Routine Transmission Service (when & where?)

[joyofsix]

2000 V6 LS SportPackage (70,000 miles)

My transmission works fine except for a lil jerk when puttin it in reverse, when should these naughty transmissions be serviced? (miles? years? when it breaks?) what needs to be done (flush? reg. service? change filter and call it a day?) and can a regular transmission shop do this job with ease? i hate going to the dealer. im just tryin to avoid dealing with the horrible transmission problems i hear about on this forum, thanks for any suggestions.

Gardena, California.

[CGGorman]

Officially, the transmission is service-free for life. The filter is designed to last several hundred thousand miles under normal use. Unless it's leaking, the fluid is also fine for the long haul...officially.

That said, I would open it up and check things out every 100,000 miles or so.

Changing the fluid requires a pressurized fluid exchange system. Any lincoln dealership will have the proper equipment, but an independant shop may not. I'm sorry I don't have better details, but I only use my dealership.

[joyofsix]

thanks CGGorman,
do you have any expereinces about the hard jerk when shifting into reverse? is that normal?

thank you again.

[CGGorman]

A slight jerk might be considered normal, but not a hard one. Unfortunately, "slight" and "hard" are too subjective to be useful in this context (the internet). You would have to have another LS owner/driver/mechanic evalulate it in person.

My philosophy with the LS transmission is to watch for CHANGES. Any static behaviour that doesn't seem grossly out of the norm will just get jotted down in my long term memory to be used if anything seems to start changing.

ie, if your tanny always shifted into reverse the way it does now, I wouldn't worry about. If it has suddenly developed this new trait or if it has degraded over time, you may want to have it looked at.