Cars got 73k miles, but right now it feels like it's got 250k miles

1-confused low gear shifting. Comes and goes. Car is wonderful on the highway but on stop and go traffic it's a nightmare. It's heavy and shifts poorly if stopping and then quickly accelerating . Have tried it all from spark plugs to all the manifold gaskets, replaced the fuel pressure sensor , changed the transmission fluid several times and other things I can't remember now. I am now assuming that this is a transmission problem. Or not. I really won't worry about it until something actually happens like real slippage.

2-yesterday I had to add a can of freon for the a/c to keep me comfortable in the warmer weather. Probably got a leak somewhere.

3-suspension clunks and feels like I was driving a 1912 model T. A lot of rattle and feels like all socks where shot

Feels like time for a new car or dumping a lot more money into this X type . If only I did not like it so much

 

For the transmission, two things I would definitely do if you haven't yet: Drain and add some good synthetic gear oil (can't remember the exact weight it needs, I believe it was 75w-140) to the transfer case and rear differential. I would go with Royal Purple or something else of that quality. It's not something you change a lot so put something good in it. Around 73k miles is when the transfer case is going to be starting to run out of oil. That should help it drive smoother. If that doesn't fix it, you may try a bottle of Lucas transmission additive. Also, I would disconnect the battery to reset your ecu. Maybe your shift points are all out of wack. After that reconnect it and drive mellow and normal for a couple weeks so you car can relearn your driving habits.

Can't help with the AC but for the suspension I would try replacing the sway bar end links in the front, and possibly your outer tie rod ends if they are worn (try wiggling your tire side to side while it's jacked in the air to see if you need tie rod ends). Those are both pretty easy to replace too. You may need shocks but I've heard people on here who have put 150k miles on their stock shocks. You could replace them but they aren't going to be cheap. You can get the Bilsteins online for about $450 and then it's going to be another few hundred to get them installed. Fronts are tricky to install. Did mine myself a few weeks ago and it turned into a two weekend project and not a lot of fun. One shop quoted me $250 to install the fronts. The backs are pretty easy and would probably be $80-100 to install if you took it to a reasonable place. Not sure how mechanical you are but it's a big project on this car to change the struts, unlike other cars where you just unbolt them and swap them out. It involves taking apart the front hub and dropping the subframe and all kinds of craziness. You may also want to replace your front lower control arms, they include the ball joint and bushings. They are relatively inexpensive online, about $80 each. Installation is not that bad but you need to know what you're doing. Probably take a bout a half hour each if you moved fast. They will help bring some life back in your front suspension, but another thing that I think would also help are the sway bar bushings that go around the bar. I thought the clunking was coming from my control arms but after I replaced those, the noises were still there for the most part, so I think it's mostly the sway bar bushings now.

 

Thanks for the reply.

The suspension right now is what is bothering the most. Hopefully it's a easy fix. I'll drop it if this week for a estimate.
It's just disappointing that at 73k miles it already has so many problems

 

Hi Spike,

For some reason your car spec on your signature has gone!

Good Luck! Stu