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Replace tape player (bad contact), under warranty
Front brakes (2 yrs. ago, too much wear)
All tires (this year)
Plus oil and other regular stuff.
I was driving on the Highway today at around 60mph. I accelerated trying to go a little faster but the car hesitates a little. Should I be concerned when a 4cyl 89 toyota whizzes by??
Thanks!!
foot note the REAR shock specs with "not for self leveling suspension" or "not with air
suspension". However, other sources don't make an issue of it. I called Bilstein USA but can't get
a straight up answer. Also talked with two shops that sell Bilsteins and claim to have installed
them on "air bagger Vics" but can't say how good/bad they worked out. Has anybody tried this
combo...any down side?
By: Robert Lane
Updated:
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. " - Martin Luther King Jr.
Ford Motor Company will extend the recall (01M02) on 4.6L V8 equipped vehicles with plastic intake manifolds. Some of the composite intake manifolds used on 4.6L SOHC engines may develop fatigue cracks at the coolant crossover duct. This condition could result in engine coolant leakage which, if not serviced, may cause engine overheating. Complete loss of coolant may result in engine damage or engine failure.
The updated recall now includes:
• Certain 1996 through 2001 Model Year Crown Victoria Police Interceptor
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Model Year Crown Victoria with Taxi
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Lincoln Town Car Limousine and Livery Prep Package
• Certain 1996-2001 Crown Victoria Taxis, Police cars and Lincoln Town Car Limousine and Livery cars.
• Certain 1996 through 1997 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at the St. Thomas Assembly Plant from the beginning of production for the 1996 Model Year through January 28, 1997.
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at the St. Thomas Assembly Plant from November 22, 1997 through December 15, 2000.
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Crown Victoria Taxi Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at the St. Thomas Assembly Plant from November 22, 1997 through December 15, 2000.
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Lincoln Town Car Limousine Prep Package and Livery Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at the Wixom Assembly Plant from November 22, 1997 through December 15, 2000.
If an intake manifold coolant leak is detected, the dealer will replace the intake manifold. Owners of the affected cars are being notified that additional coverage for this specific condition is being provided. The coverage will be for 7 years from the warranty start date of the vehicle (no mileage limitation). This additional coverage is automatically transferred to subsequent owners.
Read it and weep! To make the firestone tire debacle worse Ford comes out with another TSB fessing up to what we already know about their plastic resin intakes. This is not very comforting knowing the intake can "go south" rendering your vehicle undriveable in the middle of BFE. Enough of this can any third party come out with a metal intake?...I'd be willing to pay with my own money to get this fixed for once and for all.
For all my belly aching about my 2001 GM with the offset seats & erongomic shortcomings, I have not experienced the steering wheel vibration problem. Mechanically, the car seems to handle (P&H package is a must) rather well for such a large boat. I have to admit that the gas mileage is horrible with the P&H. I get around 15 city, 21 highway. I could be driving an SUV with this kind of MPG.
I did successfully reengineer the drive seat to be in-line with the steering wheel. The misalignment at drove me crazy. But the fix is not for the faint-hearted. I also rebuilt the cushioning in the seat to make it softer. If you look at the older seat design (1993) vs the 2001, you can easily see why the newer seat is firmer/harder/hurts my toosh! In the newer models, 1/2 of the seat is spring, the rest is sheetmetal. The older seats are all spring suspension. Most people don't notice this, but my boney-butt hurt too much. I admit this is a unique problem I have. I loved the Avalon when I checked it out last year, but the seats were way too hard. Now with all my seat reengineering experience, I may give it another try.
I have been fairly miserable for the 7 months I've owned this car. I too was very unhappy with it from day 3 of ownership. I'm giving it 1-2 more months to see if my latest seat redesign is comfy. You can't tell I did anything b looking at it- all the changes have been under the inner foam. The upholstry is identical to factory. I'f I'm not happy by the end of June, I will sell this car and face the financial hit. Unfortunately, my family, as passengers, loves this car. Figures....
SamG
Compared to my '93 Grand Marquis that has given me 168,000 miles of good service, lots of space and comfort, 22-24 MPG on the highway and a tow rating of 5000 lbs., the new Grand Marquis and Crown Vic's ride like a "basketball"; have plastic intake manifolds that not only fail but took Ford a long time to "confess to"; have strange vibrations Ford can't fix, and the cars aren't built strong enough to tow more than 2000 lbs!! Let's see now---what do you think is going to happen to sales?
