What i didn't say was the Town Car's were changing the oil every 4k.
How come cars last to 300k miles with dino @ 4k change?
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That in most sense is totally false. the 94-96 9c1 Caprice equipped w/ the LT1 engine had the same engine and trans as my 1995 Buick Roadmaster, and the same engine and trans as a Impala SS. Same for the Crown Vic. Most of the time a vehicle suited for police use, has upgraded options such as heavy duty suspension, and HD cooling such as Power Steering Coolers, Extra TRans cooler, and External Oil coolers.
Police service vehicles really aren't that far off what you get off the lot.
Take for example the Crown Vic, has a 3.27 or 3.55 final drive, pre wired for radio and sirens/lights, a thicker set of tires, increased suspension (sway bar, spring rates) the tranny is the same as any other vic, and dual exhaust (the new ones only have 250 hp) And some other cosmetic crap for officers like bucket seats and calibrated speedo, engine hour guage (very cool new edition). The don't have RACING tranny's though lol.
Police Crown Vics also have a differwent PCM calibration. It just increases idle speed by 100 RPM to boost alternator output and water pump flow. Ford assumed a lot of these cars were going to sit idling a loooong time. Ford tried to run a smaller alternator pulley to bump up low speed output but there were shrapnel problems.
Huh didn't know that.
The one I drive at work is just rolling 133,000kms and it'll be replaced in a week or so, still runs great never had a problem with that car, it's a 2001 I believe.
You can also get this function in an aftermarket add-on, I believe it's called an "idle up" kit and typically installed on ambulances and police cars and other vehicles that idle a lot but don't have that function from the factory.
I bought one with 127k miles on it. The only things that went wrong were the intake manifold cracked (common), but I already had most the parts to swap it to the newer style for 10 more hp. =) The cracking just gave me a reason to do it.
That and the normal suspension parts that do wear out after close to 150k miles.
After auto-rx it now gets 21 to 23 mpg on the highway.
However, I have no service records prior to when I bought it.
Another thing my "cop motor" has is a oil to water cooler that most crown vics don't come with. I think the "sport" editions did, but not the regular ones.
That and the normal suspension parts that do wear out after close to 150k miles.
After auto-rx it now gets 21 to 23 mpg on the highway.
However, I have no service records prior to when I bought it.
Another thing my "cop motor" has is a oil to water cooler that most crown vics don't come with. I think the "sport" editions did, but not the regular ones.
Because over the last 30 years, introduction of computers into the manufacturing and design of cars has led to better and more consistent products made with better materials.
Introduction of computers into running cars makes for better fuel control, better combustion, lower emissions which creates a less contaminants for oil to deal with.
Lubrication products are better too.....
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They last that long because people keep fixing them. The type of oil used (syn or dino) has very little to do with things.
Maintenance AND quality. What's likely to last longer? my Kia Sedona or another's Toyota Sienna? Hondas, Toyotas, Subarus are built better, and I guess, with better parts. Remember when Volksvagen opened a US plant (PA?). One of their gripes was they couldn't get sufficient quality from the American parts manufacturers (suppliers). Years ago, Volvas were reported to last an average of 16 years to owners in Norway.
Can I add, repeated cold winter starts and road salt to that.
Well, the salt will most likely kill the rest of the car.
My 380k Civic's two unscheduled events were noisy 5-speed bearings (replaced with seals and nothing else) and one worn camshaft lobe (cam and one rocker replaced, along with valve seals). The head has never been off, I've used synthetic oil and am in the middle of an ARX treatment. I think the secret is weather, driving conditions and habits, and maintenance, in that order. But if one fails, thay all fail.
Because changing dino oil every 4k is good enough, and more than a lot of people think to do it. Where I live rust gets them anyway, so most cars see 10 years and 150k at most and then they're scrap.
please explain "shrapnel"
Most of the Crown Vic's where I live that are cabs blow blue smoke behind them. Those things are running 24hours a day according to some of the cabbies. Many run on natural gas which burns cleaner.
The blue smoke is usually from bad valve guides, which is apparently a common problem in the pre-modular 302's.
I've never seen cop cars blowing blue smoke.... except after they've become cabs. They probably get better maintenance, then the maintenance falls off when they become cabs. The last crwon vic cab I was in had 800k km's (480k miles). It was blowing some smoke but the cabbie said it was the original motor. Other cabbies are swearing by the dodge intrepids.
The blue smoke is usually from bad valve guides, which is apparently a common problem in the pre-modular 302's.
