Tranny - is this an issue or normal

[Foz]

Typical 2000 Lincoln LS V8 Auto (traditional not SST) roughly 66K on it...

When I switch from D5 to D4 it very rarely shows D4 on the cluster, however always shows D3, D2 etc... I never thought anything of it, until I saw D4 twice this weekend. Then for the life of me couldn't make it come back again, it almost always says D5.

Shouldn't it read D4 when I mover the shifter, or am I missing something?


Thanks if you can answer this simple question... I am planning a SST conversion, but don't want to if I have other issues...

 

[Foz]

Really?

Noone knows? Is this speed dependent?

When I move the shifter from d5 to d4 it should say d4 on the cluster right? If I move from D5-D4-D3 it reads D3????

Really don't want to deal with the stealership for this... if they are feeling lazy they will tell me it's normal, if they need cash, they will spend an hour or two diagnosing.....

 

[tx_ls]

Mine is doing the exact same thing. I have the 2000 V8 also with about 85K miles on it. So far I have noticed any issues with it other than I cannot downshift from 5 to 4.

 

[eastcoastLS]

when you move the gearshift lever from D5 to D4 the cluster should change from saying D5 to D4. whatever gear selected that the gearshift is in should read in the cluster to the right of the odometer.

 

[gt95coupe]

My car is doing the same thing. It shifts normally but if I try to downshift to d4 nothing happens. I have a SST shifter that I got from VIVIDLS and plan on installing it this weekend.
BTW Does anyone have a good SST conv HOW TO: I searched today and only came up with somthing that someone scanned (not good quality) a to their desktop. and when I tried to print it the text was almost readable for the most part.

 

[Foz]

so that's three of us that have the same issue, does that mean it's typical to the LS, or is it something most people just overlook...

anyone have one that is working right?

 

[cuzican]

I also have a 00 V8 LS, with out the SST. And when I try to shift it from 1-2-3-D4-D5 manually the indicator will stay in 3. I have never tried to see if the car is actually shifting into D4 or D5 though. If I go up to neutral and back to D5 it will read right. The car has done it since I have owned it (68,000 mi). I never worried too much about it though cause I always just put it in D5 and it shifts fine automatically.

 

[daves2000ls]

My car is doing the same thing. It shifts normally but if I try to downshift to d4 nothing happens. I have a SST shifter that I got from VIVIDLS and plan on installing it this weekend.
BTW Does anyone have a good SST conv HOW TO: I searched today and only came up with somthing that someone scanned (not good quality) a to their desktop. and when I tried to print it the text was almost readable for the most part.

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=13846

That link ought to be to Lou's install of his SST.

 

[Former Member]

make that 5 of us...

i own a 2000 LS v8 auto, 107,000miles...doesnt read D4 either unless i fiddle with the shifter. then it goes back and forth between d4 and d5 and causes for an unpleasant ride. it does read all the other drive positions

to be honest the shifter in the Ls has always felt like the cheapest part of the car...acutally make that the tranny. sometimes shifting to reverse will cause a "clank" under the car and a violent jolt. thats why im scared to put any power into the thing, even though id really like too

my reason for using d4 was that in D5 at low rpms under a load the car will miss, i think its due to my coils but its not a big enough deal to me to spend 400$ on coils. if i let the car naturally downshift when i hit a hill all problems are solved. but id try to use D4 and it wouldnt show up on the cluster.

i guess thats just part of owning the first year of the car, all the problems werent fixed fully. wonder if a Xcal2 would help? they say you can make it shift alot firmer, maybe that would help the transmission in knowing what gear its in.

 

[Foz]

so I broke down and called the dealer to get their opinion... all they could say was to bring it in and they would look at it... could be either the gear selector, a sensor or something in the transmission... Yeah, clueless

 

[rickztahone]

i have that same clunk when i put it in park and sometimes in reverse as well. i never use the other shifts, i always keep it on d4. is it just something to do or is it the way the car is suppose to be driven?

 

[Foz]

Alright! I called a smaller and further away dealer (also the one I bought my Lincoln from) who was also a little clueless BUT told me to stop in and see their Tranny specialist who would ride in the car and I could talk to and get his opinion -- without a ridiculous diagnosis fee! infact no fee at all!

 

[Foz]

i have that same clunk when i put it in park and sometimes in reverse as well. i never use the other shifts, i always keep it on d4. is it just something to do or is it the way the car is suppose to be driven?

you keep it in D4 or D5? and if you keep it in D4 does it ever say D4 on the cluster?

 

[jacquezzz]

Alright! I called a smaller and further away dealer (also the one I bought my Lincoln from) who was also a little clueless BUT told me to stop in and see their Tranny specialist who would ride in the car and I could talk to and get his opinion -- without a ridiculous diagnosis fee! infact no fee at all!

Why are they clueless? Just because they can't tell you exactly what is wrong with your car without actually looking at it. They don't make their money by giving away free information.

 

[Foz]

they are clueless because I expect them to know more about the Lincoln Product then I do. Neither one could confirm how it should work. I don't expect them to be able to diagnosis anything over the phone, they are dealerships far from pyschics. I do expect them to be able to tell me if it is worth being concerned over, and if it is a problem. If they spend an hour on the car trying to figure out what's wrong, then they should be paid. Not for spending an hour if they have no idea if it is working right or not.

