Re: Towing with a car
I used to work for a dealer where we had the service contract for several local PDs and a bunch of rescue squads. Most all the Crown Vics that were left in service indefinitely easily hit 350,000 miles on the original engine, and most were still running just fine at that point. The transmissions, 4R70W, would go anywhere from 130K to 180K with basic maintenance. The rear axles would go about 180K to 210K with most failing from collision or impact damage before mechanical failure. The weak point in those cars was probably the body mounts and steel brake lines in saltwater areas. I can remember doing quite a few metal brake lines and a bunch of body mount bolts and bushing replacements. For some reason, the rescue squad cars got more abuse than did the police cars, they were the one's with the body mounts all ripped out or wheels, rear axles, or control arms ripped off or bent. I had to put one back together that crossed a railroad track at high speed where there was no crossing in route to a call. (Most of the car actually made it).
The 4.6L Ford engine is rock solid, but not cheap to replace, at least not compared to a push rod type motor like the 5.0L/302ci engines.
The transmissions in those cars have been basically unchanged since the first version of the panther chassis back in 1979, the AOD, AODE, & 4R70W are all the same base model trans with only valve body and gear ratio changes over the years. The 4R70W is by far the best shifting and most versatile of all versions.
I currently own three of these cars, two Mercury Grand Marquis, an '03 and an '06, and an '03 Crown Vic, and I've owned many others before these. All were great cars that gave me no problems. My 1989 Crown Vic had 250K on the clock and was still going strong when I sold it in 2004, and that car towed nearly every day of it's life, whether it was a boat, utility trailer, or camper.
I especially like the fuel mileage I get from the newer models, I get upwards of 24 mpg pretty consistently out of all three of my current cars, with the two Mercurys being the best that way.
Something that always got me was how they could make a two ton car get 24 mpg with a 4.6L/4R70W trans, and a 3:55 rear axle ratio, yet the same combo in an F150 gets less then 14 mpg? I had a 2006 F150 for about a year, it never broke the 13.5 MPG mark even on the highway, and didn't pull my boat any better than my Grand Marquis did. The truck had no more power, wasn't as comfortable, and burned double the fuel to do the same job, and could only carry three people. It's only advantage was ground clearance and an 8' bed. I sold the truck in favor of the second car, and kept my 1 ton van for bigger towing needs.
