Little auto tranny issue with my '03 Town Car

[Slick Fan]

Let me preface this by saying that I'm cursed where overdrive automatic trannys are concerned. Always have been. Non O/D's are no problem with me, but I have had to fix (mild fixes to full rebuilds) every O/D tranny I've ever owned. (groan)

A few weeks ago I noticed that periodically the tranny in the Town Car was shifting kinda mushy, and the torque converter was having difficulty locking up...then after a while, the O/D light would flash. If I stopped & shut the engine off for a minute, everything was fine upon restart, the tranny would shift normally.
After a while, restarting the engine wasn't fixing it, so I stopped driving it. I wasn't getting any codes to give me a hint, but experience from another tranny issue on an Expedition led me to assume the TCC solenoid was kaput.

So today, I finally had the spare time to do the deed...jack it up & drop the pan.
For a quick recap on my car, I bought it used last January. The car had 194K on the clock, but the price was excellent. The car performed perfectly on my hour long test drive, and I gave it a pretty decent look-over. The tranny fluid was old, but didn't smell burnt, so I planned on changing it when the weather warmed up a bit (I hate working on cars when it's freezing).

Once I dropped the pan, and saw the original yellow factory plug sitting there, I knew the pan had never been off before. Because the fluid didn't smell super nasty, I can only assume that it was flushed at some point, without replacing the filter.

And naturally, the magnet in the corner was completely caked with metal filings. There were even some large slivers stuck to it!

So at this point, past experience says that any idea of a complete system flush was out the window, because doing that will only speed up the demise of this tranny.
So I replaced the TCC (Torque Converter Control) solenoid, slapped a new filter in it, cleaned up the pan, magnet, wiped off the bottom of the valve body & slapped it back together.
I took it for a test spin for a few miles, and the tranny is shifting normally again. Sweet!

I fully expect to be rebuilding this tranny at some point in the near future. But that's okay, I really like the car & love driving it!
Next fix...rear air springs! (soon)

 

[Town]

Hi Slick Fan,

Nice pictures. The long strand metal shavings are not a good sign and the oil is turning brown. The maintenance schedule lists a trans oil change and filter change at 150,000 miles for normal service, special operating conditions specify 30,000 mile intervals for changing trans oil but not the filter, so 150,000 miles for the filter.

Good luck

 

[lassetexan]

Hi
Is it difficult to replace the TCC (Torque Converter Control) solenoid?
What is the p/n for the TCC (03 Cartier)?

Thanks

 

[Slick Fan]

Town,
I wouldn't have guessed the regular filter change to be that late, I would have guessed it to be closer to 75,000 miles. IMO, 150K is much too late.
Yeah, the long strand shavings are not a good sign, neither is the brown oil...which after seeing both, I was surprised the oil didn't have that pungent burnt odor. It just smells old, really old. So for now, it's diluted a bit with 4.5 quarts of new fluid. If it still feels like it's not gonna die by May, I'll probably drop the pan again, for a look-see & dilute it out a bit more with another 4.5 quarts.
I'd be surprised if I get another 25K out of this tranny before it throws in the towel.

Lassetexan,
Here's a shot of the solenoid & part number...

For me, the hardest part was trying to locate the release tabs for the plastic PC board connecting the various solenoids to power. Once you remove that, you will need to remove the rectangular shift solenoids (2 bolts, 8mm & 10mm hex respectively), to remove the TCC. That part is an easy job, they pull straight out & push back in the same.

*edit* Here's that PC board I'm talking about, I happened to stumble on this as I was perusing Ebay this morning...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-BULKHEA...=Year:2003|Model:Town+Car&hash=item35b7729ff4

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[Town]

Hi Slick Fan,

You can flush the trans of "all" its oil using a procedure documented on his 2007 Town Car. It is in this thread: http://lincolnforums.com/forums/threads/11112-Transmission-in-wrong-gear?highlight=trans+flush in post #6. It was put together by Bob (mark95man).

That will save you from just diluting the old oil. Ford have the same procedure for the Continental. The burnt smell comes from overheated clutches that in turn raise the oil temperature well over its oxidising temperature and ruins it. The brown colour is just the dust from the clutches that would be eliminated by more frequent oil changes. Apart from the long metal shavings your trans seems good for 194,000 miles and probably the original oil.

