Transmission slipping?

I have a curiosity about transmission slippage. My 2003 p71 had 120,000 km on it when I bought it just over 2 years ago. I have 190,000 km on it now, and during that time I have done 2 tranny services.

I let my brother in law drive my car and he commented that it was slugish at idle. For example the car while in drive on a level surface doesn't really move... gotta giver some gas to make it roll. I never thought much of it since my last two cars were manual tranny, and the other was an old 87 crown vic.

I notice that while in drive on my driveway my vic rolls backward at idle. My driveway has a bit of an incline, and I know that the car is fairly heavy, so I never thought much of it.

So my main question is if the tranny is slipping, or is it just normal for the tranny to be so sloppy at idle speed?

Does the engine rev higher then normal while this happens?


I have a curiosity about transmission slippage. My 2003 p71 had 120,000 km on it when I bought it just over 2 years ago. I have 190,000 km on it now, and during that time I have done 2 tranny services.

I let my brother in law drive my car and he commented that it was slugish at idle. For example the car while in drive on a level surface doesn't really move... gotta giver some gas to make it roll. I never thought much of it since my last two cars were manual tranny, and the other was an old 87 crown vic.

I notice that while in drive on my driveway my vic rolls backward at idle. My driveway has a bit of an incline, and I know that the car is fairly heavy, so I never thought much of it.

So my main question is if the tranny is slipping, or is it just normal for the tranny to be so sloppy at idle speed?

The engine does not rev higher. The car is at idle speed.

does it act like it is slipping when you hit passing gear not picking up speed but acting like its hitting the rev limiter? 03 and up thats a sign of a fuel pump going out.

no. Tranny runs strong at high rpm's and does that annoying belt chirp into second gear from the stong shift.

pollenjesus:

They are pretty soft like that and what you describe is normal for the most part.

Make sure its not taking off in 2nd or anything. Put the shfter in the "1" position and see if it leaves the line better than when its in the "2" position.

When you floor it does it spin the back tires over?

pollenjesus:

They are pretty soft like that and what you describe is normal for the most part.

Make sure its not taking off in 2nd or anything. Put the shfter in the "1" position and see if it leaves the line better than when its in the "2" position.

When you floor it does it spin the back tires over?

The only time I can get the tires to spin is by doing a brake stand, or when the road is wet, snowy, or icy. Ford tranny's, well at least mine will start out in second gear when the shifter selectro is in 2 which is very usefull for accellerating in snow since it reduces the torque to the rear wheels to reduce spinning the tires.

99% of the time the tranny selector is in D when I drive, sometimes I will drop down into 2 to control speed going down steep hills to keel the brakes cooler. 2003 p71's are notorios for warping rotors because the steel wheels don't flow much air over the rotors. Anyway...

Seems like it should be able to spin the back tires from a stand still without using the brakes but that could be a seperate issue. I think what you describe is pretty normal for these, i wouldnt worry unless it starts to actually slip while shifting, or at any time for that matter. I questioned the same thing when i first got my 97' CV. I went to have the tranny flushed out, and the dealership told me the tranny would shortly fail. That was over 50k miles ago so>

Seems like it should be able to spin the back tires from a stand still without using the brakes but that could be a seperate issue. I think what you describe is pretty normal for these, i wouldnt worry unless it starts to actually slip while shifting, or at any time for that matter. I questioned the same thing when i first got my 97' CV. I went to have the tranny flushed out, and the dealership told me the tranny would shortly fail. That was over 50k miles ago so>

My Crovn Vic has the 2 wheel peel package. I have read that even the Mercury Marauder does not spin the tires by just hammering on the gas. Brake stands are necessary.

Is the ""Check Engine" light on?

Does it lack power at all times, or just on takeoff?

It's possible that you have a restricted catalytic converter.

Is the ""Check Engine" light on?

Does it lack power at all times, or just on takeoff?

It's possible that you have a restricted catalytic converter.


Check engine light is not on. When I nail the throttle, the car takes off like stink...it never has smoked the tires from a dead stop, and I'm not expecting it to.

Could be possible that one of the cats is plugged, but the performance does not seem to reflect that. I was just inquiring about transmission responsiveness at idle speed, i.e. taking the foot off the brake in "D" and letting it roll on it's own power.

Should my 2003 P71 be able to smoke the tires from a dead stop when I hammer the gas pedal?

Should my 2003 P71 be able to smoke the tires from a dead stop when I hammer the gas pedal?

My 97 does all the time and its all stock. If i just put the pedal to the floor it will lay some rubber. Ive balded several sets of rear tires. Some of wich were michelin pilots(stock size), and BFG's(255-60-15).

My 97 does all the time and its all stock. If i just put the pedal to the floor it will lay some rubber. Ive balded several sets of rear tires. Some of wich were michelin pilots(stock size), and BFG's(255-60-15).
Does your 97 C.V. have the limited slip rear end? What gears are in the rear? My car has the limited slip with 3.27 gears.

mine are 3.27 gears . When i floor it, it lights up both back tires but after about two seconds the abs makes some noise and it starts applying the rear brakes on its own. Wich side the abs effects really depends on whats happening with the road and weight dist. ect.

I dont know if yours does, mine has dual exhaust wich is supposed to be good for 15HP.

mine are 3.27 gears . When i floor it, it lights up both back tires but after about two seconds the abs makes some noise and it starts applying the rear brakes on its own. Wich side the abs effects really depends on whats happening with the road and weight dist. ect.

I dont know if yours does, mine has dual exhaust wich is supposed to be good for 15HP.

I have the dual exhaust as well. The motor is rated at 239 horse, but I have made some minor modifications to the intake system putting it around 245 horse. I have no traction control on my car. In the snow I can spin the tires until I get bored, or run outta room to drift sideways...lol

I did clean up the MAF sensor on Sunday cause my fuel economy really sucked. Car runs much stronger now all the way through the rpm band. I'll have to try to tromp the throttle from a standing start and see what happens now.

Thanks for your info. I'll let you know what happens.