Hold it. Several years ago tens of thousands of Police Departments used Crown Vics. Marquis and Vics are the same car (I think)
I believe air bags can go off with battery disconnected.@shiny You might actually be able to do this job better than many men.
Sometimes in these picky jobs hand clearance is the major issue. So if you have small hands and you're comfortable lying upside down in the foot-well for awhile, you might be able to get your hands in there and take those final bolts out better than many men. You'll need a few tools of course - a good small and bright flashlight, a set of metric wrenches, a set of 3/8" metric sockets and possibly a flex connector/universal connector for the 3/8" socket set.
You Crown Vic guys will know whether the bolts here are are Metric or English. Sounds like they're Metric. Are they?
What have you got to lose? If you can't get it out, you just put it all back together again and you'll have blown an evening or half day for nothing. Or pay the mechanics to finish the job. Just be sure to disconnect the battery. You don't need the airbag going off and hurting you.
Keep it.My 2008 P71 has 203,000 miles on it, 90% of which have been easy highway miles. I've maintained it immaculately. The engine and transmission run like they're brand new. Zero drips. Burns a cup of 10w/30 oil over 10,000 mile OCIs. Tires and battery are like new, radiator and coolant system are excellent, brakes and rotors are in great shape. Every mechanic who works on it tells me they've never seen a car with this many miles be so perfect.
The only thing wrong with it has been the blasted blend door actuator motor. It's stuck on cool, thank heavens. It's a $40 part with $1000 in labor to replace it. I haven't wanted to spend the money. I can live with no heat in Phoenix's brief, mild winters, but can't live without A/C nine months of the year.
Freon is now low; my A/C isn't blowing cold. I have an appointment next week to check it. If a simple fill will do the trick, great! But I don't know how expensive it will be if they need to replace seals or do anything more complicated. If somehow the blend door got moved to heat and it's going to be a $1000+ job to get in there and fix it, then I need to consider how much money I want to put into a car this old. Should I trade it in on a lower mileage Vic?
There's a place in town that sells retired Crown Vic fleet cars. They only have a few left. Their low-mileage Vics are running $6000+ and they won't give me much for this one in a trade. I'd want to keep my tires, battery, and satellite radio.
This car I know and trust. Any new Vic would be a mechanical cr*pshoot. Whether I keep this car or get a lower mileage one, parts are getting harder to find. How much longer can I expect to drive this one before it starts needing a lot of money to keep it running? Parts-wise, how much longer can I expect to drive ANY Crown Vic?
I would love to hear your thoughts, but please note that I AM NOT A MECHANIC. Aside from checking the fluids and replacing the headlights, I DON'T WORK ON MY OWN CAR. My late husband worked on our cars, but now I'm on my own facing down mechanics. Thanks for listening.
That's an interesting idea and if true, a concern.I believe air bags can go off with battery disconnected.
Put another 50,000 on and decide then.Keep it.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.Those aren't attractive cars but they are reliable and you seem to have a well maintained one. No reason to sell unless you WANT something new or need the utility or a larger vehicle or the safety of a newer one.
Most agencies do not have them anymore so most people won't move over for them. To have fun like you want you need a Charger,Explorer Utility,Tahoe,Durango,Caprice or Taurus. Still a lot of 2010-2013 Caprices on patrol in my neck of the woods.Thinking one of these would be fun to drive around in, come up fast on a left lane Hog and see how fast they move over.
There is a capacitor that stores power so it can still deploy in a case of battery disconnect/etc during a crash. Generally it's considered drained to a safe level 30 minutes after the battery is disconnected, but many don't really take that long.That's an interesting idea and if true, a concern.
I think we'd all like to hear of evidence (or at least reports) of this happening.
That makes sense. So you wait for 30 minutes, or an hour for good measure.There is a capacitor that stores power so it can still deploy in a case of battery disconnect/etc during a crash. Generally it's considered drained to a safe level 30 minutes after the battery is disconnected, but many don't really take that long.
If by good you mean, good for your mechanic because you'll average over $500 more per year in maintenance + repairs, then yes modern vehicles are good for being money pits, especially as they get older. If you mean keep replacing them before they get old then you eat another $10K+ doing so. IMO the only way to beat the TCO on a full sized sedan is to be gifted an Avalon instead.Some of us have moved on from the dinosaurs of yesteryear. There are a lot of good automobiles made in the last 10 years or so. Of course-let's all gather around the VIC, join hands and sing "Kumbaya".
30 minutes is the good measure, they're usually drained enough in single-digit minutes (most common spec is 60 to 120 seconds).That makes sense. So you wait for 30 minutes, or an hour for good measure.
Some of us have moved on from the dinosaurs of yesteryear. There are a lot of good automobiles made in the last 10 years or so. Of course-let's all gather around the VIC, join hands and sing "Kumbaya".
I know shop mechanics are instructed to carry air bags at an arms distance. I believe capacitors are used in air bag circuitry , which store an electric charge for a significant time. These can energize an air bag wo being connected to a battery. I guess one could wait for the charge to dissipate to be safe but for how long?That's an interesting idea and if true, a concern.
I think we'd all like to hear of evidence (or at least reports) of this happening.