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My '93 Vic is all about the Crown Vic I own; a little history on the car, the mods I've done & what my future plans are. I got the car in March of '99...the non-LX car arrived from RI with only 11,000 pampered miles on it & 3.08 rear gears with no limited slip. Beyond a few dents & scratches, the car looks & drives like new. I hope you enjoy this stuff as much as I do ! Pics of my car (finally) !!! (11/19/00): check maintenance for power steering, coolant & differential. Also my B&M supercooler install details...

Modification details:

• B&M 19,00 GVM Supercooler (new on 11/19/2000)
  I picked up the cooler locally for like $50 bucks. Step one was mounting it which turned out GREAT -- I put it in front of the AC condensor for max cooler at a 45 degree to the ground...RIGHT AT the airfoil where the air rushed in from the street. Check out these pics with labels: I secured the bottom of the cooler to the AC condensor rack with the supplied tie-wraps & pads. Then I secured the top of the cooler with the tie-wraps & pads to holes in the harness tray that is on the front clip brace. Here is a top level view of the whole set-up. Then I decided on this flow for the cooler lines -- tranny line feed (this is the TOP, hot line attached to the top of the radiator tank for the '93 cars) to cooler to radiator tank to tranny (this last part "to tranny" uses the stock line setup). Confused ? See my hose & line routing. All-in-all, it came out great with a few caveats: (1) get a new line fitting, the one that comes with the B&M kit sucks with very thin, soft brass...i believe our fittings are NOT 3/8", but smaller. (2) i had to buy some new tranny ID hose for the nice mounting location. (3) the car slips a bit when it is cold (1st 2-3 minutes)...so much the thermostatic bypass valve built-in. I may get an after market valve to correct this & eliminate the radiator tank altogether. (4) use some teflon tape & wrap against the threads for optimum leak stoppage. (5) use a nut driver or a mini socket set to make the suppied hose clamps SUPER TIGHT !!!!

• (update: pulled the) Bosch Platinum +4 Plugs for Motorcraft Copper
  Recently pulled the Bosch Platinum plugs & replaced with the original Motorcraft copper ones. The Bosch seemed a little toasted, but fine. This was after doing some more research on plugs & reading all thru NGKs web site; specifically on Mustang 4.6L plugs, heat ranges, torque & platinum cons. Then finding this plug info on from Doug Douthitt's compression ratio page -- search on "Now to the heads/chambers". Don't forget to check out Doug's excellent page on Pump Gas if you are using above way above 87 octane in your (non-supercharged/non-superchipped) CV. Installation: I took a shop vac & compressed air to each plug well before & after to make sure no debris got in the cylinder heads. Took off the plastic intake completely, for more room & I had to use a u-joint for my socket set, to get them in & out around the fuel rails, etc... I put anti-seize on all the plugs because of the aluminum heads. Plug gap is .052 in. Torque them to a mere 7 or 8 foot pounds -- this is important -- see the NGK site.

• Ford MS 9mm Spark Plug Wires
  They look good (blue) & seem to work great -- due to the plug wells, they have a long, unique  boot...about $80 online. Got these on eBay for an INSANE deal ! Thank you, Terry -- check out Terry's eBay Auctions for good Mustang / SVO stuff. Installation: involved cutting the factory tie-wraps & taking out the OEM wires one_at_a_time from the looms & spark coils...then replacing with new. I followed the Hayes books which details the cylinder numbering as the GT 9mm  wires are pre-numbered. The wires came pre-lubed with dielectric grease...put on a little more for insurance. NOTE: The Mustang GT 9mm wires do not fit perfect on the factory alternator looms, but with the floating looms, I was able to get all the wires neat, organized & looking good...off the hot surfaces. I think cylinders 5,6 & 2 were a little short compared to factory wires. I'll get a pic of this shortly. Also, the boots "click/pop" when they are on the plugs completely. Your startups will go from "vroom." to "vAROOOM!". =)

• K & N Air Filter
  In retrospect, the K&Ns are only so-so...ok with the flat airbox filter, but the conicals are kinda bad as they suck in HOT underhood air...not good for performance. the conicals are only worth it if you can manage a heat dam or airbox. This was a no-brainer, gets a LOT more airflow going into your intake...about $40. This is the large flat filter. Installation: I followed the K & N filter instructions (which are specific to Crown Vics & Grand Marquis' -- cool) to the letter. I really had to take the air box out to get the thing to shut properly with the K & N installed. Make sure you disconnect the negative battery terminal so that your computer RAM is cleared out. Then when you fire up the car with the new filter your sensors (Mass Air, Throttle Body, etc..) will recalculate all their readings for more airflow & different fuel/air ratios. I got a cleaning/re-oiling kit as well.

