A few questions from a new owner :)

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gips

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Hello people,
this is my 1st thread and 2nd post in this community. I took my time to read around in order not to ask stupid questions that were already discussed a number of times, so in the end i have only 2 questions. My first one is related to the chain tensioners of prefacelift model as mine is year 2000. So i read around and it seems the prefacelift has a plastic tensioner, which seems to break after some time most likely due to too many heatcycles. I have a cam gasket leaks in the plugs so i ordered a Fel-Pro gasket kit and i am waiting for it to arrive, meantime i read about the tensioner issues and because i am going to replace the gasket i am wondering mif i should replace the tensioners too. Now the real question is has someone seen those fail prior to 160K Kilometers , which is around 100K miles ? My car is halfway on those numbers and is in perfect condition. I drive very little , because i have a few other cars and overall i plan to do like 6-7k km per year which is around 4-5K miles at most. So based on the current mileage it will take ~10 years to come to 160K km, so thats why i am aksing, if someone has seen those tensioners fail before 100K miles ? If not i will probably not touch them.
Now the 2nd question is regarding the transmission.
When i got the car it was with its original fluid 20+ years old. The car was also not driven too much in the last 10 years , so the gearbox was a bit harsh. I started driving the car and in a few days the gearbox got smoother then a few days later i changed the fluid ....all the fluid, not only the one in the pan with a new repsol fluid , which is based on the latest model fluids i think its similar to Mercon LV. The gearbox immediately went smoother on every gear change, but the P to R or P to D were still a bit harsh . Then a few weeks later the P to R became smoother and smoother and now i barely notice the switch to Reverse, however the switch to Drive is still a bit harsh. Compared to the Reverse its quite noticeable. Before anyone starts telling me this is not the right fluid for the gearbox may i say i have enough knowledge on hydraulics and automatic gearboxes , so i know the fluid is not the problem, as i already said all gears are switching fine and the harshness is only felt , when you stop the car and move from P to D or from R to D, after D is engaged you can drive for hours in the traffic with butter smooth gear changes. So my question to the owners here is , do you feel a difference between the engagement of D and R on your vehicles is it normal the Drive to engage harsher than Reverse ?
 
gips said:
Hello people,
this is my 1st thread and 2nd post in this community. I took my time to read around in order not to ask stupid questions that were already discussed a number of times, so in the end i have only 2 questions. My first one is related to the chain tensioners of prefacelift model as mine is year 2000. So i read around and it seems the prefacelift has a plastic tensioner, which seems to break after some time most likely due to too many heatcycles. I have a cam gasket leaks in the plugs so i ordered a Fel-Pro gasket kit and i am waiting for it to arrive, meantime i read about the tensioner issues and because i am going to replace the gasket i am wondering mif i should replace the tensioners too. Now the real question is has someone seen those fail prior to 160K Kilometers , which is around 100K miles ? My car is halfway on those numbers and is in perfect condition. I drive very little , because i have a few other cars and overall i plan to do like 6-7k km per year which is around 4-5K miles at most. So based on the current mileage it will take ~10 years to come to 160K km, so thats why i am aksing, if someone has seen those tensioners fail before 100K miles ? If not i will probably not touch them.
Now the 2nd question is regarding the transmission.
When i got the car it was with its original fluid 20+ years old. The car was also not driven too much in the last 10 years , so the gearbox was a bit harsh. I started driving the car and in a few days the gearbox got smoother then a few days later i changed the fluid ....all the fluid, not only the one in the pan with a new repsol fluid , which is based on the latest model fluids i think its similar to Mercon LV. The gearbox immediately went smoother on every gear change, but the P to R or P to D were still a bit harsh . Then a few weeks later the P to R became smoother and smoother and now i barely notice the switch to Reverse, however the switch to Drive is still a bit harsh. Compared to the Reverse its quite noticeable. Before anyone starts telling me this is not the right fluid for the gearbox may i say i have enough knowledge on hydraulics and automatic gearboxes , so i know the fluid is not the problem, as i already said all gears are switching fine and the harshness is only felt , when you stop the car and move from P to D or from R to D, after D is engaged you can drive for hours in the traffic with butter smooth gear changes. So my question to the owners here is , do you feel a difference between the engagement of D and R on your vehicles is it normal the Drive to engage harsher than Reverse ?
Click to expand...
I had a Top Notch Indy Transmission Shop rebuild and upgraded ALL transmission parts/ components including of course Torque converter in my 2002 LSE 3.9 and to answer your question
YES! The transmission when COLD sometimes shifts from reverse to drive not as smooth as other vehicles I own and have owned ...my 1998 Chevy Silverado is so smooth you wouldn't even know you shifted it ...I have found on all my previous Lincoln LSes and Current that the 5r55n and 5r55s transmission is a bit spunky by nature...like I said when COLD the transmission is a bit spunky at times I wouldn't use the word HARSH but once warmed up I can't even feel it when Shifting from any position D to R or D to P to R to D you get the picture
I hope this answers your question and my question to you is ....How does your transmission BEHAVE when Warmed up?
 
