I have an 08 Ford Crown Victoria police interceptor, it has 144,560 Miles.
there is a knocking noise not sure if it's the engine or rattling from the loose tensioner pulley, (idle pulley I think), also it's only at low RPM 1000x or lower.... once I'm accelerating it doesn't really sound anymore. As well as sometimes when I'm idling ill hear it and sometimes no... so that's why I think it's just the tensioner.
Also while engine was running I saw the tensioner shift up and down. Is that normal?
I also hear a clunk when I hit the gas so that could be the tensioner going back into place...
Also while going up hill when the car switches the gear it has a hard time feels like it slips, but it does make the shift and is able to reach highway speeds with no problem, at 90 MPH it is very smooth.
So should I worry about fixing the transmission?
Should I keep it in first gear while climbing though hills?
Anyway anything too serious I should be worried about? Obviously if it's actually the engine then there's a big problem not worth fixing definitely not worth more then $2k I paid for the thing
I made it over 500 miles on highway and NYC daily with no breakdowns so who knows
To pinpoint the knocking noise, remove the drive belt ( serpentine belt) and check to see if you hear the noise. If it stopped, then check all the pulleys.
Clunk noise while acceleration may be lots of things, e.g. the engine mounts,... again you should pinpoint it.
For the shifting uphills, inspect the ATF.
There is Scotty's opinion about used cop cars and your situation at 4:36
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_oGVIpzKFk