• Modified Mass Air Meter
  NOTE: when i did this mod, i got pinging, especially at WOT...so think about a "donor" mass air unit from a boneyard to do the mod on. This was a fun & cheap little project to get even MORE air going to the throttle body & get a nice GROWL out of the car. Depending on the tools you already have, this mod ranges from $10 to $60. Make sure you at least have a good hack saw with a new blade, SAFETY goggles, some rasps (flat & round), the proper Torx (circle-center "locking" type) bits/drivers & fine grit sandpaper. I found that the roto tool (I used the Dremel $35 model) was pretty much optional, but added a nice finale, that I will describe at the end of this mod. Installation: I essentially followed (printed out)  Mustangworld's Cut the post from your stock Mass Air for 4.6L "how to" to the letter... with a few differences:  my '93 CV did NOT have a MA screen & there were a few less Torx nuts to deal with. Here is how I approached this mod: (1) disconnected the negative battery cable (to insure computer RAM & sensor reading would start from ground zero on start up). (2) took the Mass Air unit out & cut the post very carefully -- avoiding the sampling tube. (3) Ground down the excess metal mostly with my metal rasps -- I found them much easier to control compared to the roto tool. The damn thing is noisy as hell too & seemed to grind too slowly for my liking. (4) Sanded & ground everything smooth with the roto tool & sandpaper. I suppose I could have finished there, but just for FUN, I had also picked up an extra Polishing (a small drum with metal bristles on it) bit....so, I proceeded to polish the entire inside of the Mass Air for more (theoretical) airflow. Holy shit did this thing look awesome when I was done -- I had an incredible sense of accomplishment looking at my finished Mass Air. It looked like a pro-polished/ported cylinder head or something ! Take a look at the unpolished Ford version here (you can even see the cut/grind area!). The Dremel really earned it's keep with polishing at the end...I was damn near ready to return the thing during the grinding phase. After reconnecting everything & letting the computer/sensors catch up with new readings, I feel like I picked up 5 to 7 HP (and a nice cat growl at WOT). Do it! One caveat: when you first fire up the beast, it may idle rough for a couple secs before the sensors realize there is a lot more air getting sucked in. =)

• Swapped Air "Silencer"
  I don't really know what this is called, maybe the Air box Intake Tube...about $2.00 (boneyard tube). I'm calling it the "silencer" because the Mustang guys have something very similar on the 5.0s & 4.6Ls & removing it is usually the first order of business. One of the things I realized about removing this air box tube was that it would get a LOT more air coming into the air box, but most likely hurt performance once the car was warmed up -- HOT engine compartment air would get sucked in, killing some HP. Installation: SO, I decided to replace the restrictive stock tube (the opening end that takes in air from the front clip is fairly small & "puckered") with a larger, custom tube. After checking the diameter I needed to match for a SNUG fit, I started combing the boneyards. After some searching, I found a clean (80s Chrysler?) tube that screamed "I'm your Huckleberry"! It fit PERFECT & essentially doubled my air coming in. I did all the typical battery disconnects. Then a few weeks later, I add some more tubing (same stuff that I found) to stretch completely through the front clip & point slightly downward toward the road / airfoil. Working on a pic or diagram of this...

• 70mm Throttle Body
  In case you didn't know, all the '93 CVs come with 70mm Throttle bodies -- STOCK. Pretty sweet, huh ? After some intake mods, I measured it, what a nice surprise. If you don't have a  ruler with millimeters or a caliper, you can just multiply centimeters x 10 or take inches x 25.3. I think the inches was around 2.77...times 25.3=70 mm. Anyhow, I took off the Tbody and cleaned it with Carburetor Cleaner & then polished as much as I could with the Dremel roto tool (mentionned above) affixed with a polishing bit. The car seemed to idle better, maybe a *slight* boost in power...more like maintenance since there was some brown residue that had built up on the Tbody lip. 

