acceleration on incline

[babybluet]

I have a shaking feeling in the front end of the 97 tbird when going up a hill etc. It feels exactly like driving on a rough road that has been scraped and prepared to be repaved. The shaking only last a few seconds. One person said this is a common problem in 97 Fords such as the TBird. He could not remember the name of the problem, but did remember having the transmission fluid drained and replaced along with adding an additive. This took care of the problem. Does anyone have any idea what this problem is called.

Thanks,

[007_SuperCoupe]

First off, how many miles are on the 'Bird and has the transmission ever been serviced? (meaning new fluid, filter, etc) If it only occurs on an incline and assuming that the transmission has never been serviced (you'd be surprised how many people never service their transmission) it sounds like your transmission fluid is low and causing a slipping or shuddering of the transmission. The common problem with all MN12 Thunderbirds (not to mention many other vehicles on the road) is that the transmission lines that go to the cooler (part of the radiator) are prone to leaking. This leaking over time will allow the fluid to get low and cause a delayed shift or shuddering. In addition, the transmission is controlled by the pressure of the transmission fluid in the valve body. Once this fluid gets low and/or you get a lot of miles on the car, the seals within the valvebody will harden and not seal as well. This can also cause a shuddering or delayed shift.

My recommendation is to flush the entire transmission (normally you have to pay to have this done) which will give you new fluid, filter and make sure the transmission is full. In addition to that, I recommend adding a bottle of Lucas transmission additive. That will help expand any hardening seals in the transmission which will result in better shifting. Note that this does not ultimately fix any problems with the transmission, but simply delays the ultimate failure of the transmission. It will provide a significant amount of time that you otherwise may not have. I have done this on a few vehicles now and all are still on the road and driving.