How much does it cost replace the transmission in a 1994 Lincoln town car?

Answer 1

A few weeks ago I spent $1950 to have my 1995 Lincoln Town Car's transmission rebuilt, with 112,000 miles on the car. I know, it was probably not the wisest of my financial decisions, especially since it was during the whole 'clunker rebate' program and the car qualified. BUT: It's low mileage, I like the car, and I like NOT having a car payment even more. I usually ride an ex-CHP BMW to work, so only use the town car occasionally. I expect the engine should be good for at least 200,000 miles, but at the rate I've used it I doubt I'll stretch it out that long. So far, in the 6 years and 62,000 miles I've owned it, all I've done to it besides oil changes was to swap out the air bag rear suspension for coil springs...so spending $2K on it, when looked at over the long run, was justifiable in my mind's eye. Even though I know I'd be lucky to get $3000 if I wanted to sell it. BUT, I like the car and have no reason to get rid of it for a long time, as long as I don't get another $2K repair. (Er, that would be the final straw I think...) I expect had I gone elsewhere I may have been able to save some money by getting a used trans for it instead of the rebuild. I took it to a very experienced and highly recommended transmission shop. It had been shifting oddly for a week or so (going higher revs in 1st before shifting to 2nd...sometimes skipping 2nd and shifting directly from 1st to 3rd.) The owner of the shop said it was a design thing, that a lot of those transmissions have trouble with 2nd gear at around that mileage, including his personal Ford truck. I don't know the specifics, but apparently 2nd gear used "a diode gear?" setup rather than a sprag gear. I found info on sprag gears on wiki (search 'sprag'), but not diode gears. The shop owner said the diode gear saved Ford some $$$ in manufacture. When he rebuilt the trans he used a sprag gear instead, and also reprogrammed the shift points. The car now shifts with a little more authority and I can feel it downshift as I slow down more than I used to. All in all good, I am not disappointed. The '95 routinely gives me 18-19mpg around town, and I have had up to 27mpg at a steady 70mph using cruise control on flat highways. Stellar mileage? No. Acceptable especially given the 6 - 8 mpg similarly sized cars would get in the late 1960's when I started driving? Certainly. If I want good gas mileage I get on my motorcycle. Paul