New pumps to move around the juice...

[LithiumCobalt]

Well, one of these days, I might actually run out of preventative maintenance and tweaking on the Town Car (yeah right). But, I thought, once that day arrives that I might get bored. I browsed around for new oil, water, power steering pumps and they run right around $50-60 for new ones. Thought I might replace these even though the ones I have still work, they are old. Thoughts?

[Chevyguy]

Water pump is easy enough. Was really easy on my 2001 but that does not have the mechanical fan.

Oil pump don't bother they are nearly bullet proof on a 4.6

PS pump Meh, not that easy to remove and they usually start getting noisy and leaky well before failing.

[no0c]

Well, one of these days, I might actually run out of preventative maintenance and tweaking on the Town Car (yeah right). But, I thought, once that day arrives that I might get bored. I browsed around for new oil, water, power steering pumps and they run right around $50-60 for new ones. Thought I might replace these even though the ones I have still work, they are old. Thoughts?

Waste of time and money, unless you want to help GW stimulate the economy with your stimulus check? Haven't the last 7.5 years just been wonderful? Just think, only 217 more days of him. Save your money, you will need it to fill your tank, LOTS OF IT!

I would suggest you take a look at a service manual to see what is involved in replacing a lube oil pump. It's not an external hang-on and rarely do they ever fail, and if they do, you are going to have bigger fish to fry.

I learned a long time ago, you know the old cliche, "If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it".

Just my $.02.

[BillyBob TC]

Waste of time and money, unless you want to help GW stimulate the economy with your stimulus check? Haven't the last 7.5 years just been wonderful? Just think, only 217 more days of him. Save your money, you will need it to fill your tank, LOTS OF IT!

I would suggest you take a look at a service manual to see what is involved in replacing a lube oil pump. It's not an external hang-on and rarely do they ever fail, and if they do, you are going to have bigger fish to fry.

I learned a long time ago, you know the old cliche, "If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it".

Just my $.02.

Can I add 2 more cents? I am much like lithium, but maybe not to the extent of all the pumps and such. Ive spent seveal thousand on replacing various items. Most are heavy wear or weather items. The one and only 'broke, so fix it' item was the cracked intake. ALL the rest were pre-emptive. I look at it this way, Im looking to keep her as long as humanly possible. Every thing I have done has made her feel like new each time.
But I do certainly see your point! Such as I would LOVE to have dual exhaust, but mine is 100% fine. I never would need the extra 20hp, so I would be doing it for looks. I cant justify certain things, others yes. Also, some items like the new headlamps and Gabriel shocks were gifts.....

[LithiumCobalt]

Waste of time and money, unless you want to help GW stimulate the economy with your stimulus check? Haven't the last 7.5 years just been wonderful? Just think, only 217 more days of him. Save your money, you will need it to fill your tank, LOTS OF IT!

A tad bitter are we? I will just say this, I am not a GWB fan by any stretch, but if you think he single-handedly ran this country into the shitter you are very naive. There's a lot more to do with it than the executive branch of government. THere's those do-nothings in Congress, the Fed, the speculators, and the world economy, which is making oil skyrocket, etc. Just because you have someone new in the president's office doesn't mean everything will be like fairies, elves, and roses again.

[ABE]

I know nothing of the politics. I agree with no0c that the pre-emptive replacement of parts is not a good strategy. Besides the pumps mentioned there is a very long list of other parts that may fail. To fulfill the strategy you would be regularly replacing good parts.

Learning how to diagnose a failing part could be an alternate strategy for your free time.

[Newave Dave]

Lith, Do you have test equipment? That makes monitoring the various features more accurate regarding wear and fail possibility. An OBD-II with engine operating parameters. Intake temp, O2 voltage, etc. maybe a Superstar tester for the air suspension and EVO on the P/S, maybe one of those New Generation Star (NGS) testers. You can run the ABS, T/C the lighting system, and a few other things.

[BillyBob TC]

I know nothing of the politics. I agree with no0c that the pre-emptive replacement of parts is not a good strategy. Besides the pumps mentioned there is a very long list of other parts that may fail. To fulfill the strategy you would be regularly replacing good parts.

Learning how to diagnose a failing part could be an alternate strategy for your free time.

But your driving an 07 model. Most of us are 2nd/3rd owners or more, trying to at least bring the past up to par. Many of these TC's have not been well cared for, according to reading here.

So what this is saying, for instance, is that if your 1997 stamped motocraft plug wires are 'still running', just leave them till they dont. Ive read here time and again to dump them and replace no matter what.
Air springs comes to mind. How do you diagnose the cracking on 10 yo (or more) springs? How does one determine if they will fail today or in 6 months? Mine were crackling, and I changed them out BEFORE the body slammed down onto my axle.
How many here have stated to 'replace/rebuild' the entire front end? Why? Because age and wear make everything sloppy and loose. None of this is 'failure'. Mine is done now, tight as Joan Rivers face, with all TRW parts so I shouldnt have to look at it again.
Most consumer OBDII scanners detect crap as far as Im concerned. It doesnt tell you of ANY wear and tear almost until outright failure.
Now Im assuming that were talking about doing the work yourself. If were are talking about garages/dealers, wellllll then the budget looks different. I can still do all my own work though. My TC is my second car, it's paid in full and my 'hobby' if you will. I have a small stash of cash, rather than wives, toys, cell phones or alcohol, I sink it into my car.

[Newave Dave]

tight as Joan Rivers face,:rofl::rofl:

[Chevyguy]

Wow nearly ANYTHING can be reduced to a political argument??

Good discussion about Preventive manitanence vs unneeded replacment. Operating ANY car you face those issues all the time. Even your OIL is not fully used up when you change it.

More first Hand experience..

Replaced the 15 year old coil on my old 72 Ventura to be "pre-emptive" got a typical brand approx 35 million GM coils made etc...

The replacment failed on the highway in a snow storm a few months later

Anyone with a NEW car can attest that new parts can still fail.

Inspection and attention to warning signs are your best freinds. I detected my failing ball joint WELL before any saftey issues arose. It was JUST starting to show loosness when the suspension was unloaded.

I still have the entire original OEM steering setup intact on my 2001. Still steers very tight. So 180K miles and still good, why buy new ones?? Will the replacments make it 180K miles??

[ABE]

I also drive/maintain a '78 Chev diesel 4x4 truck, '86 Chev gas 4x4 truck, '01 Mercury Grand Marquis and '00 Taurus wagon. There were countless others over the more than 50 years of vehicle maintenance.

Components have different failure characteristics and effects on vehicle and its users and the public. Suspension system failure can affect them all with dire consequences. So as part of regular maintenance the wear indicators are checked and parts replaced as necessary. Brakes must also be inspected regularly and lubricated and worn parts replaced and lines checked for rust and corrosion that is excessive.

GM and Ford and the others have long lists of items that must be checked regularly as part of scheduled maintenance. When you do an oil change there are 40 or more items to be checked and it is amazing what these checks reveal. If you follow these recommendations for the different aspects of the vehicle then you will catch most problems for the entire vehicle before they develop.

I think that investing ones time in following the manufacturers recommendations for component checking and learning to diagnose the early symptoms of parts failure will be more rewarding than just changing out parts.

[bojo68]

I also drive/maintain a '78 Chev diesel 4x4 truck, '86 Chev gas 4x4 truck, '01 Mercury Grand Marquis and '00 Taurus wagon. There were countless others over the more than 50 years of vehicle maintenance.

Components have different failure characteristics and effects on vehicle and its users and the public. Suspension system failure can affect them all with dire consequences. So as part of regular maintenance the wear indicators are checked and parts replaced as necessary. Brakes must also be inspected regularly and lubricated and worn parts replaced and lines checked for rust and corrosion that is excessive.

