Transmission Slipping...Suggestions?

[molson63]

I've got a bone-stock 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis LS. The transmission was rebuilt by the previous owner at 107,053 miles. It has a little over 150,000 miles now, so the transmission has had about 50,000 miles put on it since the rebuild ten years back. Everything worked great until today when I was returning from Massachusetts to New York on the tollway. I entered a toll plaza and, when I drove off, the car's transmission started slipping. As long as I eased it along I could go 65 or so with no problem, and as far as I can tell it was in OD (I don't have a tachometer, of course, but the engine didn't sound as if it was revving very high). But if I did anything more than the most extremely gentle acceleration from a stop[, I got slippage. If I went up a hill and needed to accelerate, it wasn't going to happen. The car didn't seem to downshift like it normally does when going up hills, or perhaps it was slipping so badly I couldn't accelerate. What is weird is the suddenness of it. One minute everything is perfectly fine, the next it isn't. I baby this car (no sudden take-offs, drive it at about 55 in my area, 65-70 on the highway). It has been getting 22 mpg or more and the transmission fluid is clear, clean and right where it is supposed to be. No burned smell, no signs of leakage. The car used less than half a tank to go two hundred miles on this trip from my house in upstate New York to the Hartford airport and back again. Any ideas of things to check before I take it to a transmission shop? A rebuild was $1500 ten years ago; I hate to think of how much it must be now.

[miamibob]

Is the TV bushing still on the linkage? The factory one is plastic and deteriates with the heat of the manifold. If it goes and you drive the car too long (not long at all once it goes) you WILL need a rebuild. There is a dealer or aftermarket one that is brass so I would check that first, replace if needed and try the car. If it still slips then it is rebuild time. Check out the other post on this board that refer to this.....Bobby

[molson63]

I checked and the cable was hanging loose. The bushing had disintegrated. I did a funky temporary zip-tie job (don't ask) and took it down the road a half mile or so. It shifted normally, "clunking" into overdrive like it always has. When I slowed down to turn around I figured the ties must have fallen off because it shifted as it did on the way home. I got back and sure enough, the cable was dangling again. Assuming I don't drive it again until I get a proper bushing and it shifts normally as it did a few moments ago, how long do I have before it is toast? I figure I must have done a fair amount of damage on the way home, since I drove it at least fifty miles or so, twenty-five of those at about 70 and twenty five at about 55, and based on other postings it sounds like it doesn't take very long to fry the transmission when that happens. What do you think?

[pantera77]

I checked and the cable was hanging loose. The bushing had disintegrated. I did a funky temporary zip-tie job (don't ask) and took it down the road a half mile or so. It shifted normally, "clunking" into overdrive like it always has. When I slowed down to turn around I figured the ties must have fallen off because it shifted as it did on the way home. I got back and sure enough, the cable was dangling again. Assuming I don't drive it again until I get a proper bushing and it shifts normally as it did a few moments ago, how long do I have before it is toast? I figure I must have done a fair amount of damage on the way home, since I drove it at least fifty miles or so, twenty-five of those at about 70 and twenty five at about 55, and based on other postings it sounds like it doesn't take very long to fry the transmission when that happens. What do you think?

Making sure you have the brass TV grommet is the FIRST thing you check when buying a box!


On my old 91 marq, it fell off while driving home once. Less than 20 miles and 3rd and OD never engaged again.

[miamibob]

Please DO NOT drive it again until the bushing is in. Even if you can only get a plastic one for now don't "jerry rig it". No way of knowing if damage was done or how much. Replace the bushing and PRAY!! Bobby

[molson63]

Well, I'm a pastor so maybe that will help.... I'll pick up a bushing tomorrow. Is the brass bushing something I can just ask for at NAPA (as in, "I need a brass bushing for a 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis TV cable") or do I have to know a part number? Thanks for all the help so far!

[molson63]

BTW I know it was slipping but I got over 25 mpg on the trip...maybe that is a good sign?