• Synthetic Oil
  Maybe THIS was the 2nd official mod I did to my CV. Per the OEM 4.6L specs, I got a case of Mobil 1 5W/30 oil & a Mobil 1 oil filter...about $33.00 for supplies -- the case is $23 (Wal-Mart) to $27 & the filter is $9 (NOT cheap, but great filter). Installation: pretty basic stuff here, although I did have to buy some new, low profile ramps (Rhino Ramps at Pep Boys) to do the oil change on the Vic -- the air foil will scrape with traditional "truck" ramps. If you are new to oil changes at home, the CV change borders on FUN ! Just get a painting tarp (for drips/spills), some low ramps, 13mm wrench (not positive), filter wrench & then check out this article on Mustangworld.com: Changing Your Mustang's Oil -- the CV 4.6L oil change is VERY similar. The only headache is getting the oil filter (Mobil 1 brand) up in there cleanly with no scraping. The K & N goes in nicer. NOTE: Recently (12/01/99), I tried the new K & N oil filter that I found stocked in a just-built  Advanced Auto near me...around the same price & specs with a few perks: a 1" nut on the top, safety wire holes, internally lubed gasket, 10-20 micron filter, 550 burst strength, flows 12-16 gpm & it installed much easier that the Mobil 1 (just slightly slimmer).  For more info on oil FILTERS, check this page with an Oil Filter Study -- anything made by Champion Labs seems to be a winner. Overall, I found that the 5W/30 Mobil 1 in the engine made a noticeable difference on startup, power & overall engine "feel" -- much smoother ! My '93 took exactly 5 quarts, including a 1/2 filled filter.

• Differential Oil
  I ended up going with Mobil 1 75W/90...with a new rubber gasket, good "blue" RTV & 3 quarts of the stuff (it took 2 +1/2), it cost me around $25.00. The OEM specs for differential gear oil on the '93 CVs is 80W/90. After looking around at Red Line, Amsoil & Royal Purple, I decided on the Mobil 1 75W/90 oil. Although the low-temp flow was off by 5, It couldn't hurt at all...it would flow even better at start-up if it ever got brutally cold here in GA. The high-temp flow was the same. Installation: I was VERY happy to find out that my old, high-rise "truck" ramps fit under my '93s back wheels & did NOT even come close to scraping -- SWEET ! (1) The scariest part of the rear-end flush / fill was getting the fill bolt (3/8") out. I knew it would be tough (and impossible to complete the job unless it was out), so i hit that 1st -- I was glad i did. After TONS of liquid wrench & much struggling with the socket wrench (wishing for a breaker bar or a nice long section of pipe), nothing. Actually was close to stripping the edges of the nut; started considering driving to a muffler shop to loosen it with an impact wrench. THEN my last effort was with the RUBBER MALLET (please GAWD) -- tap-tap-tap; worked like a charm ! I guess those Ford OEM boys just LOVE locktite -- that orange crap was all over the nut ! (2) The stabilizer bar did not have to be removed with the stock cover (the $150+ types: SVO, Mac or T/A aluminum cover/girdle ones would probably warrant it)...even so, it was a little tight with the stock one to get around the bar. I had to go from socket to crescent wrenches to get all the cover nuts, too. The rest (except that wonderful OEM 80W/90 smell) was gravy, the cover nuts are only 35 or 45 foot pounds...might buy some of that tack spray to stick the gasket in place if I did it again; even so, that blue RTV sets up nice & sticky.  NOTE: before I started the job, I was seriously considering a 8.8" chrome cover from Mustangs Unlimited, but I wasn't so sure it would look so good with my VERY stock-looking car. Sooo...I decided to just clean & polish the stock cover; I picked up some Brasso, Brillo pads & Barkeepers Best Friend polish (has baking soda or something in it). MAN, was i glad I went with the stock cover: (a) it's a nice, solid piece, (b) after cleaning & polishing it, the damn thing looks AWESOME -- like polished, brushed aluminum. I'm thinking it looks better than the chrome -- if had brushed aluminum rims (like 15" 'Stangs ones or 17" Cobra's), it would match perfectly. If you're thinking about the chrome deal -- take a good look at the stock cover first.

