whats wrong with my transmission?

[1madmarauder]

i have recently purchased a 2003 marauder from a dealer in wisconsin. the car is in great shape, but the rear tires are bald telling me the previous owner drove her hard. anyway, the trans is very sluggish and sloppy, and it seems to shift into overdrive as low as 20 mph, causing a converter shutter and me to get annoyed very quickly! it seems that the car is in way to high of a gear all the time in town, and it seems to search for what gear it wants to be in. do i have a major problem? dealer says there is nothing wrong with it and that these are normal charachteristics if this car, which i think is bulls#*@. they blamed the problem on the only mod done to the car, a k&n 63-1111 aircharger. car still has warranty, but dealer says nothings wrong. what do i do here?!?!?!?! any ideas will be greatly appreciated................... ......thanx larry:help: :burnout:

[Tallboy]

As far as the trans goes, you're absolutey right. Poor shift quality and shifting to O/D way too quick are "normal" for our cars. A quick flash tune or PCM chip from your tuner of choice can make it seem like a whole different car!

Welcome aboard!!!

[1madmarauder]

hey thanks for the input. i was looking into a xcal2, would that be a wise choice? i see that that one is most compatible with a trilogy kit, and i have plans for that in the near to mid future. also, what kind of perf gains couls i expect from a elec water pump, ud pullies, and the xcal2? thanks for the welcome and your help larry

[03MERCMARAUDER]

If you plan on going with the trilogy dont waste your moey on the UD pulies. You wont be able to use them when you out the trilogy on. I bet you will see about a 20 hp gain with a tune.

Joe

[RF Overlord]

dealer says there is nothing wrong with it and that these are normal charachteristics if this car, which i think is bulls#*@. they blamed the problem on the only mod done to the car, a k&n 63-1111 aircharger.Well, the dealer's half right...the factory transmission programming does suck. The car upshifts WAY too early on purpose for economy reasons. Get yourself one of the new hand-held tuners from SCT and you'll be amazed at the difference.

I'm confused how the dealer can say your complaint is "normal", yet blame it on the air filter :rolleyes: ...that part is BS...

How many miles are on the car? If it's more than 25,000 you should get the transmission flushed, too. (Use Mercon V only)

[BlueMarauder]

The bald rear tires do not necessarily reflect hard driving. For most people, the rear tires wear out at around 15-20K. Search the threads for many discussions on the topic. One common suggestion is to raise the air pressure to 35 or a little higher.
I would like to second the RF Overlord's opinion to change the transmission fluid. Great idea--usually helps.

[ckadiddle]

I bought my MM with 18k miles on it, rears were bald by 23k. Check your fronts closely also. They tend to wear on outside edges prematurely. I replaced all four with KDW2s at 23k miles. Yes, the factory ****ing SUCKS at low speeds around town. The money I spent for an xcal2 from Dennis Reinhart with his tune makes a huge difference. Shifts are now quick and firm, not slow and mushy. There are also six or eight user changeable things like tire revs per mile, a/f ratio, shift firmness that you can play with yourself if you wish. The xcal2 also acts as a trouble code reader for most all later model fords, not just Marauders. It has already saved me money on repairs to my wife's mustang. It can clear the codes also - that'll get rid of the idiot light on the dash. I also understand the Xcal2 can also bu used as a "flight recorder" while driving when connected to your car and laptop at the same time, but I haven't played with that yet. :)

I wasn't too impressed on my first test drive after loading the tune for the first ten minutes. Then I found a spot where I could come to a dead stop, punch it and hold it down to the floor with plenty of empty road in front of me. Squealed tires for about fifteen feet, then chirped had when it hit second. She never did THAT before. :)

I don't care which vendor you choose - Most on mm.net favor Dennis Reinhart or Lidio tunes - but I believe in buying from mm.net supporting vendors whenever possible. They help keep mm.net available for us. I chose DR because he and I are both in Florida. Got mine overnight!

[David Morton]

A tuner will help the HP and raise the WOT shift points. The SC tuner is probably best here, Lidio has a program that is very good by all accounts to get the shift points ironed out to something more reasonable.

I bought the Diablosport tuner and it didn't change the schedule except at the WOT upshift rpm points, but that got me the record here for "tune only" lowest ET, 14.455! Still, it was a mistake because there's nobody here that has a program that will work with it.

A fluid change will cure your shudder. I recommend getting a "line flush" as it will change all the fluid and minimizes the chance of the tech screwing something up. Yes, the filter can be replaced but it isn't necessary or even advantageous to do it.

Welcome to the fellowship!

[rayjay]

Turn the OD off for in town driving until you get a tuner. That will help alot with the searching for a gear. Change dealers. If they are blaming the tranny problem on a K&N panel filter you have one of two things, they are clueless about the car and/or not mod friendly, or worse, both.

[ckadiddle]

When my MM was new to me I noticed the occaisional "shudder" at low speeds in town occaisionally. It went away when I replaced the factory tune with the DR tune. I think it was the tranny going into lockup at very low speeds or some other artifact of the lousy factory programming. Just my opinion.

[MarauderMark]

I was thinking maybe someone before you may have had fun neutral slaming it and then you get whats left.just:twocents:

[1madmarauder]

okay, so now that all of you have mentioned getting a trans flush, i guess thats first on the list! ill get on that right away. im just worried that someone didnt break something you know? that would suck. ive seen alot of these tuners advertised, and was thinking about the alternative auto xcal2, will that work well? is a reinhart or lidio better? thanx for the welcome as well, the car is awesome but i can tell that the community of marauder enthusiasts is a pretty cool group of guys, and again thanks for the input

[RF Overlord]

was thinking about the alternative auto xcal2, will that work well? is a reinhart or lidio better? Alternative Auto is the business...Lidio is the owner (we use the names interchangeably). Reinhart Automotive is another business, and Dennis Reinhart is the owner. Buy from either vendor with equal confidence.