:) well indeed during cold its even harsher on engaging Drive and Reverse , but thats due to the fluid being thicker when cold. My problem is when warm the reverse is barely noticeable unlike the drive tho. You can feel the whole car trying to jump forward while you are still on the brakes , when engaging Drive. Maybe i will make a video to show what i mean :) I think the gearbox is getting better and better the more i drive the car. Most likely there were some residues from the old oil and they are getting cleaned up little by little. After all the old fluid was 20 years old and the car wasn't driven at all for a few years.I will try to drive only this car in the upcoming weeks, and do several D to R and R to D , when i get in and several more before i get out. Hopefully the box will smoothen the D engagement. Everything esle is pretty much perfect except that it developped the missing D4 problem from the display . Seems like a microswitch problem in the shifter based on the topics i found here. Its not a big deal tho D5 is ok and 3,2,1 are ok too, so that will probably wait until next summer :) any info on the chain tensioner from someone ?
 
Never power flush a transmission, drop pan and change that oil only. Every transmission i every had flushed required a new transmission within a few months.
 
I have a 2000 v8 and the tensioners failed at 250k.

I would probably do them since you are getting under the valve cover to replace the ORings anyways..

They are pretty cheap, got mine on Ebay 68$ for both sides.
I wouldn't risk bending valves over a 60$ parts tbh but its up to you,
its a quick and easy job if you have wrenched in the past and know the basics.

I had success sliding in the new tensioner without removing the exhaust cam or sproket by turning the crank left and right so the sproket brings the tensioner down in place one teeth at a time..

" If I were you I would just remove the cam or cam sproket anyways to remove the old one without having to break it and having broken pieces of plastic everywhere. "
Thats because the original OEM one is slightly Bigger and diffrent than the new upgraded metal body style tensioner so it wont slide out without breaking it.

I broke my old ones to get them out but its not the best thing to do.

NOTE;; It is possible that your secondary chains are slightly stretched and the new improved metal body tensioners are slightly shorter so there might be some slack and might cause a slapping noise..
 
I don't think there is anything stretched. The car has only 85k kms on it something like 55k miles. It looks and feels as a brand new car. It smells like a new leather , when you enter the car. And its this old smell of real leather not the eco stuff from nowadays :) As i said i dont plan to drive the car too much, so until i get to 250K i will probably be too old to care about some tensioners anyway :p You mention that you broke them at 250K, if those are miles then i dont think i need to even think about those tensioners at all.
 
I meant Kms and my bad hahah
I tought I seen 160k somewhere...

But your right at 85k kms the car is almost new so you should be good skipping those tensioners :p

I wish my ls only had 85k kms ! :0
 
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I own a Lexus GS300 from 2003 , which is pretty much the same segment , but the GS is with 2JZ inline 6, very easy to work on. But the handling of both cars is completely different. The GS is plagued with understeering due to the weight in front, that can be cured by putting some large tires, but i am now into the comfy rides. Getting close to 40 now and i no longer wanna hear about coilovers or any rims over 16" :) I am going to put 215/65/16 on this car as soon as the current ones give up. The LS is a very good platform. The rear has lots of weight , which makes the car very stable at cornering the only downside is the engine is too powerful and exiting a corner usually means spinning the inner tyre, which i am hoping to resolve with this. Eaton truetrack helical diff. Was wondering which one to choose, but one of the member here mentioned that the clutch type unit from eaton is noisy, and requires special additive to calm down and even then its still noisy , when maneuvering on parking lots, so i decided i go with the mechanical one. Less maintenance still good traction on most surfaces and zero noise .
 
