2000 Grand Marquis transmission question

[fordnmerc]

I just bought a 2000 Grand Marquis LS with 122k miles for $500. (Actually it turned out to be $485, because I found a ten dollar bill in the right rear fender behind the trunk lining and there was five dollars in change scattered all through it.) Very dirty car a few days ago. Now it's starting to look better. The right rear bumper cover was busted up and I patched that up with metallic tape for the moment. The car's paint is Silver Frost, so it doesn't look too horrible. There is a rust hole at the bottom of the fender behind the left front wheel. Both front fenders have a bit of rust at the wheel lips. Nothing some JB Weld can't fix. That's all of the rust. The frame rails look very clean.

Here are the car's other good points:

All of the power windows work fine.
The a/c works fine.
The power seats work fine, including both lumbar.
The power mirrors work fine.
The power locks for the rear work fine but not for the front (no big deal there).
The radio / cassette is original and works fine.
The heat works fine.
Coolant was recently replaced and new thermostat installed.
Front suspension is all new.
Spark plugs, wires, and coil packs are new.
Master cylinder is new.
Fuel filter looks recent.
Battery is recent.
Tires are new.
Windshield is new.
No warning lights lit in the dash.
Not leaking any fluids, no smoke from the exhaust.

The owner I bought the car from advertised it on Craigslist as having a transmission that was going out. I emailed and asked exactly what it was doing. The person said it would do reverse, and first and second and that was it. I was told it hadn't been driven for a few weeks. I knew that it was certainly worth the $500. It was 20 miles away. I walked 17 and the owner picked me up for the remaining 3 with a different vehicle. I looked the car over briefly, paid the money, and put my plates on.

I pressed the o/d off button, to take it out of overdrive, and then shifted into D. Early on, when cold, the engine rpms had to go up a bit before the car would move forward. Then first to second was a jerk and a surge. When it warmed up it seemed to do much better. I had a significant hill to climb on the way home and I was wondering how that would go. Surprisingly, it went very well. With traffic being what it was, I stayed in the 35 to 40 mph range and had no problems getting up the hill at all. In fact, there was no clattering sound whatsoever from the transmission as so many do in that mph range.

When once again cold, the transmission again is reluctant to move forward without higher than normal engine rpms.

I was told that the transmission was rebuilt at some point.

What might its problem be?

I do plan to change the filter and fluid. I have Mercon V on hand. I have read elsewhere that the 2000 still has a drain plug in the torque converter. I haven't checked yet, but I doubt that. My 1996 Grand Marquis didn't, and even my 1995 F150 didn't.

I will take a look for the plug later today. I have to get underneath anyway to see why the exhaust is loud. She's sounding like Christine when Arnie first drove her into Darnell's.

I have to clean up the wheels and then give her a bath and take some pics. The only other remaining cosmetic issue is a couple of little pieces broken out of the grille.

I'm really hoping that the transmission problem is not a massive issue. I would like to keep the car. But I don't want to spend more for a transmission fix than I would for an entire different car that already had a good transmission.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[IPreferDIY]

My 2000 MGM has a torque converter drain plug, so I'd be surprised if yours didn't. How's the fluid level and quality? I'll refrain from any other comments about the tranny since I'm far from being an expert.

I don't want to be a buzzkill, but I will point out a couple of well-known problems that you should know about. The first is the intake manifold. If the coolant crossover along the front that goes from the thermostat to the other cylinder head is not aluminum, you can expect to replace the intake manifold sooner or later. Also, there is a known problem of premature wear in the timing chain tensioner arms on "some" 2000-2003 MGMs and Crown Vics (and apparently the 2003 Marauder too). I don't know the extent of that problem, but I would guess that the closer you are to a mid-2000 build date, the more likely you are to have the crappy tensioner parts. The good news is that if you mess around with that stuff, you can do some popular modifications to get more air flowing into the engine.

The front suspension being new is a bonus. At over 120,000 miles, the original steering and suspension joints and bushings (inluding in the rear) would be expected to show at least some wear.

[gadget73]

Honestly, when there are major problems with a transmission like this, changing the fluid usually only ends up being successful in that you're lighter in the wallet. Sounds like some sort of internal low pressure problem if it doesn't want to go when cold. I don't know if the 4R70w has the gasket above the filter like the AOD has, but if you don't put that in, you get similar symptoms on an AOD. Might be a leak past a seal or a weak pump, honestly don't know.

[sly]

for the 4rXXX it's the seal around the pokey up part that goes into the hole. If it never gets serviced, that gets rock hard and drops the filter. But morning sickness on a 4R should be a bad pump seal or cracked pump or some busted/extremely worn seals.

[fordnmerc]

As I suspected, the torque converter in this car does NOT have a drain plug. The decal on the driver's side valve cover has a date of 06/24/00.

I am aware of the intake manifold issue. Some seem to fail early, while some never do. I have read that if the torque on the bolts at the factory was just right, it *might* be okay for the life of the car. Plus different driving conditions may be a factor.

All things considered, I think I will just re-sell this one.

I will post some pics later tonight.

[fordnmerc]

Pics are here:

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?54268-My-485-2000-Grand-Marquis-LS&p=788688&posted=1#post788688