HOW TO DRAIN AND REFILL THE TRANSMISSION FLUID IN A
2001 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL
INCLUDING REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION FILTER
NOTE: This procedure worked for me, but I am not a mechanic. I used the
Ford Factory Manual for guidance, but could not find anything in the Ford
Manual about replacing the transmission filter. I expect that the procedure
will also work for you, but I cannot guarantee success. Use this procedure at
your own risk.
1. Disable the Air Suspension System by turning the switch in the trunk to the OFF
position.
2. Raise the front of the vehicle. I used drive up ramps that raised the front of the
vehicle about 8”. I did not remove the wheels.
3. Remove the plastic deflector that is located below the radiator. It is held on with
three (3) screws and five (5) push pins.
4. Locate the lower transaxle cooler line fitting on the transaxle. It is located very
close to the starter (see figure below). Remove the retaining clip (see below).
5. Press the two (2) tabs on the plastic insert and pull the cooling tube from the
fitting (see below). It was very easy to remove for me. You do not need to pull
very hard. Make sure you have a container below the end of the tube because
transmission fluid will leak from the end of the tube (but not from the
transmission fitting).
6. Connect a hose to the end of the cooling tube. I used clear 5/16” ID, 7/16” OD
plastic tubing, about two (2) feet long (see photo below). The opposite end of the
plastic tube should be placed in a container. I used a 2 gallon pail.
7. Start the engine leaving the transmission in PARK and let it idle until a steady
stream of transmission fluid stops flowing. It took about one (1) minute for me.
Watch the fluid coming out of the plastic tube. It is obvious when transmission
fluid stops flowing. Immediately shut off the engine when the transmission fluid
stops flowing to prevent damaging the transmission and do NOT run the engine
above idle speed.
8. If you want to replace the transmission filter, now is the time to remove the lower
transmission pan. The transmission pan has a reusable black rubber gasket (if it
still has the original gasket installed by Lincoln – mine did). If you find a cork
gasket, it needs to be replaced. The picture below shows the transmission filter
installed in the bottom of the transmission with the lower pan removed.
9. Be sure to put a large container under the entire lower transmission pan to catch
the transmission fluid that will pour out of the pan. The picture below shows the
container I purchased from Harbor Freight. About four (4) quarts of transmission
fluid poured out when I removed the lower pan. (You can see the lower
transmission pan in this photo. It is upside-down in the container). There is no
drain plug on the lower transmission pan so there is no way to drain the
transmission fluid other than to let it pour out from the end of the pan. It is a
messy process.
10. Grab the transmission filter and pull it down to remove it. Mine was relatively
easy to remove, however, the seal separated from the transmission filter and
stayed inside the transmission. I very carefully used an ice pick to bend the metal
ring inside the transmission filter seal and then grabbed the metal ring with a
needle nose pliers to remove the seal from the transmission. Be very careful with
the ice pick so that you don’t damage the seal surface in the transmission. Don’t
push the ice pick up too far or you will damage the shoulder inside the
transmission used for seating the transmission filter seal.
11. Lubricate the new transmission filter seal (I used Mercon V transmission fluid)
and push the new filter into the transmission bore until it seats against the
shoulder at the top of the bore. Pushing the transmission filter into the
transmission bore was relatively easy for me. You should not need to force it to
get it installed. A photograph of the new transmission filter is shown below (left).
The seal area on the used transmission filter removed from the vehicle is shown in
the right photo. As you can see, the seal did not come off with the old
transmission filter. It stuck in the transmission bore and was very carefully
removed with an ice pick as discussed in Step 9.
12. Clean the inside of the transmission lower pan prior to reinstalling it. Be sure to
also remove and clean the magnet in the pan. My transmission lower pan was
relatively clean, however, the magnet had some very fine metal shavings attached
to it (see photo below).
13. Here is a photo of the magnet in the lower transmission pan after it was cleaned.
Be sure to reinstall the magnet over the “dimple” in the lower transmission pan.
14. Clean the gasket on the lower transmission pan and reinstall the lower
transmission pan. I tightened the fasteners to nine (9) foot-lbs except for two (2)
fasteners that felt like they were slightly stripped upon tightening. You need to
use your judgment here. If you strip a fastener (which is easy to do in the
aluminum casting), you are out of luck and will need to do some type of thread
repair. Not tightening the two (2) fasteners mentioned above to nine (9) ft-lbs did
not cause a leak for me.
15. Next I pushed the car off of the ramps (if you used ramps) so that it was level
making sure to keep the plastic hose in the pail or to raise it above the level of the
fitting on the transaxle so that it will not leak transmission fluid onto the
driveway.
16. Now fill the transmission with Mercon V transmission fluid until the level is full
on the dip stick (It took about three (3) quarts for me). Start the engine with the
transmission in PARK and allow the engine to idle until a steady stream of
transmission fluid stops flowing through the plastic tube. Repeat this procedure
once more. This will flush about six (6) quarts of transmission fluid through the
transmission.
17. Next I jacked up the driver’s side of the vehicle and placed a jack stand under the
driver’s side to support the vehicle. Raise the car high enough so that you can
remove the plastic tubing and reattach the cooling tube to the fitting on the
transaxle. Be sure to push the cooling tube into the fitting far enough so that the
plastic clip re-engages the tube. I verified this by gently pulling the cooling tube
(without depressing the plastic tabs) to make sure that it was seated. See the figure
below.
18. Remove the jack stand and lower the vehicle so that it is level. Fill the
transmission with Mercon V transmission fluid so that it is at the bottom of the
cross hatched area on the dipstick. Start the engine with the transmission in PARK
and allow the engine to idle. Check the transmission fluid with the transmission in
PARK and the engine idling. If the level is low, stop the engine, add Mercon V
transmission fluid and repeat the process until the transmission fluid level is just
at the lower end of the cross hatched area on the dipstick. Then run the engine
until the transmission reaches normal operating temperature and recheck the fluid
level. If necessary, add fluid to ensure the level is in the cross hatched area on the
dipstick with the transmission at normal operating temperature.
19. Check the lower transmission pan and the cooling tube fitting for leaks. Hopefully
everything is leak tight.
20. Reinstall the deflector located below the radiator.
21. Enable the Air Suspension System by turning the switch in the trunk to the ON
position.
I used a total of fifteen (15) quarts of Mercon V transmission fluid to accomplish this
procedure.