Preserving a 99' SE cd4e

[Blackhemicameron]

Hey fella's im new to the contour & having to learn alot about'em in the last few weeks.
These horror stories of Snap rings & Planetary's failing is not what my world needs anytime soon, being this is my moms contour & shes now living with me as of retirement & old age. The contour is a 1999 se with exactly 85900 miles on the clock with no symptoms of tranny problems & i would like to keep it that way !!! So any suggestions would be helpful since you guys have experience with these cars. Maybe adding a tranny cooler + syn fluid like lucas or royal P or something? How often should the fluid be changed & can you replace the filter in the cd4e or whatever its called. Also she went to the drive thru at the bank, put it in Park, made deposit, then when trying to put into Drive it would not come out of park-she was stuck there for like a 1/2 hr messing with it then finally it let loose & went down to drive. Any ideas?

 

[amc49]

The park lock problem can be low battery showing up, the solenoid for park is under shifter under console. Fluid cooling will not help trans; it has a design problem that either breaks or doesn't. If you use mercon V then already using syn fluid.

 

[BrApple]

in the past many have installed an extra cooler, and changed the fluid every 30k miles. This will help make the cd4e last longer.

 

[blu_fuz]

Is your check engine light on for a transmission code? If not, like BrApple said, maybe install a cooler and keep the fluids changed.

 

[andreslobo]

Trans cooler is a waste of money. Listen very early versions of the cd4e in the mazdas and probes had plenty of issues, and the mazda had a recall to installl a new trans cooler as the one they used was much much too small. Ford did not make that same mistake on the conturd. So unless your mom or you are planning on beating the car or towing a cooler is a complete waste of time and money. You will be fixing a non problem.

You could change the oil filter, but you'd have to take the transmission out, pull the transmission apart to replace it. It is buried deep within the trans.

Changing fluid every 100 k is not a bad idea.


Mostly leave the trans alone and it'll be fine, well that is until some hard parts give up the ghost.

The best thing you can do for it is to drive it like a little old lady, ask your mom for instructions.

And good for you taking care of your mom, not enough do.

 

[Blackhemicameron]

Thanks for all the suggestions!! And it will be drivin like "Miss Daisy" cuz she the only one that drives it. Everything she needs is at the most, 2-3 miles away from the house so it wont get drivin very far i should say. I was going to add the tranny to the list of maintenance this weekend while i finish up the timing belt but we'll deal with the tranny as it comes�� i still have to get to the ford house in the morning to pick up that crank seal first, then onto the pcv, fuel & air filter, plugs & wires, thermostat... The whole nine yards!! And again... thanks everybody for the suggestions & the positive comments....Does a soul good !!I