Newbie with dreaded tranny problems!!!

[jbl420]

Hello all! new to the site, although I have been reading posts for the past few weeks. Some recent issues have brought me here for some guidance from you smart fellas. First a bit of background on my LS:
2001 V6 premium edition, all the goodies except sunroof,navigation and heated seats. Purchased w/ 52k on the odometer, 1 owner, lil ol lady in Fort Worth. got to look at full service records before purchase, she took the car in for every scheduled maintenance checkup and appears to have done everything by the book, also had the transmission reflash that Ive seen mentioned in other posts Car was immacuate, not a ding or scratch, hardly even a wrinkle in the seats. I have since put 22k on the car in about a year and up until a few weeks ago have not had a single issue......UNTIL NOW! The car has been into Lincoln for serpentine belt replacements(not needed just did it to be safe) and to my mechanic for a full tune-up(filters, plugs, fuel injectors cleaned) again not really needed just to be safe.

Aprox 8 weeks ago I noticed some hesitation when shifting in to reverse. it was only a slight hesitation at first, and has since proceeded to grow into a span of 3-4 seconds. At times there is a slight whirring or whining noise that can be heard during the hesitation. It was intermittent at first, but within the past 2-3 weeks it does it nearly every time I shift, and is now sometimes accompanied by the dreaded THUNK when it does pop in place. Also, on 2 or 3 occasions I have heard a loud vibration or chatter when I first start the car and put it in drive. The sound comes from the tranny area, If i shift into reverse or a lower gear the chatter will go away and DOES not come back when I put it in drive again. This chatter has only occured when I first start my car in the morning. Upshifting seems to be fine, we all know the LS is not know for being the smoothest tranny in the world so I cant really detect any noticeable changes during driving, not too say that there isnt.

Im ready to take this beast into the dealer, and Im preparing myself for the porking I'm about to recieve at the hands of the service dept. Ive seen posts of situations where folks have gone through 2 or 3 or 4 solenoids to no avail, I have no warranty so I cannot afford a similar experience myself. If they tell me its the solenoid, do I trust them or should I ask them to replace the valve body anyways? If it comes down to replacing the valve body and solenoid then a new tranny becomes a possibility as well.

Im trying to find out the following:

what prices have others paid for solenoid/valve body replacement?

how about a new tranny, both the tranny cost and the cost to have it put in?

If I go with just a solenoid replacement will Lincoln warranty it if either it doesnt fix the problem or goes bad again? I know the answer to this one is likely NO but if i bring it up beforehand and let them know that im aware of the issue hoping it might keep them on their toes

Any other problems or symptons I should look for tranny wise?

Any info from all you geniuses out there is truly appreciated, I apologize for the long post, just want to make sure I have all the facts so I dont get too HOSED!

thanks!

 

[eL eS]

Hello all! new to the site, although I have been reading posts for the past few weeks. Some recent issues have brought me here for some guidance from you smart fellas. First a bit of background on my LS:
2001 V6 premium edition, all the goodies except sunroof,navigation and heated seats. Purchased w/ 52k on the odometer, 1 owner, lil ol lady in Fort Worth. got to look at full service records before purchase, she took the car in for every scheduled maintenance checkup and appears to have done everything by the book, also had the transmission reflash that Ive seen mentioned in other posts Car was immacuate, not a ding or scratch, hardly even a wrinkle in the seats. I have since put 22k on the car in about a year and up until a few weeks ago have not had a single issue......UNTIL NOW! The car has been into Lincoln for serpentine belt replacements(not needed just did it to be safe) and to my mechanic for a full tune-up(filters, plugs, fuel injectors cleaned) again not really needed just to be safe.

Aprox 8 weeks ago I noticed some hesitation when shifting in to reverse. it was only a slight hesitation at first, and has since proceeded to grow into a span of 3-4 seconds. At times there is a slight whirring or whining noise that can be heard during the hesitation. It was intermittent at first, but within the past 2-3 weeks it does it nearly every time I shift, and is now sometimes accompanied by the dreaded THUNK when it does pop in place. Also, on 2 or 3 occasions I have heard a loud vibration or chatter when I first start the car and put it in drive. The sound comes from the tranny area, If i shift into reverse or a lower gear the chatter will go away and DOES not come back when I put it in drive again. This chatter has only occured when I first start my car in the morning. Upshifting seems to be fine, we all know the LS is not know for being the smoothest tranny in the world so I cant really detect any noticeable changes during driving, not too say that there isnt.

Im ready to take this beast into the dealer, and Im preparing myself for the porking I'm about to recieve at the hands of the service dept. Ive seen posts of situations where folks have gone through 2 or 3 or 4 solenoids to no avail, I have no warranty so I cannot afford a similar experience myself. If they tell me its the solenoid, do I trust them or should I ask them to replace the valve body anyways? If it comes down to replacing the valve body and solenoid then a new tranny becomes a possibility as well.

Im trying to find out the following:

what prices have others paid for solenoid/valve body replacement?

how about a new tranny, both the tranny cost and the cost to have it put in?

If I go with just a solenoid replacement will Lincoln warranty it if either it doesnt fix the problem or goes bad again? I know the answer to this one is likely NO but if i bring it up beforehand and let them know that im aware of the issue hoping it might keep them on their toes

Any other problems or symptons I should look for tranny wise?

Any info from all you geniuses out there is truly appreciated, I apologize for the long post, just want to make sure I have all the facts so I dont get too HOSED!

thanks!

welcome to the best owner forum on earth. Sorry to hear about te problem(s). First you just might be covered by the Lincoln After Warranty Adjustment, AWA, it is a freebie fix and the allocate two per vehicle up to 75k miles. Now that said if the dealer cannot get it covered by AWA this is what you could be faced with.

To fix the transmission properly requires the replacement of two components the Solenoid Pack and Valve Body, pm mrzeee or email parts@fivestarford.com for quotes but you might be looking at 1000 in retail for the two. A new tranny will set you back about 1500 plus labor to do the removal/install but you get the 3/36 warranty with it so I was told. I have been through 4 tranny reapirs 2 of them we done before 50k miles.

The last repair which included the valve body seems to have been the longest standing so far and am feeling very confident that it might go the distance. I suspect the noise you are talking about might be the torque converter. Maybe.

I have never experienced a failed TC before so I do not know the signs of its demise. I would go to a lincoln dealer and talk with the SA about the AWA since the mileage is so low and it was well maintained Iwould expect that you would be granted it. If not try another dealer becasue the shops get squeezed very hard by the factory on warranty work so if the first shop shoots you down it might be related to an already high number of warranty hours on the books for that month or quarter.

The most you will be out of pocket up front is the diag fee usually under 100 bux. From there you can decide to handle the work or let it go for a while.

If you feel like you need to chat PM me your phone number and I will call you. I have free long distance and can give you the full 5 years of what I have been through with my tranny et al.

 

[jbl420]

thank you, and yes this is the best forum ever. Need a little further explanation on the AWA, what exactly is this. Obviously getting any or all of this covered by Lincoln would be GREAT!!! If you can possibly go into detail on this so i dont sound like a complete idiot when i go in to the service dept next week. thanks for the blazingly fast response and the great info! :yourock:

 

[eL eS]

Basically Lincoln, fomoco, will eat the cost of the repair if they decide to cover it. I do not have any further details nor documentation on the AWA, sorry. They will know what you are seeking.