• Synthetic ATF
  Initially, I wanted to do this for optimum AODE insurance & to take a look at the tranny before I did the TransGO shift kit. Unfortunately, the AODE torque converter vibration/shudder made this a must-do mod as the symptoms got pretty bad last week (01/05/00): what started as a mild "flutter" (backing off the accelerator) turned into a full-blown VIBRATION (felt like I was running over those highway shoulder ridges) when I shifted into 2nd or 3rd ! YIKES ! I had already gotten my filter & gasket ($12); then I picked up some Mobil 1 ATF ($60) after talking to some guys that had good results. From some input on Deja.com & alt.autos.ford, I also got some Lube Gard ($8 to $12 for 10 oz.; a friction modifier with a great reputation). So...got the car up on ramps. I put down plastic & a drop cloth; it gets a little messy with 12 or so quarts coming out total. 
  

  1. Using a breaker bar & a 3/4" nut, I got under the front of the car & put it on the crank/damper nut; then popped the torque converter dustcover. I turned the breaker bar CLOCKWISE until I felt the TC nut (7/16") line up. The breaker bar makes it easy as hell -- no straining at all. About 2+ gallons comes out (if you just ran the car, it will be hot). 

  2. After the TC was drained, I put the nut back on tight & took the 10 mm bolts off the tranny pan; do one side first & drain what you can (see the Hayes book) with the pan still on loosely. I took out & cleaned off the magnet in the bottom of the pan (some metal filings); everything else was clean with no metallic debris or chunks. Cleaned out the pan with auto soap, while I was at it. The dipstick plastic "buoy" should be in the pan if this is the first time it has been off. For the '93 cars, the new filter just lays in the hole (no bolts) & the bottom of the pan holds it in place; someone tell me if this is wrong! The rubber/metal gasket was in great shape (and looked much better than the one that came with the kit), so I reused it -- do not reuse the cork ones, though. Also, the gasket only goes on ONE WAY, so if the bolts are not lining up with the gasket, chances are, you have it flipped! I buttoned up the pan @ 12 to 16 foot pounds. 

  3. For the refill, I started with 1 quart of ATF & then all of the Lube Gard (got two bottles)...then more ATF. Important: don't do what I did -- at around 8.5 quarts, start the car & shift thru the gears...this will circulate ATF thru the TC & valve bodies so you don't overflow & spill ATF all over your driveway like I did! After adding a quart at a time & running thru gears, I ended up using 11+ quarts to fill to the cross hatch area of the dipstick. Was expecting 12.3 quarts (users manual) or 14 quarts (Hayes). However, do NOT overfill & check for leaks & your fluid level all week. My test drive was all smiles. =) Smooth & creamy shifts...like butter! NOTE: These guys at AutoTrans have a board ($60) that fixes the AODE shudder issue. Also, the AODE shudder is a known issue on the NHSTA Technical Service Bulletins; check for Recalls, too. See my section on shift kits, too.

Maintenance details:

• Filled power steering with Mobil 1 ATF. (new on 11/19/2000)
  Instead of the easy way to fill the power steering system (like last year), I opted for the complete fluid swap like so: (1) Elevated the car on my ramps -- got a milk jug & chopped off most of the top for the return line to pour into, then got a little pint container for the PS reservoir to drain into...put rags all over just in case. (2) I removed the return line from the power steering reservoir...looking down the the reservoir, it's the HARD hose on the right. (3) I held the return line in the milk jug & held the pint container under the reservoir nipple as it drained. (4) once the reservoir was completely empty, I made sure the return line was securely in the milk jug & fired up the car...at this point, all the PS fluid will start pouring in there as it is trying to circulate the fluid thru the reservoir & back into the PS system (box). I turned the wheel back & forth a bit to get most of the fluid -- including the reservoir, about 3/4 of a quart total came out. To flush the system a bit, I ran about a 1/2 quart of left over Red Line ATF thru there. (5) Then I re-connected the feed line & secured it with the hose clamp. (6) Then I refilled the reservoir with Mobil 1 ATF & started up the car, turning the wheel back & forth. (7) turned off the car & refilled the reservoir to the top line & started the car again...then backed out. (8) Then I worked the wheel from lock to lock a couple of times to BLEED the system of air...drove around the neighborhood for awhile, doing a LOT of turns left & right in cul-de-sacs. The level seemed fine -- dun deal.

