My 02 Crown Vic rear gave out question?

[Gerry24]

He guys, my dd is a 02 crown Vic base model. This morning I backed up to get out the driveway and it appears the differential gave out. Thank god it wasn't on the highway. My question is can I place a P71 rear on the Vic? I remember some of the guys here saying the 03 MM had issues with the rear on the early builds. Feed back would be much appreciated, I apologize in advance that is was not a MM question.

[MOTOWN]

The 03 rear end is totally different from the 02 rear end and will not interchange , different control arm , and shock locations.

[Gerry24]

Do the diff has to be an 02 then correct?

[RubberCtyRauder]

Diff is the same . However p71 will have 3.27 or 3.55 gear ratio abd your speedo and shift points will be off

[RubberCtyRauder]

Except mid year 05 and up then 31 spline axles and carrier

[Gerry24]

What's the best way to go about this guys??

[MOTOWN]

Except mid year 05 and up then 31 spline axles and carrier

He can't use an 03 and up rear diff on an 02 , it won't work.

[MOTOWN]

What's the best way to go about this guys??

Rebuild what is currently under the car.

[Spectragod]

All he would need to do is change the shock mounts, move them in.

[marauder mama]

Just go get a CVPI or HPP complete rear at the JY with 3:27 or 3:55 gears.
It will be a direct swap if you stick with a rear from CV or GM 98-02.
All HPP's were 3:27 except for the 2000 models which were 3:55's, but none were locking. You have to stick with CVPI's if locking is a must, and check, not all CVPI's were locking.

[RubberCtyRauder]

Just go get a CVPI or HPP complete rear at the JY with 3:27 or 3:55 gears.
It will be a direct swap if you stick with a rear from CV or GM 98-02.
All HPP's were 3:27 except for the 2000 models which were 3:55's, but none were locking. You have to stick with CVPI's if locking is a must, and check, not all CVPI's were locking.

He has a base cv with 2.73 gears. So 3.27 or 3.55 is not a direct match for speedo or trans shifting

[RubberCtyRauder]

He can't use an 03 and up rear diff on an 02 , it won't work.

The carrier is the same , just the axle and housing is different

[RubberCtyRauder]

Go to car-part.com abd search for a entire axle from 98-02 CV not police

[O's Fan Rich]

The place I got my 2005 assembly from has a 2002 PI with 3:27 and trac lok.

he brought it out first.... I showed him the error.

[Logizyme]

Rebuilding an 8.8 is pretty advanced for a backyard mechanic, if you are trying to perform the work yourself to save money, then a complete housing swap is the easiest way to go about doing so. You can unbolt the entire rear axle housing, and bolt it into your car to do this you will need the entire housing from a 98-02 panther(these years do not share the problem that the early 03 MY axles had)

Taxi wrecking yards will typically have P71 rear end's that can be swapped in(they usually sell for 400-800$) but they may not have any axles from non-p71. P71's came standard with 3.27 ratio's and optional 3.55. Being that your vic is a base model it most likely has a 2.73 ratio. If you put the incorrect ratio in your vehicle your speedometer will be inaccurate, and shift points will be off and a bit wonky, the further the difference in ratio the more noticeable the issues will be. Alternatively the P71 ratios do allow much better acceleration and with a tune and changing to the proper transmission speedometer gear, the car can be calibrated to the proper ratio.

You may want to check regular wrecking yards as you may find a base model that has a good solid rear end and swap it in. Just be sure to check the ratio's Town cars and HPP equipped cars got gears steeper than 2.73.

[Logizyme]

All he would need to do is change the shock mounts, move them in.

Axle length and wheel offset are considerably different and this will require different wheels on the rear to maintain proper performance and is more difficult that an 8.8 rebuild.

[Spectragod]

Axle length and wheel offset are considerably different and this will require different wheels on the rear to maintain proper performance and is more difficult that an 8.8 rebuild.

While an 8.8 rebuild is not difficult, nor would be changing out a rear end assembly, kinda what hot rodding is about....