GM and Ford and the others have long lists of items that must be checked regularly as part of scheduled maintenance. When you do an oil change there are 40 or more items to be checked and it is amazing what these checks reveal. If you follow these recommendations for the different aspects of the vehicle then you will catch most problems for the entire vehicle before they develop.

I think that investing ones time in following the manufacturers recommendations for component checking and learning to diagnose the early symptoms of parts failure will be more rewarding than just changing out parts.

Seconded. To me, in addition to that, if you can find fleet reports on a similar vehicle, you can form a pretty good idea when components fail. I saw one on crown vics, front end and fuel pump to expected to give up between 100~125k,(in a taxi fleet) fuel pumps same. Tranny's not much longer, although the rebuilds do much better. I think it was some taxi outfit in Chicago.

78 Chevy 4x4 diesel?? Where did that come from?? Didn't think they made 4x4 Chev Diesels in 78. I know in 77 Chev wouldn't give much trailer towing capacity in their diesels, had to go to GMC to get it. Even if it's not stock, I'm amazed there's another one still running.

[gadget73]

Oil pumps don't really go bad. Some motors they do wear out but its not typical on a 4.6 or even the 5.0. If they have low oil pressure, its almost always a deeper problem. I wouldn't bother replacing it, it would be a lot of effort for no real good reason.

[ABE]

Seconded. ............

78 Chevy 4x4 diesel?? Where did that come from?? Didn't think they made 4x4 Chev Diesels in 78. I know in 77 Chev wouldn't give much trailer towing capacity in their diesels, had to go to GMC to get it. Even if it's not stock, I'm amazed there's another one still running.
In Canada '82 seems to be the earliest. The '78 started as a gas vehicle but a '84 diesel fitted quite well along with all the "accessories" about 10 years ago. The 6.2 naturally aspirated engine is very interesting and continues to be a good learning experience, and it drives well too.

[Chevyguy]

There were a few that got the famous Olds 5.7 in the 70's

[bojo68]

In Canada '82 seems to be the earliest. The '78 started as a gas vehicle but a '84 diesel fitted quite well along with all the "accessories" about 10 years ago. The 6.2 naturally aspirated engine is very interesting and continues to be a good learning experience, and it drives well too.

OH, ok. Well a 6.2 is far from the cat's meow, but it's exponentially better than the 5.7!:) Personally, I like doing it the other way, taking an exploded 5.7 diesel out and dropping an old fashioned high compression 455 olds, one runin bitch then. In a 3/4 ton the back end WILL pass the front...(turn your wife loose in that..:)

[bojo68]

There were a few that got the famous Olds 5.7 in the 70's

Yep, and in 77 I was one of the only guys in town that worked on them.

[Jerry in Pitt PA]

The problem with pre-emptive parts replacement today is that most "new" auto parts today aren't built as well as the old original ones, so your puting on a higher failure rate part!

I slightly over maintain my cars and will put on as many parts as needed but my 93 TC is a well built car! No need to do pre-emptive parts replacement. Don't fix it if it ant broke.

Jerry

[bojo68]

The problem with pre-emptive parts replacement today is that most "new" auto parts today aren't built as well as the old original ones, so your puting on a higher failure rate part!

I slightly over maintain my cars and will put on as many parts as needed but my 93 TC is a well built car! No need to do pre-emptive parts replacement. Don't fix it if it ant broke.

Jerry

Some of the old fan belts would last longer in service than what the new stuff will on the shelf.

[hrmwrm]

OH, ok. Well a 6.2 is far from the cat's meow, but it's exponentially better than the 5.7!:) Personally, I like doing it the other way, taking an exploded 5.7 diesel out and dropping an old fashioned high compression 455 olds, one runin bitch then. In a 3/4 ton the back end WILL pass the front...(turn your wife loose in that..:)

i took out the 350 small block and dropped in a 455. had a 700R4 specially built to take the torque, and a 3:73 12 bolt rear. that was in my 86 gmc 1/2 ton pick up. really haul if you wanted it too. and with 31/ 10.50 tires on the rear, still got the same mileage cruising on the highway as the 350.