94 Crown Vic Problems

Hi. I bought a 94 Crwon Vic LX with 113,000 miles on it about a month ago. Since then, I have noticed certain problems that bother me.

First: The Check Engine light comes on about 5 minutes after driving the vehicle. It does not come on if the car just sits and idles, however. The man that owned it before me said that it has come on for a long time. He had never had it checked, but he had called the Ford dealership, and they told him not to worry about it. Any thoughts? It just bothers me, is all.

Second: It uses oil. There is no smoke when you start the car, but after it is warm, when you start off from a stopsign or light you can see a little smoke from behind. If you sit for a long time with it in gear (like at a drive thru window) and then start off, it is really bad. Any idea on how to fix this, and if so, is it worth it?

Third: The tranny. Just today I was getting off the highway, and accelerating off of the ramp, the car started shuddering really badly, and as I continued on my way, it still did extremely weird things. When I stopped the car, turned it off, and started it up again, it ran fine all the way home. Also, occasionally when I slow down, the transmission seems to prematurely downshift and the whole car rapidly decelerates for a moment. Since there is no tach and the car is so quiet, it is almost impossible to tell you what gear it is in when these things happen.

Any advice would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!!!!

Thanks,

Daniel

the smoke is normal for these early to mid 90s crowns, watch others when ur in town most will do it. id have the engine light checked, it may just need computer reset, or hopefully for u just be a small cheap problem, u wouldnt want it to turn into something big. i hear the trannys sometimes turns out to be torque converter shudder, its supposed to be common on some. mines not doing it yet(93 p71) but i hear its common, my buddies 96 P71 does the same thing urs does. maybe a tranny flush and filter change will help.

look at the smoke and identify the problem, If it is white and has no strong odor it will be condensation if it does has a strong odor it will be burning coolant. If the smoke is black than it is fuel related and can usually be eliminated by a simple tune up. if the smoke has a blueish tint to it your burning oil which is caused by worn piston rings or worned out valve stem seals, suggestion would be a compression test by a reputable trust worthy mechanic. As for the engine light goto an AutoZone and have it checked for free more than likely it is a sensor like an O2 sensor they also sell a Haynes repair manual for the crown vic with engine codes in it. I think with the 94' model you can purchase an inexpensive code reader the newer models require the more expensive ones. A local dealer here quoted me a full computer diagnostic for around $100 bucks.

1) Most likely a problem in the EGR system. The MOST common cause is clogges passages in the lower intake below the TB housing. See www.lincolnsonline.com for a tech article on cleaning it up.

2) Yes, pre '95 4.6L engines are "known" for this. What happens is that the valve seals get hard and brittle due to heat and no longer seal the stems well enough. It can cause pinging and if REALLY bad foul the plugs in 60,000 miles or so. It is NOT something that is a "must fix", it will run virtually forever that way. Keeping the PCV valve "new" will help some.

3) Change the ATF (if it's not burned and looks clean) to a "Mercon V" fluid and give it a couple hundred miles to "work in". An article on "how to" is located at www.crownvic.net/tech

Thanks for the advice... I will definitely try all of these things and let you know how it went!

on crownvic.net they were talking about intstant shudderfix by doctor tranny. anyone used this, they made it sound pretty good. its not to expensive

Nope, the ONLY proper way to "fix" shudder is with an infusion of Mercon V ATF.

Everything else is just tune-up in a can, and a temporary patch job.

Check to see if your torque converter has a drain plug on it. Some Ford trannies do. That way you can drain out all the fluid and replace it with Merc V. Otherwise, take it to a tranny shop or the dealer and have it flushed. That way all the fluid will be replaced.

A '94 CV WILL (actually does) have a T/C drain plug. They were discontinued in mid '01 from all Ford products except *some* trucks.

Thanks for all your help... I really do appreciate it.

First, I did replace the transmission fluid with Mercon V about 250 miles ago. I haven't had a large episode with the transmission shuddering since then, but still, occasionally when I stop, the tranny downshifts prematurely which causes the car to rapidly decelerate for a second.

Second, with the Check Engine Light, I did have it checked at AutoZone. Unfortunately, it did not give back a positive read on anything; it just gave a code that stated that the AC was on during test. I was wondering if it might have to do with the fact that the light comes on after I drive the car for awhile, and the test can only be done after the car has been turned off and the key placed back in the "On" poisition... Also, the light may not have been on when I had last turned off the car before the test, due to the fact that I drove from one parking space to another, a grand total of maybe 500 feet. So the light may not have been on. Who knows? All I know is that I will probably get it tested again, and watch for these things. (I didn't try and clean the EGR system because after getting into it a little, it ended up to be much more than I expected, and, from someone who doesn't have much experience under the hood, I dont want to mess anything up)

Thirdly, with the oil burning, I have just decided to leave it. As ModMech said, it really doesn't hurt the car, you just have to put oil in it every once in awhile. Since I got the oil changed, I haven't noticed it as much (or really at all). If it starts up again, I will replace the PCV valve and see if that helps.

Thanks for all your help!

(Any advice on the check-engine light?)

Oh, and one more question...

I have driven cars that have a Keyless entry remote, and that is one thing that I really miss on this car. Can this car be equipped with a Ford keyless entry, or would I have to go with an aftermarket model?