gramp Marquis Transmission care

[Titan]

I think I got this idea from UnDummy...I did a recommended flush of the transmission at 30K miles with Motorcraft Mercon V. Then, I went home and die a pan drop and clean, where I put 4 quarts of Mobil 1 ATF Multi-vehicle, with a Mercon V spec. Then, every 10K miles, I've been draining about 2 quarts out and replacing with 2 quarts of Mobil 1 ATF Multi-vehicle. I just hit 60K, so, I did a pan drop to see what it looked like....it was a waste of time...it was pristine. I think I'll keep draining/refilling those 2 quarts until the time it is recommended the filter be changed....I think that is over 100K miles. Highway cruising just doesn't produce much junk in this transmission...

 

[Steve S]

Highway miles are the best for the whole drivetrain.

 

[psudaytona]

The 4R70W tranny is pretty tough as well. Same one in all crown vic police units. Mine has 110K on its clock of police service and is still running well. These cars seem to love highway driving. Mine always runs better in the days following a long highway run.

 

[FL-400S]

Is it easy to drain and fill this transmission? IS there a drain plug? I just did an oil change first time on my dads 2001 CV. It has about 47k now.

 

[unDummy]

A little maintenance + a quality fluid..... what else did you expect???
Install a drainplug and ease up on the intervals since driving style isn't an issue.

I pull all my ATF plugs at least twice a year. The fluid, pan, filter....always look spotless. Nothing like pulling a 150k+ VB for mods and not having ANY debris varnish wear.... NOTHING wrong at all. 6 quarts of ATF a year isn't even a budget breaker. A transmission definitely is.

 

[Titan]

Thanks, for the original great advice, I'll take your current advice and put a drain plug in. I was siphoning from the fill tube...a plug will be much better. I'm hoping this transmission will last as long as the rest of the car. At 60,000 highway miles/year, maybe I'll get 300,000 out of the old Gramp-mobile before retiring it and getting maybe a 2008 (this one's a 2004).

 

[psudaytona]

I dont think there is a TC drain plug on the 2004 models. There is one for my 98 but I think they removed it for either the 2001 or 2003 model years.

Main thing for this tranny is is MUST have Mercon V(or a fluid specifically spec-ed for MV). Anything else with surely cause TC shudder, this feels exactly like driving over a rumble strip.

 

[Colt45ws]

The TC drain plug was removed during the 2001 MY. If you have a '01 it may or may not have one. Some of the transition units have a piece of steel spot welded over the hole as well. What I did on my '04 was to pull the cooler line and let it pump itself out. That way I didnt have a full pan to drop..
Something I wish I had done while it was down was the J-mod on the VB..

 

[Titan]

You are correct, no Torque Converter Drain plug on mine. I'm going to install a drain plug into the pan to make it easier to drain/fill periodically. Since my highway driving seems so "easy" on the transmission, I don't think I need full flushes if I periodically drain/fill as I've been doing.