'91 Tranny

I recently got a '91 Towncar for 450 bucks, couldn't pass it up. It's all pretty decent for having 150k, little faded and whatnot but overall it LOOKS good for the price. Was converted to springs by previous owner. But... The tranny does that shaky thing, vibrating type stutterish... I don't know how to explain it, feels kind of like those strips on the interstate meant to alert you you're going off the road, but not to their extent. It does it between 20-30MPH, I believe right after it shifts and in low RPM. The people who had it before the guy who converted to springs CLAIM they had a new tranny put in it, and whoever did it messed up. Also... Shifting it is a bit tricky, the clicks are very close together and it's very easy to get the wrong gear. There's no indicator for which gear you're in, either. It's there, just doesn't work, at all. Someone told me that it is the torque converter, it's messed up somehow and it's doing close to a 1-1 rotation with the engine between 20-30MPH and causing it to shake about. They also said that it will be fine as long as you don't drive it long distances, so the converter doesn't get hot and lock up. But that'll be a problem in the future, is the converter theory true? And is it worth fixing? Is it fairly... easy to fix? I like the car, the insides are nice. (That is, after I ripped the carpet out and power-washed it.) I've done motor swaps and pulls and whatnot on older trucks 'n the such, but never messed with newer cars. I'm not scared to attempt it, I just want to know if it is worth it and how hard it'd be, and if it's even the torque converter. Doesn't seem like to me there's any signs of a new transmission being put in it in the past, but maybe I'm wrong. Thanks for your advice, replies and any help. :D

Oh, while I'm here... I put an aftermarket head-unit in it ('Course you gotta pimp the ghetto glider out with some tunes) and the antenna doesn't raise, which causes the radio signal to be crappy. I haven't looked at it at all, just figured I'd see if it's anything easy to fix while I'm here. I'm not sure if it would rise with the stock head-unit or not, since the guy before me ripped it out 'cause it never worked (Which I later found out that the stock amp that is attatched to the back seat in the trunk wasn't hooked up). But yea', if it's worth fixin' 'n makin' right, lemme know. =)

Hi Dread..
Re the transmission:
I'm suspecting the fluid has burnt and caused some problems. The shudder is common with this trans. when it hasn't been maintained. 150k might be too late.

Here's what you need to do before you shoot the trans.

Completely flush the trans, t.converter, cooler, and lines.
This can be done at home if you have the ability to blow out all the old fluid from the lines, cooler, and converter. If you don't, goto PepBoys or the like and have them do a trans. flush.
Clean out the fluid pan and magnet, change the filter if there is one. Some of these trans. had only a pickup screen and no filter.
On the final refill with proper fluid, add two pints of Lubegard Red (http://lubegard.com/automotive/trans_atf.html) to the mix. The Lubegard will prevent overheat breakdown and get rid of the shudder syndrome. You may have to find the Lubegard first as some shops wont have it.
Always flush this trans. at 35k mile intervals.


If that didn't work, it normally will, then you can shoot the trans.

RE the antenna:
The wire harness for the antenna was connected to the stock radio, chances are it still works but you'll have to rig your own wiring to the new head unit. I hear there's an 8-wire connector at that antenna, I can't help you there. I'm sure one's up, and one's down :)

RE the factory amp:
Can't help you there.. they change from model to model (signature, executive, cartier, etc), and year to year.
If you have a primo model that included the JBL system, it would include a sub-woofer up above the spare tire.. though the cone may have rotted, it might be worth reviving if you don't get another sub.

Okay, I will flush the trans asap. I've never done it before, so I'll look for some type of instructions online somewhere. But for some reason I don't think it's going to work because of the way the car shifts. If it doesn't work, what do you mean by 'shoot the trans'? I suspect you mean ... replace it, I don't know. Lol. Thanks for that advice and what to do first, though.

Btw, that amp info was just thrown into the mix. I don't need the old amp, I ran wires for a whole new system with my own amp. If I can't wire the antenna up to go up when the radio comes on, which I doubt I'll be able to, I'll just find out a way to get it up to stay.

...If it doesn't work, what do you mean by 'shoot the trans'? I suspect you mean ... replace it, ...


I have a 30.06 rifle you can take to it :) :) Back in the old days my Bro's and I used to shoot everything that stopped working..



There's another thread on this subject here:
http://www.lincolnsonline.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=005415

Nah, I got an AR-15 I can take to it. :D:D But thanks for the offer.

Anyway, the neighbor, who was the previous owner, said that it never shuddered on him. Which I assume is a good thing, 'cause that means that it just started happening. But anyway, he's all into cars and he's going to help me flush the whole system via one of the cooler lines and starting it up while repeatedly pouring fluid into the tranny while it runs. Hopefully it fixes it, or atleast helps. Thanks for all your advice, Towncar, I appreciate it a lot.

Sounds good :)

Don't forget the Lubegard, mine still shuddered just a bit from 2nd to 3rd until I added the Lubegard. That was 20k miles ago.