Somebody at Ford that has a little passion and vision needs to take over this line of cars.
General comments regarding the CV/GM : You guys forgot to add BORING to your list of gripes. My 2000 GM is both generally boring to drive (although you gotta love anything with a V8) and extraordinarily boring in its reliablity so far (25k). As an FYI: previous car was an Accord. Its reliablity was.... 'sporatically annoying'. However, the Honda dealer I dealt with was first-class, the Lincoln/Mercury/Jaguar dealer I dealt with is populated by morons..
Gas Mileage: Yes, I typically average 22-23 mpg with a 100 mile daily round-trip commute (mostly highway). Most folks I know with mid to full-sized SUV's are lucky to get mid-teens on long highway trips.
The ride: My opinion is that the handling/performance package needs better shock calibration, as rebound control is pretty lousy over bumps.... and yes, these cars are not the mush-mobiles of the '70's, but personally, I think the ride is not at all 'harsh' compared to the 'big sellers': Accord, Camry, et al.... or better yet...an SUV...
The manifold: My take is this: if it blows around 100k or whatever, and not much else breaks, then no problem, fix it, and I got another 100k to go...even though I'll probably only keep the car to 125 or 150k. But, if it blows at say 50k....well, it gets fixed, I trade-in on something else...simple as that. (I know this is not an option for everybody).
And Ford people look OK here - I had only one problem with the car - tape quality, which was fixed by local Ford guys with no hassle - just dropped in, they took it out, and next time they put it back all working fine, no papers involved (had warranty). And funny - Honda people are not as eager to fix hondas, friend of mine never got speedometer fixed in his brand new accord (shows 5 mph more than it is) - they think it is not a big deal, somewhere in specs it said +-10% is OK. And another friend would never go to Honda with his older Accord again.
The best cars in the world (Mercedes, BMW, Lexus) have rear wheel drive and most have a V-8. With a little effort and not too much cost, Ford could turn the Crown Vic and Marquis into great cars---not what they are now!
When I purchased this car, I did it solely because I wanted something large, safe, quiet (anyone who has had a Honda knows they aren't), comfortable, mechanically simple with a good reliability record, preferably rear-drive and inexpensive.. So what were my choices..?
Yes, I could buy a Merc, BMW, Lexus if I wanted too, but they are neither inexpensive to buy or maintain in a high-mileage per-year scenerio or mechanically simple ... not a practical use of my money, in my opinion.
Seems, that because of the manifold, I may have taken a big risk, eh? Well, so be it... my experience so far does not bear that out. If the risk bothers you, and rightly so, perhaps, I encourage you to shop elsewhere...
.... I can still remember that I was somewhat disturbed when they started putting plastic exterior rear-view mirrors on cars... 'what cheap junk, said I'...
Have had my 2001 since Dec and it only has 900 miles on it. Like my 93 with 120K better. 93 rides better, sits better, has better arm rests on the seats, and I can punch the radio buttons without leaning forward. The 2001 has a little more power, is quieter, and had a better radio although it is still a lousy sound system.
Good luck.
Ken
Read my notes above. I have investigated & researched the seats ad nauseum. I have the expolded dwgs from the parts guy at dealership, and just seeing the construciton of the '93 vs 2001 seat, you won't be surprised.
I had more cushioning & foam modifications done one week into owning my car, based upon the recommendation of my dealer. Cost me almost $500, and was not a good experience. I'm very picky, and soon learned I'd have to make my own changes. But I did learn how to take apart the seat easily without removing it from the car. This is key.
Around Oct, Ford made a change to the upholstry from the flat to the squared design, similar to the LS. They offered to swap my old seat for a new one if I liked. I did not do this. You may want to try this approach with your dealer.
I DID buy a '93 seat from a junk yard, hoping to either use it's internal parts in the 2001 seat, or simply install the '93 into my new car. It kinda was dirty & cigarette smelly, so choose to use the lower seat spring coils from the 93 & added them to my 2001. I did a bunch of other stuff to relieve the "hump between your legs" feeling. What you feel is a solid slab of sheetmetal, no sensor. This has made the seat more comfortable, but I may have gone too far and now it may be too soft. I know this because I now have newly discovered back pain. Arg! I'm now dickering with it to try & get it just right.
