transmission still slips

[deadly_nightshade]

my 1990 grandmarquis only has 104, 000 miles on it and my transmission has gone bad somewhere...what i mean is when it is hot motor temp wise it shifts perfectly. but when its cold motor temp wise or has had a chance to sit for four hours or overnight it acts up bad and either slips or stays in first gear and then slips like its in neutral. now we replaced the brass bushing on mine and replaced filter twice due to first filter missing a gasket. keep in mind my tranny was still a virgin too...boo hoo i am having to replace my car but i am looking at a 1988 lincoln mark vii lsc, black with maroon leather interior, fully loaded. 90,000 miles and its fully loaded...so what would you do? its gonna cost me the same either way

[mrltd]

Sounds like low fluid.

[gadget73]

try some magic transmission shop in a bottle goop. At this point you have little to lose. It does sound like low fluid or a weak pump though. The old "morning sickness" bit was common with Chryslers years ago when the pumps started to weaken. Some of them flat out would not move unless you let the engine warm up. They'd go for years like that though.

[sly]

I've seen a couple AODs with "morning sickness" that ran for f'n ever with that problem. Kick you in the ass each time it woke up too.

[BerniniCaCO3]

I just drove 150 miles 2/3 quart low: once on an incline making a turn, when traffic cleared I went to accelerate out of there before traffic returned, and it revved without moving, as if it were in neutral. Surprised, I hit the gas a 2nd time and it moved.
Just to corroborate the statements about fluid level giving such a symptom. Presumably the incline affected how much fluid could be drawn upon, and I was a little low.

It's been a week since your post: what have you found out? Was the fluid level fine? Why do you say the transmission was virgin?
Mine was rebuilt at 108,000 miles, and it really was driven by a little old lady. Guess that's just their lifespan maybe.
I've been working in Volvo for a month and a half now, and I've seen xc90s, a heavy crossover that had an underbuilt tranny for its weight for the years 04-07, burn through transmissions as fast as every 40,000 miles if the driver dared use it for any towing, and at least every 80k; and rather better engineered S80s not uncommonly need transmissions at 120,000 miles. My '01 xc70 was dying at 125k and beyond dead (read, banged into every gear and lost reverse) by 150,000 miles.
...maybe just normal life for transmissions?

I remember getting multiple quotes for $1000 rebuilt AND installed for our AODs. They must be simple trannys to rebuild, and I do know that they sure are simple to install.
I was seeing recently-rebuilt ones on craigslist for $300, and if you're a little handy you can install it yourself. I know I found it intimidating because I didn't know what I was doing at the time, but it's not so bad.

So, if fluid is fine and not the culprit, maybe consider a new trans? Unless the lincoln is also <$1000 and really is trouble-free.
What have you decided?

[Southern_Pride]

I ran mine like 4 quarts low before it neutralled out. Cooler line broke though. Instant tranny flush.