Picked up a 2000 Crown Victoria yesterday

Did that era have the Air Suspendion? If it does check the Air bags. All the general items have been mentioned. It should have a fuel filter. Think the rear end needed a friction modifier additive. Had The IAC go bad on a panther sibling as well as air bags. Battery is a good old 65 series. Had AC control module go out too. Good solid cars. Reasonable parts costs.
 
The traction control is ABS-based, if you have an ABS fault, it will disable TC until the fault is fixed.
Good to know, thanks. I'll see if I can pull the ABS codes, my generic OBD2 interface doesn't have that ability unfortunately. I believe I already fixed the P0443 code as the connector was just unplugged and down behind the engine cover for the EVAP purge valve. The EVAP lines do look fairly worn so I will see about replacing those as well. Probably the cause of the P0455 code. Definitely needs oil change, coolant flush, rear end fluid and gasket, serpentine belt, and I need to figure out the speed sensor code. The tires, transmission fluid, and brakes+fluid all look good, though the rotors have a bit of rust on them from sitting. The frame is surprisingly not very rusty at all and the exhaust looks fine too, although at the very back side has a bit of rot at the end where the exhaust hanger has fallen off on the passenger side. Probably due to salt accumulation and a lack of getting it cleaned out after winter but I'm sure I can rig something up to hold the exhaust in place.

All in all, I'd say this should work well after a few maintenance items and a couple repairs. I did manage to get the passenger door open where the damage is with a little work with a pry bar. I'll end up coating it all with some paint to help hold down the rust. Still won't be pretty but at least the door can open now. AC actually works too and heat worked a bit on the way home with it yesterday although it was only a 5 minute drive so I'm not sure it had time to heat up all the way. Same when I test drove it, it was just starting to get warm when I got back. Are these engine slow warmers like the old Chevy 350 TBI motors? My old 95 Tahoe would take 30+ minutes to warm up, when I get the tires back on and fill the radiator back up to do a full flush I'll take it on a longer drive to make sure there are no heating issues.
 
Nobody seems to have mentioned the exhaust manifold studs rusting out, the rear spark plugs not having enough threads or the egr pipe rusting out. Those were known weaknesses on that engine. I have an 01 150 with that motor. 165k and runs like a top. Exhaust manifold studs and egr was replaced before I bought it. They are good engines.
I'm fairly certain the exhaust manifolds are an engine-out job. I did them on mine before I dropped the new engine in. My EGR tube was rusty (only rusty thing on the car) but I used the better one from the donor engine. Which isn't great. And I can't find another one of course.
 
Did that era have the Air Suspendion? If it does check the Air bags. All the general items have been mentioned. It should have a fuel filter. Think the rear end needed a friction modifier additive. Had The IAC go bad on a panther sibling as well as air bags. Battery is a good old 65 series. Had AC control module go out too. Good solid cars. Reasonable parts costs.
Only the real high end models. Even my higher trim Grand Marquis LS came with coil springs from the factory.
 
I’d use 5W-30 even if it calls for 20-weight…if she neglects oil changes and it burns some oil, it may lose less on 30-weight. Just a thought.
 
Only the real high end models. Even my higher trim Grand Marquis LS came with coil springs from the factory.
Yep, no air bags on this one. Its a mid level trim I believe as it has leather and some extra options from what I would expect in a base trim.
 
I’d use 5W-30 even if it calls for 20-weight…if she neglects oil changes and it burns some oil, it may lose less on 30-weight. Just a thought.
I planned on that anyway. I still have a bunch of the 5W30 Shell Gas truck oil that I picked up for super cheap when it was on clearance around here. Just need an oil filter as I don't have any laying around my garage that will fit this engine.
 
A dinosaur going to a good cause.
OP is a great guy doing a good turn.
Its a lot better than her current vehicle for certain. She asked me to look at it, which is what started this entire new car search, and its pretty much a rolling death trap at this point. Its to the point where it is not worth fixing anything on it.
 
I'm fairly certain the exhaust manifolds are an engine-out job. I did them on mine before I dropped the new engine in. My EGR tube was rusty (only rusty thing on the car) but I used the better one from the donor engine. Which isn't great. And I can't find another one of course.
Exhaust manifold problem is usually a stud failure. Both can be fixed with engine in place.
 
Good to know, thanks. I'll see if I can pull the ABS codes, my generic OBD2 interface doesn't have that ability unfortunately. I believe I already fixed the P0443 code as the connector was just unplugged and down behind the engine cover for the EVAP purge valve. The EVAP lines do look fairly worn so I will see about replacing those as well. Probably the cause of the P0455 code. Definitely needs oil change, coolant flush, rear end fluid and gasket, serpentine belt, and I need to figure out the speed sensor code. The tires, transmission fluid, and brakes+fluid all look good, though the rotors have a bit of rust on them from sitting. The frame is surprisingly not very rusty at all and the exhaust looks fine too, although at the very back side has a bit of rot at the end where the exhaust hanger has fallen off on the passenger side. Probably due to salt accumulation and a lack of getting it cleaned out after winter but I'm sure I can rig something up to hold the exhaust in place.

All in all, I'd say this should work well after a few maintenance items and a couple repairs. I did manage to get the passenger door open where the damage is with a little work with a pry bar. I'll end up coating it all with some paint to help hold down the rust. Still won't be pretty but at least the door can open now. AC actually works too and heat worked a bit on the way home with it yesterday although it was only a 5 minute drive so I'm not sure it had time to heat up all the way. Same when I test drove it, it was just starting to get warm when I got back. Are these engine slow warmers like the old Chevy 350 TBI motors? My old 95 Tahoe would take 30+ minutes to warm up, when I get the tires back on and fill the radiator back up to do a full flush I'll take it on a longer drive to make sure there are no heating issues.
My truck with the 4.6 is a very slow warmer. Guessing it’s the cast iron block.
 
Turned out to be a bad heater core, which I have replaced along with the blend door actuator since that was recommended to be done as it is a known issue. Taking the dash apart really wasn't that bad since it all comes apart as one piece. The front steering bushings also need replaced, which I found out while finishing up the coolant flush after the heater core swap. Got a kit on the way for that so hopefully it will be fully done by this weekend. Then it should be ready to drive without any major issues.
 
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