I thought it might have been the road, but that could be what I felt earlier. Is there not a freakin tranny dipstick on these things? I looked but didn't see one...

 

Yep i thought that at first also.. I can really notice it going up a slight incline shifting from 2nd to 3rd and a lil bit into OD when slowly accelerating. The dipstick is pretty hidden. Passenger side almost to the middle of the firewall. May have to move a hose to see it.

Jbrew, i havent tried amsoil may be worth a shot though. thanks.

 

I'll have to take a look. Do the trannys on these things have a drain plug? I know on my F-250, I can pull the plug and get 8 quarts out. Not a full drain or flush, but some is better than none in my book.

 

from a quick check on the net apparently there isnt a plug on the pan but you can drain the converter...


Draining the converter (for pre ~01 MY torque convertors, newer models lack drain plug)

* Now that the pan is empty, it is a perfect time to drain the converter, and service the filter (if you are doing that).

1. Set the parking brake, chock the rear wheels front and back sides, jack up the car under the large front cross-member, and place jack-stands securely under the vehicle on the frame.
2. To drain the converter, remove the 2” rubber plug from the bottom of the bell housing, turn the engine over using a socket on the crankshaft bolt, turn the engine in the NORMAL DIRECTION OF ROTATION ONLY (as if you were tightening the crank bolt) to avoid damage to the timing chain tensioners.
* When you can see the small plug in the access hole, use your 7/16” socket to loosen the plug and allow the converter to drain. It will hold between 6 and 8 qts., and may take up to an hour to drain completely, so be prepared.
3. Disconnect the battery, unplug the PCM from the harness, or remove the PCM "KAM" fuse while the converter is draining to re-set the adaptive shift strategies in the PCM for the transmission. This is VERY IMPORTANT !
4. While the converter is draining, you can remove the pan bolts and pan from the transmission and service the filter. There will be a small quantity of ATF left in the pan, so use caution, but it will not be full.
* Change the filter (make sure old filter o-ring/seal comes out with the old filter - use a seal pick or similar if required to remove), and clean the pan throughly. You can place the pan in your dishwasher after wiping it out to make sure it is clean, but make sure there are no women around to see this! The factory pan gasket is a “rubber” covered metal core gasket, and if still there, reusable unless torn or chunks are missing.
* After installing the new filter (make darn sure the old “o”-ring came out of the transmission with the old filter), you are ready to re-install the pan and gasket. Set the gasket on the pan lip, and using two bolts set the pan into position and hold it in place using one on either side at opposite corners, finger tight! Now loosely install the remaining pan bolts into the transmission. Once all bolts are installed, working in a cris-cross pattern, torque the bolts to 9-11 ft-lbs. (snug).
5. Reinstall the torque converter drain plug, and torque to 9-11 ft-lbs. (snug). You are ready to set the vehicle back onto the ground at this point.

 

Found the tranny dipstick today. Who's bright idea was it to put a black dip stick up against the firewall behind the black hoses? Idiots. Also washed the car and motor. Washing the motor was a terrible idea. Something got wet. I'm sure it will be fine tomorrow after it dries. Just has a random miss at times. Started up a little rough, cleared up, then died on the highway. Started right back up (at 50 mph). Started it up a few mins ago when I ran something out to the car. It stumbled for a quick second, I hit the gas, and it ran smooth as glass. Who knows.

 

Yea, you better blow out the plug chambers so it can dry. If the coils didn't fry completely. Your to use that 7.3 lol.

 

Coil pack engine, not COP. Betcha you have water in the wells though.

 

That's right, blow out the packs as well. Mine has a COP ig. An 04 MM. Not sure when they with COP in the cars. Maybe 00 or 01.

 

GLC, hate to break it to you, but this motor has COPS, not coil packs.

 

Z - you're such a grandpa. LOL!

 

I wasn't sure if they had them in. I guess they got them the same time the 5fours got'em. In 98. Interesting, I assumed they might follow the 4six in the truck line.

Regardless, that ignition is wet right. Damn things can't take any water.

 

You sure? mine is coil packs(98 percent sure)..


edit:checking the auto parts websites they show wires and cops for the 98... strange


edit x2: Your right they are COPS

 

I stand corrected - I just looked around rockauto.com and it looks like 98 was in fact the first year for COP on the CV.

Hopefully, you didn't toast any of them - I'd pull them all off and dry everything out, use dielectric when replacing them. You may want to get new boots - those are dirt cheap. If you need new COP's, I'd get Visteon DG508 replacements on Ebay - 25 bucks each, I think about $180 a set.

 

Car ran like a champ all day. Drove it to our favorite shop to get inspected. They passed it, but said it's going to need both tie rods and the LF upper ball joint soon. I haven't checked it out myself yet, but they wouldn't lie to me, they know we do most of our own work.

 

With 231k, I'm surprised it doesn't need more than that in the front end.