03 Crown Vic tranny slipping maybe? I can't diagnose; any ideas?

Greetings from Arizona; I am hoping someone here would have some ideas
on what might be going on with this car.

I have a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria P71, 4.6L, auto transmission. Over
the last few months, it is becoming increasingly noticeable that when
driving under certain conditions, the vehicle appears to either be mis-
firing on a cylinder or the tranny is slipping - that is what the
symptoms exhibit.

The conditions are that I am accelerating, but ONLY in the lower range
of the gear, that is to say, when the vehicle is at a relatively low
RPM. If I gas it even more so that a lower gear is engaged, the
problem either "goes away" or is just masked by the higher RPM, I
can't tell which. It is especially evident when going up a hill when,
like I said, the RPM is not very high and it's in the lower range of
the gear, or just when accelerating "slowly". It appears to happen in
all gears. It's a stuttering or hesitation of sorts.

It's not throwing any codes, it idles perfectly, the motor does not
appear to be missing at all when giving it gas in neutral or idling or
when I tested it by applying the brake and gave it gas to see if I
could simulate the problem. Otherwise this car drives and operates
perfectly, save this one problem.

I find it hard to believe that the tranny is the culprit given the
symptoms, but what do I know. Someone else suggested that is might be
a certain ignition coil that when under "load" is mis-firing (the car
has coil-on-boot ignition coils) but at $56 a pop, I'd rather not
replace all 8 on a hunch. I have already replaced the spark plugs and
serviced it for regular maintenance but still, the problem persists
and I just can't figure it out.

Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

-Ponga

On Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:38:38 -0700 (PDT), ponga
> wrote:

>Greetings from Arizona; I am hoping someone here would have some ideas
>on what might be going on with this car.
>
>I have a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria P71, 4.6L, auto transmission. Over
>the last few months, it is becoming increasingly noticeable that when
>driving under certain conditions, the vehicle appears to either be mis-
>firing on a cylinder or the tranny is slipping - that is what the
>symptoms exhibit.
>
>The conditions are that I am accelerating, but ONLY in the lower range
>of the gear, that is to say, when the vehicle is at a relatively low
>RPM. If I gas it even more so that a lower gear is engaged, the
>problem either "goes away" or is just masked by the higher RPM, I
>can't tell which. It is especially evident when going up a hill when,
>like I said, the RPM is not very high and it's in the lower range of
>the gear, or just when accelerating "slowly". It appears to happen in
>all gears. It's a stuttering or hesitation of sorts.
>
>It's not throwing any codes, it idles perfectly, the motor does not
>appear to be missing at all when giving it gas in neutral or idling or
>when I tested it by applying the brake and gave it gas to see if I
>could simulate the problem. Otherwise this car drives and operates
>perfectly, save this one problem.
>
>I find it hard to believe that the tranny is the culprit given the
>symptoms, but what do I know. Someone else suggested that is might be
>a certain ignition coil that when under "load" is mis-firing (the car
>has coil-on-boot ignition coils) but at $56 a pop, I'd rather not
>replace all 8 on a hunch. I have already replaced the spark plugs and
>serviced it for regular maintenance but still, the problem persists
>and I just can't figure it out.
>
>Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
>
>-Ponga

There were lots of complaints of transmission "shudder" in some of the
Fords using that transmission. not sure of which years but I think it
included the 03's. The cure if often as simple as a transmission
fluid change or fluid flush. I think it has to do with the lock up
clutch in the torque converter. They are designed to sometimes run at
less then 100% locked and I think that, combined with transmission
fluid that isn't up to snuff, causes the thing to shudder. There is
also a special transmission additive (can't recall the name) that many
people have added that is said to help a lot. Do a google on
"ford transmission shudder" and you'll probably find more stuff then
you can find time to read.

On Aug 11, 7:02*am, lugnut > wrote:
>
> Lugnut

Thanks guys. I will go with that and let you know what I find out.

ponga wrote:

> Greetings from Arizona; I am hoping someone here would have some ideas
> on what might be going on with this car.
>
> I have a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria P71, 4.6L, auto transmission. Over
> the last few months, it is becoming increasingly noticeable that when
> driving under certain conditions, the vehicle appears to either be
> mis- firing on a cylinder or the tranny is slipping - that is what the
> symptoms exhibit.
> Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
>
> -Ponga

Have you tried tightening the transmission nuts? Sometimes the
transmission nuts come loose, which results in the transmission fluid
leaking out. The leaking fluid gets into the spark plugs and makes them
misfire.