[79lincolnlover]

BTW I know it was slipping but I got over 25 mpg on the trip...maybe that is a good sign?

A slipping transmission is never a good thing.

[miamibob]

This should help!! Bobby

http://www.lincolnsonline.com/tech/00052.html

[Lincolnmania]

if you cant get one from a local ford dealer or a trans shop try this link.

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/item/LRS-7303A/87-93-Mustang-Aod-Brass-Tv-Cable-Bushing-Kit?utm_source=google-shopping&utm_medium=comparison-shopping&utm_campaign=google-shopping

i would also change the transmission fluid and filter also........and pray!

if you have to have one asap the plastic bushing that the car originally had is available on the Help! rack at most parts stores, comes in a pack of assorted bushings, but like others said, the nylon ones do not last cause of the heat.

good luck and God bless!

[molson63]

I ordered the part using the link from Lincolnmania (thanks!). It should be here by the end of the week. Once it arrives I'll take it over to the garage and have the fluid and filter changed. I'm hopeful since when it was "jerry rigged" the transmission shifted perfectly normally. God watches over drunks and fools (I don't drink, so you can figure out which is which). Thanks again to everyone for your help.

[miamibob]

Let us know how it turns out!! We're praying for you. Bobby

[molson63]

Well here is the initial report. I drove over to NAPA this morning in my other car and bought a standard bushing and installed it in the Mercury. I then drove it in the valley for about five miles and everything seems fine. It shifts smoothly with no smells or hesitation. The car shifts from 1st to 2nd at 15-20 mph, depending on how hard you are pushing the gas. It shifts from 2nd to 3rd at 30-40 mph, again depending on the relative rate of acceleration. By the time it reaches 45-55 it goes into overdrive. It clunks a bit doing that but it always has (that is to say, it is more noticeable shifting into overdrive than any of the other gears). Again, no smells, no sign of slippage. I then took it up the mountain, and parts of that road are at a ten-percent or better grade. It scooted right up the hill, again with no signs of slippage and nothing out of the ordinary. On the steepest parts it downshifted and accelerated smoothly. No problems descending down the mountain either. I stopped in to see my mechanic and he agreed to change the fluid and filter if I asked him to, but he wasn't sure he would do that if it were his car. His reasoning is that the clutches probably lost a fair amount of material which is now suspended in the fluid. That material is bad for some parts of the transmission but good for producing friction for the bands. It may be best, he said, to leave well enough alone and just keep a close eye on the transmission for signs of trouble. It might go for fifty miles like this or it might go for fifty thousand. I thought I'd post here again and ask what you all thought. I can see the value of taking out the old fluid and filter, but I understand what my mechanic is saying too. Again, he'll do the job, but in his opinion that may not be the best thing for the transmission. So what do you say?

[tjc78]

I drove my 89 LTC without the bushing for about 8 miles (keeping speed very low and when I was going downhill putting it in neutral) the trans was fine. In my 89 MGM I didn't know what happened (owned this before the LTC) and was 40 miles from home. The tranny in that was gone and wouldn't hold 4th gear at any speed over 55.

Chances are you didn't smoke yours, but probably did some damage. Try to budget for a rebuild, just in case.

[pantera77]

I stopped in to see my mechanic and he agreed to change the fluid and filter if I asked him to, but he wasn't sure he would do that if it were his car. His reasoning is that the clutches probably lost a fair amount of material which is now suspended in the fluid. That material is bad for some parts of the transmission but good for producing friction for the bands. It may be best, he said, to leave well enough alone and just keep a close eye on the transmission for signs of trouble. It might go for fifty miles like this or it might go for fifty thousand. I thought I'd post here again and ask what you all thought. I can see the value of taking out the old fluid and filter, but I understand what my mechanic is saying too. Again, he'll do the job, but in his opinion that may not be the best thing for the transmission. So what do you say?

Your mechanic sounds like he actually knows what he's talking about, and yes, that is all very good advice. If I were you, I personally wouldn't change it. I'd drive it and hope for the best.