The first dealer told me to bring the car in and they will find out if anything was wrong. Even though they did not know if it was wrong or not. So if it turns out that it is working how it is supposed to, then I'm still out the diagnosis fee. So I'm basically paying for both of us to find out how it works. No thanks. I asked them if they thought it was more likely to be something inside the gear selector, or the transmission? I told them I was wanted to replace the gear selector with an SST one (they suprising had absolutlety no reaction + or -), their response was that we should replace it and see if it starts working. That defeats the purpose of trying to find out if something is wrong first.

The second dealer was only slightly clueless, but was also willing to admit it. I told him the same thing, and he said "I know there are a number of factors that goes into what gears it goes into, speed, throttle position, ..........(rattled off a bunch of possible factors) but I don't know if something is keeping it from working right, or if that's why it isn't showind D4" I told him I was thinking about swaping the gear selector for the SST, he said "I don't know if that's compatable" I told him what we has been discussed on the forum, he said "sounds cool, we could flash the pcm for you" He told me he really wasn't sure what it could be, so I should stop by and have the shop's tranny guys spend a few minutes talking to me and go for a ride so I can show him what it does. And then go from there and then talk about diagnosising it. he told me which days the tranny guys left early to coach some kid league sporting event. If I can fit it in on Mon I'm going down to talk to him.

 

[eastcoastLS]

The second dealer was only slightly clueless, but was also willing to admit it. I told him the same thing, and he said "I know there are a number of factors that goes into what gears it goes into, speed, throttle position, ..........(rattled off a bunch of possible factors)

yeah, even though you move the gear shifter the tranny will not switch gears until its aware that it is safe to make such an action. e.g. put the gear shifter in sst and forget about it, it will automatically shift..

my reason for using d4 was that in D5 at low rpms under a load the car will miss, i think its due to my coils but its not a big enough deal to me to spend 400$ on coils. if i let the car naturally downshift when i hit a hill all problems are solved. but id try to use D4 and it wouldnt show up on the cluster.

i dealt with that same problem. i'll let you know though, i drove the LS in that condition multiple times for 12 hours at 80 avg mph. eventually the car started missing in d4 also then finally threw a code, never been so happy to see a CEL hah

 

[Former Member]

i dealt with that same problem. i'll let you know though, i drove the LS in that condition multiple times for 12 hours at 80 avg mph. eventually the car started missing in d4 also then finally threw a code, never been so happy to see a CEL hah

yea i cant wait for the day i get the CEL too.

what was the code? prolly just a misfire or muliple misfires. i dont want to spend the money on labor for them to test each coil, id rather the car just tell me "missfire on cylinder X" or something lol.

 

[eastcoastLS]

what was the code? prolly just a misfire or muliple misfires. i dont want to spend the money on labor for them to test each coil, id rather the car just tell me "missfire on cylinder X" or something lol.

2 codes (p0301, p0351) really it was cyl 2 that was missing though
thats orignally what happened to me, got the CEL for misfire cyl 2 (1 code). got in there and replaced all the coils on the cyl 2 side, put everything back together cleared the CEL. so start the car and up comes a CEL (this time for 2 codes a misfire and faulty coil on cyl 1). i didn't know what else further to do so i took it to the dealer and he replaced the cyl 2 coil, told me to drive the hell out of it and come back if it keeps missing, but its running fine. honestly its not a lot of cash to get 1 coil replaced including diagnosis. my total for just the coil and install was $230 or around there which isn't that bad considering the coil is like $120 or $160. best wishes

 

[Foz]

yeah, even though you move the gear shifter the tranny will not switch gears until its aware that it is safe to make such an action. e.g. put the gear shifter in sst and forget about it, it will automatically shift..

thing is, even if I leave it in D4 all day (which I did today and have done in the past) it never reads D4. In fact I've only seen D4 on the cluster a grand total of maybe 3 or 4 times...

 

[eastcoastLS]

thing is, even if I leave it in D4 all day (which I did today and have done in the past) it never reads D4. In fact I've only seen D4 on the cluster a grand total of maybe 3 or 4 times...

something wrong, it should def read D4. if the car runs fine then its prob not much of an issue.

 

[macboy]

e.g. put the gear shifter in sst and forget about it, it will automatically shift..

In SST mode, the tranny never automatically shifts. You could drive all day at redline and it wouldn't shift. Your engine will die before the trans shifts up.

 

[tx_ls]

It should go show D4 when you shift it into D4 from D5. I used to do this all the time on my daily commute. I had to go down a big hill and I would shift it into D4 and use the engine to keep my speed down and avoid riding the brakes. Mines works just fine in D5 bit I miss being able to downshift into D4. Keep us posted on the solution.

 

[eastcoastLS]

In SST mode, the tranny never automatically shifts. You could drive all day at redline and it wouldn't shift. Your engine will die before the trans shifts up.

true.
i meant shift down. for instance putting it in sst cruising at 50 then you come to a stop, go to take off, look at the gear display, it will read SST2. plus i have a stock 2000 LS so with SST the gear display will never read SST1.

 

[tbirdnlincoln]

same problem

I have the same problem of not being able to shift from D5 to D4. Has anyone figured this out yet?

 

[NateRW21]

"Tranny - is this an issue or normal"

well, it depends who you talk to... I personally feel it's an issue; Gender identity disorder (typical reason for being a tranny) is not normal!