Let's See Your Miscellaneous Car Photos

[YY1]

 

[SoCal Sam]

These were the two reasons I did the timing chains, one of the tensioners had lost it's gasket and one of the plastic guides had broken. the chains would slap like hell on startup, but were still quiet once it was running. I'll say the only slight difficulty was getting the passenger's side valve cover off, the book wants you to remove a motormount and shift the engine slightly for clearance between the cover and the A/C box on the firewall, but it can be carefully slipped out of there with a bit of patience.

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For some penny pinching reason, Ford switched to all plastic guides in 2002 and 2003. They had metal frames before and after. That's the only weakness in the 4.6 that year. Even if the chain lost timing, the 4.6 is non-interference so no lost engine.

Your left photo shows new cam cover style. 2007 or newer?

Last comment is NEVER USE DORMAN...cheap parts that don't last. Go OEM.

 

[leesonic]

 

[Taylor Player]

1938 Phantom Corsair as seen at Amelia Island a few years back.

 

[bre's dad]

 

[SoCal Sam]

Hi Sam, no, it's not 2007, it's 2003. Maybe the Towncar got the newer setup earlier than the other Panther chassis cars? It's a Cartier, with the factory dual exhaust, HID headlights, rain sensing wipers, and other things the less expensive Towncars didn't have (Better, thicker & softer leather seats and factory navigation are two more) . And yes I have experienced Doorman's quality issues firsthand so the timing set I installed was from Cloyes. It's been two years since I installed the manifold & water pump and a year since I installed the chains and thankfully all is well at this point

Almost bought a 2007 Townie not too long ago. Eventually, will get one.

 

[grillebilly]

Made a tool that holds the spool (carrier) so it's easier to work on. Especially torqueing the ring gear bolts. It's a simple piece of angle iron with 2 brass posts that go through the holes in the spool.



Pattern came out OK and had to move some shims around to get the .008" they want for backlash

 

[SoCal Sam]

Some more Towncar maintenance pics...

Here are some pics from when I replaced the front bearing hubs. The left front had gone bad enough to develop some play so I did both sides at the same time. The ABS sensor housing had gotten SO rotted that water got in, and when I took it apart and saw how bad it was I was amazed the ABS light never came on. All of the hardware unbolted fairly easily, but the steel (Iron?) hub had dissimilar metal corroded into the aluminum bracket so it took some fancy slide hammer action to get it to pop free (the other side came out easily). Of course I had to take one of the bad ones apart, just to see the inner working of it

And yes, since they are still available, I bought Motorcraft replacement hubs.

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So glad I don't have to deal with rust and road salt. Southern California cars are immaculate underneath. Practicing at the junkyard, I have stripped hubs down to where you are at. Did it with breaker bar only. Next time my car is up, I am going to check the grandpa corner...er...right front for play.

 

[Johnny_Law]

The guy's shop I bought my V70R from.

 

[YY1]

Davey Allison had the best looking cars in the 80's, especially the bronze/gold mirror stripe ones.

 

[Judas Priest]

 

[SoCal Sam]

View attachment 2362062

Are Merc parts cheap and plentiful in Germany? I imagine it must be like taking care of a Crown Vic here.

 

[Judas Priest]

After market parts are cheap and readily available. Even a lot of original Mercedes parts are quite reasonably priced.

I have heard that original parts are getting more and more expensive for the older cars like mine, though.

On my red C200 I replaced the brakes (pads and rotors) front and rear, a year before I traded it in for my silver one. I got OEM quality parts (from ATE) for about €150. You can get no name brakes for about €75

A cheap radiator costs €70, and a high qhality one, maybe double that.

All in all, it´s quite affordable

In the 7 years that I had the red C200 I think I replaced the following:

Battery
Water pump
rear tires
brakes
lower ball joints

I think that all cost around €400

This is MY car, just like the Crown Vic seems to be yours

edit: I replaced the thermostat and did an oil change today. Changing the thermostat was a 15 minute job. There is a spigot (?) on the bottom of the radiator to drain the coolant, and the thermostat is right at the front of the engine. Very nicely designed

 

[Yamaki]

 

[Yamaki]

 

[Yamaki]

 

[TPettenati]

 

[SoCal Sam]

After market parts are cheap and readily available. Even a lot of original Mercedes parts are quite reasonably priced.

I have heard that original parts are getting more and more expensive for the older cars like mine, though.

On my red C200 I replaced the brakes (pads and rotors) front and rear, a year before I traded it in for my silver one. I got OEM quality parts (from ATE) for about €150. You can get no name brakes for about €75

A cheap radiator costs €70, and a high qhality one, maybe double that.

All in all, it´s quite affordable

In the 7 years that I had the red C200 I think I replaced the following:

Battery
Water pump
rear tires
brakes
lower ball joints

I think that all cost around €400

This is MY car, just like the Crown Vic seems to be yours

edit: I replaced the thermostat and did an oil change today. Changing the thermostat was a 15 minute job. There is a spigot (?) on the bottom of the radiator to drain the coolant, and the thermostat is right at the front of the engine. Very nicely designed

View attachment 2362090

Interesting. Those parts prices are about the same as for a Crown Vic. Of course, Mercs are German imports here so customers expect to be gouged and dealers do not disappoint. I would imagine running a Crown VIc over there would be a lot more expensive that a Merc.

EDIT ADD: Front engine / rear drive is king. Plenty of room to work. My 4.6 does not have any silly technology so easy to maintain.

 

[SoCal Sam]

Removed the cover to the windshield wiper mechanism. Debris from parking underneath oak tree. So Cal is bone dry so no water and no rot to damage motor or electronics. All clean now.

 

[leesonic]