--

On 8/12/09 8:21 AM, in article , "Li Wan"
> wrote:

> ponga wrote:
>
>> Greetings from Arizona; I am hoping someone here would have some ideas
>> on what might be going on with this car.
>>
>> I have a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria P71, 4.6L, auto transmission. Over
>> the last few months, it is becoming increasingly noticeable that when
>> driving under certain conditions, the vehicle appears to either be
>> mis- firing on a cylinder or the tranny is slipping - that is what the
>> symptoms exhibit.
>> Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
>>
>> -Ponga
>
> Have you tried tightening the transmission nuts? Sometimes the
> transmission nuts come loose, which results in the transmission fluid
> leaking out. The leaking fluid gets into the spark plugs and makes them
> misfire.
>

Maybe I missed where Ford started putting transmissions on top of the
engine, but I just can't imagine how leaking transmission fluid could
possibly get into the spark plugs.

"E. Meyer" > wrote in message
...
>
>
>
> On 8/12/09 8:21 AM, in article , "Li Wan"
> > wrote:
>
> > ponga wrote:
> >
> >> Greetings from Arizona; I am hoping someone here would have some ideas
> >> on what might be going on with this car.
> >>
> >> I have a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria P71, 4.6L, auto transmission. Over
> >> the last few months, it is becoming increasingly noticeable that when
> >> driving under certain conditions, the vehicle appears to either be
> >> mis- firing on a cylinder or the tranny is slipping - that is what the
> >> symptoms exhibit.
> >> Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
> >>
> >> -Ponga
> >
> > Have you tried tightening the transmission nuts? Sometimes the
> > transmission nuts come loose, which results in the transmission fluid
> > leaking out. The leaking fluid gets into the spark plugs and makes them
> > misfire.
> >
>
> Maybe I missed where Ford started putting transmissions on top of the
> engine, but I just can't imagine how leaking transmission fluid could
> possibly get into the spark plugs.
>

If it was "leaking" through a perforated diaphram of
a vacuum modulator, fluid could get to the plugs.

E. Meyer wrote:

>
>
>
> On 8/12/09 8:21 AM, in article , "Li Wan"
> > wrote:
>
> > ponga wrote:
> >
> >> Greetings from Arizona; I am hoping someone here would have some
> ideas >> on what might be going on with this car.
> >>
> >> I have a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria P71, 4.6L, auto transmission.
> Over >> the last few months, it is becoming increasingly noticeable
> that when >> driving under certain conditions, the vehicle appears to
> either be >> mis- firing on a cylinder or the tranny is slipping -
> that is what the >> symptoms exhibit.
> >> Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
> >>
> >> -Ponga
> >
> > Have you tried tightening the transmission nuts? Sometimes the
> > transmission nuts come loose, which results in the transmission
> > fluid leaking out. The leaking fluid gets into the spark plugs and
> > makes them misfire.
> >
>
> Maybe I missed where Ford started putting transmissions on top of the
> engine, but I just can't imagine how leaking transmission fluid could
> possibly get into the spark plugs.


With that particular engine/transmission when certain transmission nuts
become loose hydraulic oil can sometimes be ejected at high pressure.
The end result is an intermittent misting of the entire engine
compartment.

The misted oil droplets are naturally attracted to the high tension
leads which results in the high tension leads wicking up the oil and
becoming contaminated.

In the case of multiple loose transmission nuts, oil can be ejected
directly into the fan which in turn flings it onto the high tension
leads.

It is also possible to detect loose transmission nuts by using the dye
test.

--

How about you check to see if there are any software updates for the
ECU and the tranny computer? Maybe there is a update to address this
shudder. Otherwise, maybe it is the summerfuel, lasttime youdid a fuel
system cleaning, tuneup, what is the running temperature of the
motor,altitude of when you start going uphill?