77 ford maverick takes about 10 minutes before going into drive

As the topic says, my 77 ford maverick takes awhile to "warm up" (sadly she's an automatic) she only has 76,000 miles too.
I am no mechanic, but I assume it has something to do with the transmission.
When I put it into drive right after I start it, it acts like its in neutral.
I just had the transmission pan replaced and it ran well for a week or two.
There are no leaks to my knowledge.
After she does warm up she drives fine.
Any suggestions on how to fix this?
Hopefully it's a cheap fix haha

 

...:Handshake

these transmissions have been known to do this after a fluid change. do you have any service records for your transmission?

 

That must be the problem...
Looks like I will need to save up some money for a rebuild haha

 

Try checking the fluid level first. Could be a little (or a lot) low.

 

I've seen loose valve body bolts act similar...

 

Mine is slow to engage if I haven't driven it in 6 months, and lots of fluid has leaked out. So, first and foremost, check your fluid level.

The fact that it has to warm up and then works suggests to me that it is low when cold, and once it warms up and expands, it expands to just enough to make it engage. So I would guess you are about a quart low. Maybe a bit more.

 

I had a 70 Failane that did the same thing. Took a good ten minutes or more before the trans would go into drive. Only did it first start of the day. Had the tranny rebuilt, took care of that. Never learned the cause.

 

Just leave for work 10 minutes earlier...

 

mine did that. the transmission was in need of full rebuild.

 

Mine did that also. I replaced the trans with a good trans I got from Earl that he happen to have laying around

 

So I went to autozone and picked up some Lucas stop slip as well as some more transmission fluid.
She needs to warm up when it's cold, but she doesn't take as long.
So it fixes the problem slightly, but I'll be on the lookout for a new tranny, or rebuild eventually so the problem is solved for good.
Thanks for all the help guys!

 

Make sure you only use " Type F " fluid! Anything else will cause issues. Never tried Lucas stop slip. I like their other products!

 

Too much fluid can cause this as well. It'll get all foamy, typically doesn't clear up in 10 minutes tho.

Not likely the cause in this case, just thought I'd mention it.

 

sigh, did this too. I suck with transmissions.

 

There are several ways to learn stuff, but to remember it 100% of the time takes learning it the hard way.

That being said, I remember a lot of stuff very clearly.