• Differential Oil filled with Red Line 75w/90. (new on 11/19/2000)
  Sometime in September of 2000, I decided to replace the Organic 90w/140 that Ford Performance Specialists used in favor of Red Line 75w/90 diff. lube. I got 3 quarts of the Red Line at Blind Hog in Norcross, GA and then some differential friction modifier at Ford. I backed up onto truck ramps & went to work: 1st made sure I got the fill plug out...used my 3/8" socket & tapped it out of place with a rubber hammer. then loosened up all the nuts, drained & got the cover off. The 3.73 gears & Traction-Lok looked fine...no chips or bits of metal in the fluid. I cleaned off the cover with auto sopa & then shined it up with Brasso. Then I put on two strips of blue silicone RTV, one on the outside perimeter of the cover & one on the inside & let them cure. Getting the cover on there past the sway bar took a few tries, but eventually, I got it ON without hitting the teeth with silicone. Snugged down the bolts to spec, I think 15-20 foot pounts. Next, I removed the NEW fill nut (i came close to stripping the 1st refill) completely & squirted about 2/3s of the friction modifier in there -- the Red Line already has FM, but i wanted to be sure I had some Ford in there. Then I used my siphon/pump to refill from the bottles of Red Line until it RAN ALL OVER MY FREAKIN' ARM -- UGH!! LOVE THE HYPOID SMELL...dun deal. Then I shined up the cover even more. =)) 

• Coolant 70/30, Water Wetter & 180 thermo. (new on 11/19/2000)
  I had this done at All Pro Radiator in Lawrenceville, GA again! After all the problems I had with my car almost overheating most of the summer with the water pump underdrive pulley on (the system didn't push water fast enough), I took my car in for a flush & ended up going with the most cooling mix: 70 water/30 coolant. Also replaced the stock 192 thermostat for a 180 as no other CV guys had problems with it when they made the swap. Also added 2 bottled of Red Line Water Wetter.

• New OEM rotors, calipers & pads
  So far, this has been the biggest annoyance about the car. From day one (at 11,000 miles), the brakes felt under-powered & were starting to squeal around corners (went away with brake pressure). To make a long story short, I went with a "all we do is brakes" franchise, when I should have done most of it myself. Here's how it played out over about 4 months: 1st did the front pads & new DOT 4.0 fluid (it was the same fluid from the factory 6 years ago: yipes!) -- AM brand of semi-metallic. Still noise & vibration. 2nd did new calipers, turned (resurfaced) the rotors. Still noise & vibration. 3rd did new OEM rotors & shims. Felt great for a month, then noise & vibration -- some grinding at slow stops. I come back to the same shop; surprise they have changes hands ! Last, the new place did a shim lube, hand resurface & tweaking. To their credit they did all of that for FREE (honored my old warranty) & the brakes do feel OK, but I am still not satisfied with the performance. My future plans for brakes will ideally involve the following: Baer Claw, Brembo, Power Slot or SVO/Cobra brand; 13" front rotors, 11" rears -- either slotted or drilled. Carbon-metallic rotor-MATCHED pads -- not Kevlar. Then new, steel lines & DOT 5.0 fluid. Possibly a brake booster...if all this doesn't stop my 4400lb sedan on a dime, then nothing will! =)

• My yearly flush & filled of coolant system (4/18/00)
  I had this done at All Pro Radiator in Lawrenceville, GA! These guys do an incredible job on radiators & coolant systems in general. Ask for Jimmy, but they all know their sh*t over there ! I picked up some good tips there as well: found out some interesting stats on heat-related failures with cars -- when you do a yearly coolant flush (like I do with All Pro around $30), heat-related failures drop from something like 60% to 5%! I was sold...cheap insurance, if you ask me. I also bought some Red Line Water Wetter before hand & had them put it in. I will NOT be replacing the stock 190° thermostat for a 180° one -- too many problems that can happen: open loop mode, car never reaches it's operating temperature POWER, etc...