JustALs said:
I have a 2000 v8 and the tensioners failed at 250k.

I would probably do them since you are getting under the valve cover to replace the ORings anyways..

They are pretty cheap, got mine on Ebay 68$ for both sides.
I wouldn't risk bending valves over a 60$ parts tbh but its up to you,
its a quick and easy job if you have wrenched in the past and know the basics.

I had success sliding in the new tensioner without removing the exhaust cam or sproket by turning the crank left and right so the sproket brings the tensioner down in place one teeth at a time..

" If I were you I would just remove the cam or cam sproket anyways to remove the old one without having to break it and having broken pieces of plastic everywhere. "
Thats because the original OEM one is slightly Bigger and diffrent than the new upgraded metal body style tensioner so it wont slide out without breaking it.

I broke my old ones to get them out but its not the best thing to do.

NOTE;; It is possible that your secondary chains are slightly stretched and the new improved metal body tensioners are slightly shorter so there might be some slack and might cause a slapping noise..
Click to expand...
just ziptie the chains to the sprocket and lift the exhaust cam up. takes 5 minutes

 
Yes i will most likely replace them , when i do the gaskets, which will probably happen next year. For now rings are leaking very little into the plugs, so i will drive it like that for the next 4-5K kilometers. I have one more question. Noticed recently, if i drive the car longer and it heats up good. Sometimes, when i stop i can smell coolant, if stay near the car for like 2-3 min. It seems to be leaking somewhere ,but the leak is too small , so it does not drip under the car. Car is not overheating and the coolant seems to get lower day by day , but with like 2-3mm. Basically for 300km its down like 1cm, or something. So its definitely leaking, i just dont know where. If its the expansion tank, how can i check it easily without removing the wipers and the covers ? I read it drips under the front left fender, but as i said mine leaks very little , so it dissipates until it gets under the car. I looked around the front hoses all good there, same for the hoses going to the heater, but sometimes ,if it heats up good it smells a bit. You cant smell it inside , while the car is moving only , if the car is stopped for a while.
 
gips said:
.... It seems to be leaking somewhere ,but the leak is too small , so it does not drip under the car. ....
Click to expand...
I am sure that you will finally be the one single exception to every other owner here, and as such just have to find one leak and replace one thing.
All of the rest of us have had to replace all the plastic cooling system parts when this has started, every single one of them.
 
joegr said:
I am sure that you will finally be the one single exception to every other owner here, and as such just have to find one leak and replace one thing.
All of the rest of us have had to replace all the plastic cooling system parts when this has started, every single one of them.
Click to expand...
yeah most likely i will replace most of the plastic tubing, was looking around for some aftermarket ones but no luck. Maybe i will fabricate some aluminum ones to replace the plastic ones. My engine is also Gen1 so i think its possible to replace the plastic thermostat housing without removing the engine intake at least i think i saw enough space, when i was working on replacing the plugs. I know for this one there is aftermarket aluminum kit already. I will order some expansion tank, it most likely has a small crack in it and when the engine gets hot enough it leaks, so its a good idea to be prepared , because its coming for me from the other end of the world :)
 
gips said:
yeah most likely i will replace most of the plastic tubing, was looking around for some aftermarket ones but no luck. Maybe i will fabricate some aluminum ones to replace the plastic ones. My engine is also Gen1 so i think its possible to replace the plastic thermostat housing without removing the engine intake at least i think i saw enough space, when i was working on replacing the plugs. I know for this one there is aftermarket aluminum kit already. I will order some expansion tank, it most likely has a small crack in it and when the engine gets hot enough it leaks, so its a good idea to be prepared , because its coming for me from the other end of the world :)
Click to expand...
I just bent a 8mm or 5/16 wrench to change out Thermostat housing ...remember to use the URO aluminium Jaguar T-Stat Housing
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gips said:
Before anyone starts telling me this is not the right fluid for the gearbox may i say i have enough knowledge on hydraulics and automatic gearboxes , so i know the fluid is not the problem,
Click to expand...

