Hey everybody,

About 9 months ago I bought my first car, and at the time I didn't know I bought an awesome 97 40th anniversary SSE...I just thought it was something to drive..but it rocks! Then I came here, and then one day, my transmission...left me :(

Well I spent the last 6 months saving up and now the transmission is rebuilt. I finally have my Bonne back! But my question for you guys is this: Besides being easy on the tranny in terms of shifting and stuff...is there any maintenance or anything I should be doing to make the new transmission last as long as possible? Also, I'm almost at 100k miles..what other stuff should I be doing (especially in Massachusetts in the winter) to make this beauty last as long as possible? I don't need every little thing I'm just wondering if you guys know any tips about stuff the average non car uff driver might not think about..I saw a post here about greasing the antenna with some lubricant, I never would of thought of that.

Thanks for anything.

first off, there is no break in for a Trans rebuild.....

since im up in Mass as well, i always let the car warm up to temp before i let the car go over 3k rpms. Since they use salt up here, give the car a wash every week, or sooner if possible, put some silicon on the door seals, check all the fluids to make sure they are topped off

that should get you thru the winter, then just keep her waxed so the Paint shines

I recommend flushing the transmission fluid and, if you can or you find someone that can, changing the transmission filter every 30,000 miles. If you did not flush the fluid, and neither did the previous owner(*), then to me that explains at least some of the problem you had.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned a UIM fix...
http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...e=article&k=38

Should be first priority. Also, if you really want to protect your tranny, especially if you run it hard, you might want to consider a shift kit. The one I prefer is the Intense kit which can be found here:
http://www.intense-racing.com/Mercha...roduct_Count=3

thanks for the tips guys, I had no idea really about the UIM problems or the shift kit, while I did flush the fluid and have had the filter replaced, and have taken note already to replace it again, though it was at the next 35k, ill do it at 30k. These are the sort of things I would never have thought of but are really helpful.