• Filled power steering with Valvoline SynPower
  I picked up (2) bottles of this stuff & did the swap the easy, NON-messy way: every 1 or 2 days, I pumped out the reservoir & replaced with the Valvoline PS fluid. Took me about 2 weeks to kill both bottles...I figure the system has 90% synthetic in it now. Steering feels pretty good. The other way to do it would be to disconnect the return line (the firm, high pressure one), place the line in a jug & then move the steering wheel back & forth with the car on until the rack was empty. Then fill with fresh & rotate the steering wheel back & forth to bleed out all the air.

• New Drive Belt  
  NOTE: now i use Goodyear Gatorback belts. Compared to the OLD way of replacing drive/serpentine belts, this swap was incredibly easy to do with the built-in belt 4.6L tensioner ('92 & later CVs) -- thanks Ford! The belt was about $35.00 from Ford, Motorcraft part # JK6-985. I thought that removing the fan shroud would help, but I really couldn't get the damn thing off -- couldn't get it past the fan blades. Anyone know what the trick is ? Have to take off the fan blades ? Even so, I was able to get the belt on with only a few scrapes with the shroud as is. I put my 1/2" breaker bar in the tensioner hole & pushed down (to the right, if you are facing the engine from the front of the car). I took the belt off slow, checking how it was looped. Then to get it back on, I started with the power steering pulley on the far right & looped around all the pulleys by following the diagram on the front clip. The key part was getting everything lined up & in the grooves (especially the PS pulley) then holding tension on the belt by pulling UP with my right hand & simultaneously pushing the breaker bar with my left hand...then looping the belt over the alternator pulley last. Everything looked correct & in the grooves -- started it up & ran it for 10 minutes. Dun deal. Car seems to run a little better...

• New Fuel Filter  
  I used the Ford Motorcraft brand fuel filter for this swap -- Ford part # FG-800A, about $15. Easy to swap out, I think it took me 20 minutes, tops. Ramps are NOT necessary, but make it nice. 1st thing to do was the fuel line pressure release (unless you LIKE gas spraying everywhere): on the '93 cars, there is a module on the left side of the trunk, under the carpet. I just disconnected the sensor clip & ran the car until it completely died -- line pressure released. The filter "kit" comes with new line clips, so i just wrangled them off with a small screw driver. Notice how they both go on, with the bottom of the clip "arrow tip" pointing toward the filter. I pulled the lines, there was a little spray initially & just let it drain. Then, I undid the hose clamp with a screwdriver & removed the filter -- watch out for all the gas in the filter. Then just reversed the process to get everything together -- I made sure the line clips went on perfectly. Then, I re-attached the line pressure sensor & started the car up...it took a few tries before it caught. NOTE: Earlier, I had looked at the K & N fuel filter, but it was expensive & required some major line mods. Also -- after I did the swap, I tried to crack open the old FF to see how dirty it was inside -- those puppies are freakin' TOUGH ! Tried to stab it open with a hunting knife...NOTHING, just a tiny dent ! Then I hit it with my axe...NOTHING, just a big dent. Since the thing was filled was gas fumes, I gave up at that point. The Ford filters can DEFINITELY take a rock ding from the road...maybe even a bullet. =)

• New hazard/turn/wiper SWITCH  
  I was forced to do this mod when things got strange with my wiper, turn signals & hazard switch (the entire left stalk). My rear hazards stopped working and my wipers (when on intermittent) would freeze or "wake up" depending on if i hit the turn signal or not. Very annoying & this problem is listed on the ford TSBs off http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/. For my '93, i needed to get the right switch: the '93s cars need the switch with the chrome, as i found out, the all black '98+ version will not work on my cars harness/plug orientation. Basically you need to disconnect the batt completely (there are airbags sensors there !!!), undo the tilt with a tiny box wrench, undo the steering column cover with a phillips -- just pry it up, not completely off. then undo the switch with Torx & disconnect the harness. The only boitch is the tiny working spaces.