Scotty, I have 2 cars. I want to get rid of one. What's your opinion?
First Car: 2002 Legacy Wagon L AWD Automatic. 192,590 miles. Owned car for 1 1/2 years. It needs a new head gasket, in warm weather it leaks a lot oil from 2 locations. In cold weather, doesn't leak as much. I replace front wheel bearings. Engine light is on. Digital Code Reader says it's an exhaust issue. The crazy thing, the car drives like a brand new car, even with these issues. Body and interior in great shape, original owner an older lady.
Second Car: 2003 Crown Vic Police Interceptor Automatic. 140,616 miles. Owned car for 2 1/2 years. Replaced fuel pump and front wheel bearing. When I first bought car, on a long trip to Saratoga NY, the transmission slipped. It happened 5 hours into the trip while in the mountains of Wilkes Barrie / Scranton, very scary experience. It has never happen since. I've never taken it on another long trip. The car drives very smoothly. Engine needs a little tweaking, stutters/hesitates when stepping on gas and AC/heat vents not working. I bought from a friend, well maintained, he had the car for 10 years. He had no transmission issues.
My brother and I are big fans. I would appreciate any insight you might have.
Joe
Boot the Legacy, save the Crown Vic.
Thanx, why would a transmission slip once?
Could be anything. Just a software glitch, some debris in the fluid. Who knows? If it only did it once I wouldn't be concerned about it.
Thanx
That’s a tough one.
I’d keep the cop car. They don’t make them anymore. And they are built like crazy.
Thanx
Since the Subaru needs a head gasket, I would go with the Ford. I would also sell the Ford and get a loan than would buy a Toyota Corolla with a manual transmission
Thanx, got a feeling gas prices will be going through the roof. Would really miss the huge trunk on the Vic!
Save the crown Vic, they’re reliable and special - and simple.
They’re super rare where I love but it’s such a joy to see those well built land yachts. (And not fake French ones 😄)
As much as I love Subaru it has already 200,000 and the head gasket is going bad… there’s no reason to even consider keeping it. Also at 200,000 miles the automatic will start to go out and at that kind of mileage I’ve seen AWD systems and diffs completely go bad.
Thanx, Why would Trany slip once on the Vic? Always scare, it would happen while driving on the highway.
I’m not sure what you exactly mean by “slipped” but if I’d be you I’d go to a place where they have diagnostic scan tools that’d allow you to see all of the trouble codes - I think it’s maybe a computer issue, or a solenoid maybe going bad (I don’t have experience with old 4 speed Ford’s - i spent most of my time on dual clutch ones)
I was driving 80 mph, all of sudden, still pressing on gas, engine was revving but not power was being transferred to the transmission, I was just coasting. Good idea will get diagnostic done.
Sounds like a torque converter issue… maybe a clogged up automatic tranny cooling system…
It’s very weird that it happened once.
Get rid of the Legacy.
Thanx
Keep the Vic as long as you aren't worried about gas prices. If you are, as another poster advised ditch them both and get a corolla. I also feel like gas prices are going to skyrocket soon.
No idea why the transmission would slip once....if you were up in the mountains maybe it was being worked pretty hard, and if it were in summer maybe the fluid got a bit hot? Just guesses on my part, I know very little about automatics.
If you keep the Vic you might identify the exact transmission in your car (likely to be different than normal crown vics since its an ex cop car), and check with a transmission shop to see how much it would cost just to rebuild one of those. At least you would have an idea of what you might be facing. And honestly, it must either have been rebuilt already or not used in daily police duty for it to have held up that well. Or I'm possibly underestimating those transmissions...but my experience has been that used cop cars are usually mechanically worn out when they are gotten rid of, regardless of mileage.
good point, thanx
Keep the Crown Vic, and after a while if your needs/wants change you could get something else.
definitely my plan, thanx
Do you know how many people are eager for a crown Victoria?
For some reason, lots people in the DC love cop cars. Will probably sell there.
Dump the Legacy.
Keep the Crown Vic. The police car version is very basic in design; parts are plentiful, readily available anywhere and cheap; you can do most all of the repairs yourself with basic hand tools; minimalist and basic computer system; any competent mechanic anywhere can work on them. Most consider the 2003 and 2004 models the best because they got the upgraded frame, last horsepower boost, a few other things and it's the final two years of drive-by-physical-cable before they switched to drive-by-electronic-wire in 2005.
Same comments as the others, take it to a shop about the trans slip. Might be old fluid, a clogged filter, shift linkage might need an adjustment, or some other problem. It's a 2003 so it should have the 4R70W transmission and with the cops hammering it they can tend to develop a puncture in the pressure plate. Google the J-Mod for these.
Just watch for a few things with the Vic. 1. Intake manifold will need to be replaced at some point; watch for coolant leaks. 2. Watch for oil leaks from the add-on engine oil cooler; you can convert back to the civilian model and delete this if it becomes a problem. Generally the leaks are from the plate the oil filter screws on to. 3. Keep an eye on the lower ball joints. 4. Peeling paint; especially if yours is white. For the ac/heat issue, there are videos on YouTube on how to fix that or check out http://www.crownvic.net; could be a vacuum leak, blend door actuator or blend door hinge.
Keep in mind, no old car is perfect and every old car will need repairs at some point for different things. The Vic will just cost you less to maintain.
As a cvpi owner myself I’d keep the Vic, the police interceptor shift harder to save the transmission I know it sounds wild, but honestly I wouldn’t deal with that head gasket issue and other stuff, keep the Vic it’ll last longer I have a 2011 and 1994 crown Vic and both still run good they pass the test of time even though they are archaic. The only thing I say to watch out for is the intake manifold good lord they will go it’s crap, plastic crap