I've never seen cop cars blowing blue smoke.... except after they've become cabs. They probably get better maintenance, then the maintenance falls off when they become cabs. The last crwon vic cab I was in had 800k km's (480k miles). It was blowing some smoke but the cabbie said it was the original motor. Other cabbies are swearing by the dodge intrepids.
The problem here was pre 1999 Crown vics (4.6l) had valve train problems that wore pre maturely, causing the "blue smoke" they started smoking around 100k kms. I believe in 2000 when they received there boost in power (new head?) the problem went away.
Let me add that when I posted my message about owning severe service vehicles only one has an actual Police package, my 96 Crown Vic. The police cars I buy come from the Cumberland County auctions, who recieve former duty cars from a lot of rural and small town departments that use primarily civillian model crown vics and impalas that are outfitted with lights and partitions. There are no differences in engines or transmissions from these police cars over what the average old lady putting around town has in her car.
It's the same with the taxi's. There are about four different vehicles that are used by the various fleets in and around Fayetteville; Buick Century's and Regals, Crown Vic's, Oldsmobile Cutlass Station wagons and a few Caprice's. The Crown Vic's are primarily bought new from the local Ford dealer and are just plain old stock vehicles, the Buick's and Olds are bought from the state auction in Raleigh really cheap and are former Mail Carrier vehicles with no mods done to enhance performance; these 3.1 equipped cars are very well spoken of in terms of reliability and frequently surpass the 600,000 mile mark before any type of overhauls take place.
The few Caprices still out on the road are the only ones I know of that are real former patrol cars that have the Police Package upgrades.
My point is that these ultra abused cars don't have any "magic" upgrades to engines or transmissions. In most cases they don't have real "fleet" maintenance done to them, it is the primary driver's responsibility to keep up with service intervals (which may or may not mean they had regular oil changes done to them). The taxi driver's HATE former cop cars because the ones that the taxi owners bring in usually have the guts ran out of them, already have a million miles on them, or just plain suck gas.
The ones that were maintained have documented 3k oil changes, and I keep up the routine. These cars never saw a DROP of synthetic, most already have 100k when I get em, and are usually 8-10 years old and have had the h*ll driven out of them. I usually get AT LEAST another 3 or 400k out of them, and yes it's usually the tranny that sends them to the graveyard.
Sorry to ramble but a lot of people have the misconception that
a) All taxi's are former cop cars
b) all cop cars have the high performance upgrades
c) service vehicles regularly see the inside of a mechanic's garage and recieve 3k oil changes, etc.
d) running synthetic in them will increase the longevity of the engine
IMHO it all boils down to regular maintenace, and synthetic/dyno is irrevelant if the cars been neglected.
It's the same with the taxi's. There are about four different vehicles that are used by the various fleets in and around Fayetteville; Buick Century's and Regals, Crown Vic's, Oldsmobile Cutlass Station wagons and a few Caprice's. The Crown Vic's are primarily bought new from the local Ford dealer and are just plain old stock vehicles, the Buick's and Olds are bought from the state auction in Raleigh really cheap and are former Mail Carrier vehicles with no mods done to enhance performance; these 3.1 equipped cars are very well spoken of in terms of reliability and frequently surpass the 600,000 mile mark before any type of overhauls take place.
The few Caprices still out on the road are the only ones I know of that are real former patrol cars that have the Police Package upgrades.
My point is that these ultra abused cars don't have any "magic" upgrades to engines or transmissions. In most cases they don't have real "fleet" maintenance done to them, it is the primary driver's responsibility to keep up with service intervals (which may or may not mean they had regular oil changes done to them). The taxi driver's HATE former cop cars because the ones that the taxi owners bring in usually have the guts ran out of them, already have a million miles on them, or just plain suck gas.
The ones that were maintained have documented 3k oil changes, and I keep up the routine. These cars never saw a DROP of synthetic, most already have 100k when I get em, and are usually 8-10 years old and have had the h*ll driven out of them. I usually get AT LEAST another 3 or 400k out of them, and yes it's usually the tranny that sends them to the graveyard.
Sorry to ramble but a lot of people have the misconception that
a) All taxi's are former cop cars
b) all cop cars have the high performance upgrades
c) service vehicles regularly see the inside of a mechanic's garage and recieve 3k oil changes, etc.
d) running synthetic in them will increase the longevity of the engine
IMHO it all boils down to regular maintenace, and synthetic/dyno is irrevelant if the cars been neglected.
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