I'm very close to giving up & buying another car. This is not a pleasant experience. I wish I had my old '93 Sable. Ergonomically, it was perfect. Unfortunately, the head gaskets & brakes weren't. I'm learning you can fix those much more easily than a seat. It's crazy, I know.
If you want more info, you can e-mail me off-line at CLGSM@attglobal.net
SamG
SamG
Question, is all CV's for 2002 being stretched, or are they building a short and long platform next year?
What are the changes for the new 2003 redesign?
I guess there is something wrong with the window driving circuit - did you blow the window motors? I would check the driving voltage, might be too high. I don't know the circuit, it might have some "constant current/voltage" or something, which would include some chip or transistors, perhaps a switching current/voltage stabilizer, those thing can produce more voltage when they start to oscillate due to bad feedback. One may need an oscilloscope to test it, simple tester will only pick an average voltage.
I just upgraded from a '99 Sable to '00 GM program car (16K). So far, I'm very impressed. Much quieter than the Sable, and more stable in (side) windy conditions. I've noticed a little front wheel/steering jiggling over RR tracks, for example. Has anyone installed Bilstein shocks on their GM? If so, what are your experiences? Worth the swap? (I put them on a small motorhome, and the difference was amazing.)
Also, my first mileage check was 23 mpg with most of that being around town. That's as good as I was getting on the Sable! (I don't run races from stop lights or drive it hard.)
Thanks for any help.
Obviously the regulator is OK, and it burns because of something else, it might be abusive load (motor takes too much current, something wrong with it, or there is an occasional shortcircuit in wires, though the circuit must have electronic protection for that), or the power which comes to the circuit is not normal. If it is under computer control (most probable), then the computer program itself may abuse it by continuing powering window while it has reached the limit. Anyway, the circuit is not the problem. It is like keeping replacing flat tire while your garage floor is full of loose nails.
Crown Vic named the Blackhawk? Will it be built
or will we have to wait for the Marauder?
If it stumbles at idle but not full throttle, some of the possiblities include:
--A vacuum leak.
--A bad air flow sensor
--A bad throttle position sensor
If you haven't changed plugs and wires, it might be worth changing them, but, if they were bad, it shouldn't run well at full throttle either.
Good Luck.
I am thinking of buying a 1997 GM GS model from a family friend. It has 30K miles. The interior and exterior are excellent. This will be a family car. I have two questions.
#1 Is $11,500 a good price?
#2 How long is the original warranty in effect. Is the drive train still covered?
Thank You
PM
Try logging onto this website
https://www.ownerconnection.com/FormsLoginSSL.asp?Make=Unbranded&Model=default&L=49&N=840
This is Fords website and once in go into glovebox and you can download the owners manuall for your vehicle.
Good luck
However, I think that the CV/Blackhawk has a better look from the front than the Marauder. Except for the front, the rest of the Marauder is basically all CV anyway, especially in the rear.
I like the CV blacked out grille better than the Marauder's slightly modified grille. To me, once they took out the hump in the upper part of the grille on the Merc, the car started to remind me of the Cougar front end a few years back.
I saw a CV with the Sports package at the NY autoshow. I don't believe the grille was body color, and I don't remember the car being anymore monochromatic than a regular CV. But, it was 1) locked and 2) parked in front of the Marauder, which really had all my attention. (However, I think I've seen pictures of a red CV with the Sports Package and mono grille either in a magazine or at another autoshow.)
I know what I'm going to say it blasphemy and the slings and arrows will be forthcoming, but I actually like some of the half vinyl roof treatmants that I've seen on the GM.
I am not a fan of vinyl tops (I've seen a few vinyl topped LS's at the local Lincoln dealer and disliked them), but, on the GM, some of the installations have made the rear window and roofline more attractive. (The rear window is set deeper due to the padding, similar to the late 80's TownCars, and the padding covers all the ugly c-panel exposed seams.) Unfortunately, some go overboard with the opera light treament and chrome band over the b-panel and roof.
Has anyone actually sat in a CV or GM with the bucket seats? If so, how are they comfort-wise?