[Breadfan]

okay, so now that all of you have mentioned getting a trans flush, i guess thats first on the list! ill get on that right away. im just worried that someone didnt break something you know? that would suck. ive seen alot of these tuners advertised, and was thinking about the alternative auto xcal2, will that work well? is a reinhart or lidio better? thanx for the welcome as well, the car is awesome but i can tell that the community of marauder enthusiasts is a pretty cool group of guys, and again thanks for the input
I don't think there is a good answer to which tune is better, Reinhart or Lidio - I think each is different enough that folks find which one fites them best. I recommend you compare the characteristics and details of each (you can search here on the site or go to their websites and read up on them) before making a choice. Make it your choice. This is what I did and I was very happy with my decision.

HOWEVER, there was something important said earlier. If you are serious about going with a Trilogy (or other blower) in the near to mid future, you may want to save your money. The Xcal2 can be used as a datalogger, so it's handy even after you go S/C'ed.

But, that being said, the other mods you metnion may have to come off - both the tune and UD pullies will have to come off. I'm not sure if the Mezier elec pump is compatible - I think it may be but you should ask before you buy.

The point is, you buy all this stuff you're getting up there in price and it's all gonna come off a few months later.

Plan your mods based on the final outcome you'd like. Even if you don't have plans necessarily, think about what you'd "like" to do over time. And that end goal is what you should aim for.

For that reason, I did the tune, gears, and intake. Yes I ditched my tune but had it almost a year before I went S/C'ed and now I've got the Xcal2 to do datalogging. The gears and intake augment my S/C setup.

(Also if you do gears before the S/C you'll need a tune for the gears anyway - most tuners will give you 2 tunes, one for stock gears, one for what you plan to install.)

So, I recommend you consider the initial cost of the smaller mods and see if you really want to go S/C'd - if you plan to do it within a year it's best to save that money - though I will say, the TUNE is worth it. I say get atleast that if you plan to go without the S/C for more than 6 months. The stock tranny programming is sad!

Also, I concur on the flush.

And not to toot my own horn, but you may consider my upgrade path. I too knew I wanted a blower, just wasn't sure when I'd get it. As such, I almost got UD pullies but decided against it since I knew I'd have to remove them. I went with a tune, 4.10 gears, and an intake and got a night and day difference over stock.

It doesn't make the car a big-block-acting pavement pounder but it makes for one quick 4400lb sedan. :)

But - remember to consider what you want in the car. Read about gears and see if you want them, they'll lower your E.T. but raise your highway RPM's. And some like the stock 3.55's with a blower for around-town driving.

Hope I answered more questions than I brought up. :)

[MarauderMark]

Alternative Auto is the business...Lidio is the owner (we use the names interchangeably). Reinhart Automotive is another business, and Dennis Reinhart is the owner. Buy from either vendor with equal confidence.
Just to add 1 more who sells this too...
http://innovativeinterceptors.com/performance.html

[David Morton]

When my MM was new to me I noticed the occaisional "shudder" at low speeds in town occaisionally. It went away when I replaced the factory tune with the DR tune. I think it was the tranny going into lockup at very low speeds or some other artifact of the lousy factory programming. Just my opinion.We call that a "chuggle". Seriously, the shudder you describe is called a chuggle in the General Motors service bulletins. Only way to fix that is to change the shift and/or TCC schedules.

[1madmarauder]

breadfan, wow are you thorough, which i very much like and appreciate. ill tell you, i was considering the trilogy, but thats not gonna happen any time soon now, i just found out im having another baby! and yes, im ok with that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that being said, i do plan to do some bolt on mods this spring so ill start with the pulleys, the air charger, 4:10's, and the xcal2 from lidio. i was just wondering what kind of et can i expect after this is done? i kmow that an impossible question to answer because there are so many variables, but if i could crack a 13, even if its a 13.999, i would probably leqave the car alone. i bought it for a family car for a 28 year old male, which i am. i need a car that would fit my family and had a awesome safety rating, but still something to play with. so what you guys think, can i bolt on this thing into the 13's? i can see by the info from others on here that 14's are pretty common, so i guess well see. thanks again breadfan! later

[Breadfan]

breadfan, wow are you thorough, which i very much like and appreciate. ill tell you, i was considering the trilogy, but thats not gonna happen any time soon now, i just found out im having another baby! and yes, im ok with that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that being said, i do plan to do some bolt on mods this spring so ill start with the pulleys, the air charger, 4:10's, and the xcal2 from lidio. i was just wondering what kind of et can i expect after this is done? i kmow that an impossible question to answer because there are so many variables, but if i could crack a 13, even if its a 13.999, i would probably leqave the car alone. i bought it for a family car for a 28 year old male, which i am. i need a car that would fit my family and had a awesome safety rating, but still something to play with. so what you guys think, can i bolt on this thing into the 13's? i can see by the info from others on here that 14's are pretty common, so i guess well see. thanks again breadfan! later

Sounds like a good upgrade plan! The pulleys, tune, 4.10's are a great place to start. You should be in the low 14's with those.

Add a converter and possibly some exhaust work and you're in the 13's easy.

There are plenty of folks with simple bolt on's in the 13's, merc, Cruztaker, and probably a few others.

Maybe they'll speak up with some of what they've done.

But, 13's in a naturally aspirated Marauder are certainly possible.

:)

Congrats on the new baby!

[1madmarauder]

thanks for the congrats, i appreciate that very much. also, thanks for all the help and input. i will be ordering all the mods soon. ill keep everyone posted as to what it runs at great lakes dragaway in union grove, wi. later