Buying a 96 P71, what to look for?

[FordInPossession]

I might be trading my F-250 for a 96 P71CV. It's been sitting for a year and a half but it started right up once we jumped it. Former Dakota County (minnesota) Sheriff's car. Exhaust leak (Whoop) the Temp gauge does not work, is this common or a cause for concern? What else should I look for in this car before I finalize the deal?

[trife86]

You will be looking forward to 10 years of police abuse bassicly. See how much oil it burns.

[FordInPossession]

No oil smoke out of the tailpipes like the 92 and 93's, no leaks that are visible.

[RoyLPita]

Let me think from my experience with a pair of '95s:

Check to see if the intake manifold has been replaced. It will have an aluminum water jacket behind the alternator and where the stat goes. The temperature sender is on the intake. (I chose the '95 becuse of the intake)

Make sure that the driver's door panel is not a broken pile of plastic.

I don't know how the humidity is up there but I has to replace 5 out the 6 exhaust hangers because they rotted away.

Make sure the front end is tight. I had to replace the inner and ourt tie rods and an idler arm. The gear still needed to be replaced beause of the play.

Does the odometer work?

Do the windows work? I had to replace a few regulators and motor dowels in mine.

You might have to have the rotors cut to get rid of the rust buildup. It will also take a while to get the pads to set in, too.

Does the a/c work? I had to add freon to mine.

Make sure that the electric cooling fan and the fan clutch are working properly.

How is the lower driver door hinge? Open the door to the 1st detent and pull up on it. You will know it is going when there is play. Also check the door strikers. Make sure that the plastic is still there.

I also hooked up an ABS on/off switch so I could do my burnouts. I only problem was the alternator was on the same circuit.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted.