2002 LS V8 Trans slip!

[Hoverracer8]

Hi i just bought a 2002 LS V8 with 50,000 miles and if i drive in D5 then stop at a light and go the car slips then slams into gear. If i put it in D4 right before i stop it doesnt, Is this normal? I dont like it! The car was babied its whole life as i am friends with the old owner and he said for me not to start out in D5 and thats what the lincoln dealer told him!. If i punch it and drive a little hard like when i tried out my custom intake it shifeted amazing during acceleration then stopped at a light jumped kinda hard then fine. Is this low trans fluid the owners manaul says the trans doesnt have a check stick but i am a auto mechanics school grad and have never had a car only slip in D5 from a stop and any other speed gear be completly fine.
Does the car firm shift points dependent on driving? Sorry for my Newbie neglegence on the car! Thank you! Nate Hill

 

[Jim Henderson]

The LS is supposed to shift nicely, maybe a tad firm.

But Harsh shifting, delayed shifting, uncertain shift points is a common problem and not fixing it could lead to requiring a rebuild.

There was, maybe still is a customer satisfaction program where Lincoln would try an additive, if that didn't work they would drop the pan and inspect, if they saw problems they would drop the tranny and usually replace the valve body and solenoid pack. All of this is free and includes free loaner.

My 04 was bought used with about 14,000 miles on it. It had a few , shifts where it felt like the tranny wasn't sure what it wanted to do. It wasn't bad so I passed it off as the nature of the beast.

At about 15,000 miles the tranny started bang shifting, sometimes so hard, I thought I had been rear ended by a bus or car. Other times it would kind of rumble between gears while it tried to make up it's mind.

The dealer fixed it and I think it is still OK. Some people have had to have the repair done several times, groan.

Mine showed signs of overheating and some debris in the pan so they dropped the tranny and replaced parts.

Good Luck, This is probably something you must take care of before it costs more $$$.

Jim Henderson