Crown vic.suspension conversion

Hello,Here is the puzzle…I have a 1992 Crown Victoria;suspension went.Found online (Strutmasters)has a conversion kit.Called my mechanic,he said great…he has never done one ,but he could really help out alot of Crown Vic customers.I ordered it and he installed.Ass is up tight and out of sight…On the way home …choking and stalling,…I turned around and popped the hood to find hoses had not be hooked up.Ok,so my mechanic said"come back and we will have it ready…Day’s pass,I had surgery…that’s another story,and we pick it up …On start up it stalls at least 12 times and runs extrodinarily choppy…until it warms up after driving for about 10 more min and then the check engine light comes on …then goes off and runs fine.Then you come home shut it off and wait about a half hour to go to the store …12-15 stalls ,choppy run, stalls warms ,light ,smooth .Same every time.I got in touch weith the conversion kit guys and they say that maybe my mechanic should check the compresser again for hooks wrong or whatever…This now is 3 weeks the mechanic has had it…He doesn’t seem to know what the hell is up.HELP>>>HELP>>>>I need you noggins.Answer this puzzler.Karen Neely from New Jersey(don’t make any joke’s )thanks

What, specifically, did you do to the suspension?

You poor girl… Your Vic had air-springs in the rear. So did mine. I simply took them out and replaced them with standard steel springs from a salvage yard. $30. They slip right in place once the rubber bladders are removed. A one hour job. I use the old compressor to blow up the tires, controlled by the handy switch in the trunk.

There is no reason why your repair should have any effect on the operation of the engine. The “air suspension” and the engine are not linked in any way…

I think you need a new mechanic…and I’m not making a joke.

I’m struggling to figure the post out, but if I’m right you had an air suspension system added? Unless you had one before, that would have meant things had to be removed from the front of the engine to add a compressor. Sounds like he didn’t reinstall everything…like vacuum hoses.

It also sounds like he doesn’t check his work…or test the results.

Now, following this line of reasoning, do I understand that your car runs fine once it’s warmed up? Perhaps he also forgot to reconnect the temp sensor.

The post is difficult to interpret.

  • mountainbike

Wow,Thank’s for the helpful responses.My rear air suspension went.So since the car runs well and is 14 years old …I want to keep it ,but needed a less expensive alternative,to a new air suspension fix.It was a conversion kit to regular shocks and springs.I am afraid the reply as to my mechanic’s abilities may very well be right on.But the Temp sensor comment gives me great hope.I am going to pass this on to my"MECHANIC".And I will update you all as to the outcome.Thank’s to you all Kareng

Pretty much ,dry rot.The compressor would pump ,but the crack’s in the bladder’s would not hold. The fix ,I was told was new bladder’s at the cost of ,at least 1500 buck’s.Since the book value on my Vic is about 800 on a good day, if she is real shiney,it is not an option.So I looked online for a possible alternative.At a cost of about 300 ,seemed like a better answer.I want to keep the Vic till she heaves her last breath at the junkyard gate.

Hindsight is always 20-20…You can still salvage your car by installing a set of steel springs and eliminate the troublesome air-suspension system completely. The compressor that powers it is a self-contained electrically driven unit located under the hood in the L/F corner next to the steering column. I connected an air-hose to it and now use it as a tire inflater…

None of this has any effect on engine operation, which would seem to be your overriding problem at the moment…

I did replace the air suspension with the conversion kit, old fashion shocks .Like I said it is uptight ,ass end is in good shape now.No more Compressor air suspension.The problem is in the put back together area.I think the Mechanic overlooked something and can’t figure it out. That is why I think the temp sensor is a good possibility.I just called the mechanic and told him I am in cvontact with the Click and Clack reserch and developement crew.I’ll updsate…Kareng

Ok ,Boy’s and Girl’s here is the answer…Went to confiscate my Crown Vic after the mech. had it for 3 week’s trying to figure out the problem.After I got it …it ran smoother than the day I had purchased it,14 years ago,…no stalling ,nothing.The idle was so smooth I couldn’t hear it,this was great,and totally unexplainable.The next day I put on the air conditioner,stall…stall…choke…stall.After a full day of this …perfect,it seem’s the computer needed time to readjust the idle…granted it took a while ,but it was running perfect until…the battery went.So upon replacement of said battery,yup…you guessed ,our suspision’s were right.The computer had to,again ,readjust the idle.Which take’s longer,apparently ,when your an old girl.Anyway thought you all would be interested in the outcome…Thank’s to everyone for your helpful input…Kareng