Then you should know that Mercron LV is Low Viscosity fluid... and is not to be used in place of Mercron V.
 
04_Sport_LS said:
Then you should know that Mercron LV is Low Viscosity fluid... and is not to be used in place of Mercron V.
Click to expand...
Yes i know it is Low Viscosity , but this is a bit misleading. Mercon V is generally similar to Dexron 3, which is way too thick for my taste , when cold. Mercon LV is similar to Dexron 6 , which is a better fluid. Every manufacturer gives viscosity numbers based on 100C temperature, but in fact the fluid gets a lot hotter, otherwise you dont need to cool it with a radiator that gets up to 100C , in traffic :) so basically the newer fluid is a better product its fully synthetic and in the end , when you compare the viscosity of both fluids under extreme conditions the newer fluid performs better. The newer additives can keep the viscosity at higher temperatures a lot better than the old ones, altho its not mentioned anywhere , because as i said already all the manufacturers give ratings at 100C. Also you can see that even its LV at 100C the difference between Mercon V and Mercon LV is quite small its 7,5 vs 6CST , which is not that much, but this is at 100C ,if the give a spec at 120C they will most likely have pretty much the same CST value and if we go to 150C , then i am positive the newer fluid will have a higher CST value. Altho its unlikely to see the fluid hitting those number except in severe conditions , like 45C outside and pushing the car on some track . Oh and something else, to mention. In the beginning , when they released the 5R55 gearbox some owners have complained about it being too harsh , when engaging gears, so the dealers solved the problem by putting viscousity modifier in the oil. Basically they were making the oil thinner to solve the harshness problem.
 
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gips said:
In the beginning , when they released the 5R55 gearbox some owners have complained about it being too harsh , when engaging gears, so the dealers solved the problem by putting viscousity modifier in the oil. Basically they were making the oil thinner to solve the harshness problem.
Click to expand...

This is false. The truth is that during the 2003 to 2004 model years... the Ford tranny fluid supplier forgot to put a certain chemical in the transmission fluid.

Ford issued a Technical Service Bulletin for customers that were having shifting issues and slippage/harshness.

Anyone who came into a dealership complaining about transmission problems... the dealer installed the additive.

There were some LS's during that time... that fell through the cracks... and didn't get the additive.

There are a couple members on this forum that had to deal with that... by rebuilding the transmissions between 50-75 thousand miles.
 
Does the Motorcraft Mercron LV bottle say it's compatible with Mercron V ?

No it doesn't. Use the LV at your own risk.

My LS transmission has over 380,000 kms on it... using Mercron V... and doing fluid and filter changes at regular intervals.
 
gips said:
...but in fact the fluid gets a lot hotter, otherwise you dont need to cool it with a radiator that gets up to 100C , in traffic ...
Click to expand...

This is incorrect. The LS has an air-to-oil transmission cooler in front of the radiator. There is no transmission oil-to-water cooler on this car. The engine coolant temperature has nothing to do with the transmission temperature. (It is possible, though unlikely, for the transmission to warm the engine coolant since it is in front of the radiator, but the other way around is not possible.)
 
joegr said:
This is incorrect. The LS has an air-to-oil transmission cooler in front of the radiator. There is no transmission oil-to-water cooler on this car. The engine coolant temperature has nothing to do with the transmission temperature. (It is possible, though unlikely, for the transmission to warm the engine coolant since it is in front of the radiator, but the other way around is not possible.)
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Ah sorry didnt know that. Most of the cars have the cooler on the bottom of the water radiator :) didnt trace the pipes ,when flushing the oil , but thank for mentioning then i wont be afraid water can make its way into the transmission oil due to old radiator, like it happens on many cars due to corrosion between the both sections .
 
04_Sport_LS said:
Does the Motorcraft Mercron LV bottle say it's compatible with Mercron V ?

No it doesn't. Use the LV at your own risk.

My LS transmission has over 380,000 kms on it... using Mercron V... and doing fluid and filter changes at regular intervals.
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I dont use LV i dont want to use anything related to Mercon. Its a poor quality product for me and i am not using it at all. I said i am using something similar to LV, but its not even Mercon ;)
 
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