Good luck

 

[Slick Fan]

Apart from the long metal shavings your trans seems good for 194,000 miles and probably the original oil.

I hope you're right, it would be nice to not have to do a rebuild.

Thanks for the link. When I started this yesterday, I had initially intended to drain the converter, unscrew the cooling lines at the trans & blow the tranny cooling system empty with compressed air. But after seeing how dirty the oil is & the amount of shavings on the magnet, I decided against it. The reason being, is that twice before (a GM 700R4 trans & a Mustang AOD), I did a complete flush (and filter change) of nasty old oil, only to have the tranny die within approximately 10,000 miles.
But, Gee, the oil sure looked nice. haha!

After the second one, I read that in a case like this with old oil & mucho miles, if you do a complete system flush, that clean new oil will often dislodge a big gob of gunk that up to that point, has been happy sitting in some internal crevice somewhere. Once the big gob dislodges, it can plug up an oil orfice in the valve body & starve some component of oil, resulting in a failure.
But if you gradually introduce fresh oil over time, the "gob" disperses more gradually, with less chance of plugging up the VB. That's what I'm going for here...there's a method to my madness. LOL!

On another subject, I need to flush my power steering system soon, so thanks again for the link. There's a nice P/S flush procedure included there.

 

[Town]

Hi Lars,

The TCC is the Torque Converter Clutch and it is operated by the TCC solenoid that is pictured. You will need to drop the trans pan for access as Slick Fan did. The TCC solenoid pictured by Slick Fan has been used for many years and fits your car and mine. I don't have a procedure just for the TCC solenoid but the attached procedures may be a help, they are from the 4R75E in the 2006 model that should be the same as the 4R70W in the 2003 model. I cannot see why the manual shift lever needs to be removed, but I have included it just in case.

Since Slick Fan replaced the solenoid without the shift lever being touched the procedures may only be useful for showing you where the components are located.

Good luck.

 

[Town]

Hi Slick Fan,

I understand your concern, but I don't think it is the problem. An alternative reason for your prior problem with old oil is:

1. when oil is left in the trans a long time the clutch dust builds up in suspension and increases the friction value of the oil;
2. the high friction oil wears the clutch packs at an increasing rate and the oil gets more brown looking;
3. while the situation just gets worse under hard running the increased oil friction heats up the clutches quickly and the clutch overheats and overheats the oil causing oxidation and the burnt smell;
4. the transmission over time is shot, but the high friction oil keeps it going, but not without issue toward the end;
5. the trans oil is changed and the worn out trans fails;
6. blame the new oil or how it was installed into the trans rather than the lack of maintenance wearing out the trans.

I think you need to eliminate that clutch dust from your trans oil ASAP to minimize further wear on your trans. Just my opinion.

Good luck.

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[Slick Fan]

I cannot see why the manual shift lever needs to be removed, but I have included it just in case.

That's only if you're replacing the EPC solenoid, since it's in close proximity of the manual shift lever & mounts horizontally.
So you're right Town, there's no need to remove the shift lever when replacing the TCC solenoid. One thing though, the EPC just sorta "sits there" in the valve body, and will rotate a little when you remove the PC board, or what they describe in the PDF as "molded lead frame". So upon reassembly, you can rotate the EPC a little, to help align it's plug with the connector on the lead frame as you snap it back on.

 

[Town]

Hi Slick Fan,

Thanks for the clarification.

Good luck.

 

[Slick Fan]

I think you need to eliminate that clutch dust from your trans oil ASAP to minimize further wear on your trans. Just my opinion.

You may be right, I dunno. Past experience leaves me a little gun shy on this subject.
I suppose in 5 or 6 thousand miles, if no other tranny performance issues have manifested, I could then do a complete flush & keep my fingers crossed.

 

[TABBOOMA]

My question is: If you are going to attempt to change the fluid, why would you just change 1/2 of it by not draining the torque converter

That's like draining 2 quarts of oil from your pan, putting the plug back in and adding 2 quarts back to fill it up.

150K before a transmission service is inane.

If your transmission makes it to 150K, you should change the fluid.

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[Town]

The torque converter on a 2003 model does not have a drain plug, so Slick Fan is stuck with the pan drain or flushing the trans oil out the cooler line as per the DIY flush procedure. Slick Fan already has 194,000 miles so his car is long overdue for a flush. That is one strong transmission.

