "ick" collects

Job DONE.  Wiper arms had to be reinstalled a couple of times, since the
locator pins are always missing

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!!  

149,619 Mile Update: SHOCKING! ... again... really...

Vic 3.0 had new OEM shocks/struts installed by Taxi Guy... without a lift, thanks to two of his being down and a third having a car already on it.  BUT it was done and I no longer need to think about a front coil spring taking out a fender!  Amazingly, there isn't a "night & day" difference, but things like bridge expansion joints are way nicer to drive over.  I'll have a better idea of the difference once the less-than-perfectly-balanced snow tires are off, which should be done today, and new tires are installed (hopefully later this week if Taxi Guy's lifts are repaired). 

So assuming the shocks that got replaced were original, they lasted 149,619 miles and about 14 years.  The ones on 2.0 leaked but these never did.  Then again, 3.0's and Mom's '11 had a front coil spring break, but 2.0 never had than happen despite being driven aggressively for years. 

Reattaching a Power Door Lock Actuator in Mom's 2011 Ford Crown Victoria

A while ago, my mother asked me what a certain noise was in her 2011 Crown Vic.  She also said the passenger door lock wasn't working.  It didn't take long for me to figure out the big rivet that holds the power door lock actuator to the door itself had broken off.  When that rivet breaks, the power lock won't function correctly as it needs to be firmly attached to the door to work.  This happened years ago to Vic 1.0, and my old mechanic used a nut & bolt to fix it.  

I decided I wanted to do the job right, so I sourced the correct rivets, and FINALLY forced myself to do the job recently on a hot summer day, borrowing a capable riveter and a few tools from Bob at Belmont Seat Cover.  

If you need to do this repair, some of the tools you'll need are a T25 torx, a 7mm socket, panel remover tool, patience.  The rivets I went with are Auto Body Master part number PM49930, purchased at Checkered Flag in Ayer MA.  There are others out there that will work, but I didn't need 100 of them!  Make sure they have a dome-like appearance like the originals.  

I didn't take photos when I started the project as I was just plain too distracted.  But taking the door panel off is a bit easier with this panel than the 1998 style ones, other than needing something other than a Phillips screw driver.  The most important thing to remember is, if someone hasn't already, DO NOT break the plastic tab off the switch panel!    This is very easy to do if you don't know about the problem.  Once you break it, the panel will never sit snug again without "persuasion".  And unless you have a black interior, finding a replacement will no longer be a simple task.  

Below are some "maps" to help you with this job.  Again, I didn't think to take pics until it was too late, but something's better than nothing!

Once you remove all hardware, simply lift the door panel up and off the door itself.  Feel around and you will find the lock actuator is just sort of hanging, thus banging around in the door, driving you nuts, and also making it so your power lock won't function correctly.  You will see the cad-plated bracket with a hole in it, perhaps even the remnant of broken rivet like in Mom's door.  You can clearly see the hole in the bracket, and how it should line up with the hole in the door.  I used some sticky black goo to help hold the two together while we prepped the riveter.  Then, POP went the rivet and the repair was all done!

Next, I taped up the black shield thingy and slipped the door panel back on... forgetting to line the lock knob up properly with the hole in the panel like I do every single time!!  Plug the switch panel back in, carefully pop it back on, and you're good to go.  

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

136,735 Mile Update: Start Me Up!

Long time, no update! Vic has been putting along just fine... until yesterday.

I had noticed it sounded a little funny the last time I had started it up. The "funny" seemed familiar. I filed it away in my brain for future reference, and it came in handy not long after... like yesterday morning when I was about to go out and run some errands. Not to mention my mother wanting to also get out of the driveway.

I turned the key, and CLICK. Wouldn't start. Wouldn't crank.

Tried it a second time, DITTO.

All the dash lights went on like normal, and I could hear the fuel pump go on, so when it did start on the third try, I knew it was most likely the starter going bad.

A phone call later, I was on the way to Taxi Guy for repairs. I lucked out and got the job done along with an overdue oil change before the evening rush hour!

Thing is, I swore I had already had the starter done in 3.0. But Taxi Guy said it looked original, so it must have been 2.0. I believe that makes one for each Vic. And given the wide variety of miles on each car, they must wear out with age.

Why share a photo of Vic 3.0 next to some boring office building?  Well, that building is the headquarters of Welch's, as in Concord Grape jam and juice, and those green things behind Vic are actual grape vines growing from cuttings of the original vine!  I knew I was probably on camera so I didn't pick any of the grapes, but I did pick one up off the ground and it smelled just like their juice.