 

[TABBOOMA]

Okay, that's a shame there is no Town Car drain plug. Thanks for the clarification.

By the looks of that fluid and magnet, I wouldn't even think of not getting as much of that slush out of the transmission. Anything else is just a dilution and your new fluid is instantly compromised.

I'm not sure on the 'DO NOT FLUSH' theory. That transmission is due to fail anyway and how would you possible know that it made any difference.

Good luck.

 

[GeneLaw1]

I am trying to get an understanding here...the proper way to remove ALL of the tranny fluid is to do a FLUSH correct? Just draining from the pan is not sufficient...

 

[TABBOOMA]

Well if you own a vehicle that does not afford the luxury of a drain plug in the torque converter, it's the only way I know of to remove the maximum amount of tainted fluid. That practice does not typically include changing of the filter, unless it's elected to do so, which of course would require more fluid for the job. I'm not sure if that is a big deal or not.

On my 92 AOD, the listed capacity is 12.3 quarts. Of course that is a fill from dry. When I changed mine, I was able to add back 11.5 quarts, so ~93-94%. There will always be some held in the internals of the clutch packs and the cooler lines and cooler. I never figured it was worth the time to try to remove as much as possible from the fluid cooling system.

I'm not actually sure what the flush methods claim as a dilution factor as small is it might be.

On a vehicle with a Town Car drain plug, it's pretty senseless to just drop the pan and change the filter without draining the Town Car. You have only removed ~50% of the system fluid. As I mentioned it's like changing oil in a 5 quart system by only draining 2 qt from the pan and only putting 2 qt of clean oil back in.

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[Town]

Hi Gene,

It depends to some extent on the model year what options you have. For the 2003 and up there is no torque converter drain plug so a flush is required to drain most of the oil. However the trans oil cooler cannot be flushed because there is a thermostat that prevents any flow through the cooler unless trans oil is at about 170 F, but the cooler lines route the oil back to the trans. So a pan drop will change between 4 and 5 quarts of oil while a flush will change almost all the 14 quarts of oil.

For 2002 and earlier models there is a drain plug in the torque converter that is easily accessed through a rubber plug so most of the oil can be removed by torque converter drain and pan drop. Also the trans oil cooler does not have a thermostat so you can drain the entire cooling line and cooler.

The flush described in mark95man's procedure will work for all models. The power flush from a dealer or trans shop works in a similar way to the mark95man procedure except that the cooler lines are hooked up to a machine that receives the oil from the trans pump and torque converter and stores it and pumps new fluid through the return cooler line back to the trans sump.

Good luck.

 

[TABBOOMA]

If you’re driving a dinosaur like me (early ‘92 w/AOD), there will not be a rubber plug to gain access to the torque converter.
　
You will have to remove a metal plate on the bottom of the transmission housing. The AOD drain plug is mounted in the horizontal plane, the AODE in the vertical plane.
　
Trivial but it may save someone from wondering where there is a plug that doesn’t exist.





Sorry I can't seem to get a picture to upload and show from my computer.

 

[Slick Fan]

Interesting, my bellhousing has a rubber plug at the bottom, similar to TABBOOMA's photo, so I assumed my Town Car had a drain. Maybe the plug is just there to look pretty?

As I said earlier, my "do not flush" theory is based largely on past experience with doing a complete flush on high mileage transmissions with nasty oil. Judging from the amount of metal shavings on the magnet in my Town Car's trans, I don't feel I have much to lose by testing my theory. As I said before, I am expecting to end up rebuilding this tranny in the near future, so why not test the theory?
I'm planning on putting some miles on it, theoretically allowing some of the sediment (that may have taken up residence somewhere other than the pan area) to cycle through & find it's way to the magnet and filter.
Initially, I planned to drop the pan in a couple thousand miles, clean the magnet & replace the filter, refill with another 4.5 quarts & repeat the process...but maybe I'll revise the plan, and just go ahead & flush the system at that point & cross my fingers that some big orfice clogging "gob" is diluted out well enough to not pose a problem.

BTW, driving to work today (38 miles), it shifted perfectly, with nary a hiccup.

 

[TABBOOMA]

Basic duplicate post - just getting rid of this one. I sure have a hard time using this forum software. I hope this will work.