How I Repaired An Ax4n Tranny - Page 2

powertoolman · 01-11-2005, 11:36 AM

I found the missing pictures and added them. I also corrected a trivial mistake and an ommission.

Non SHO'er · 01-11-2005, 05:16 PM

Would these instructions apply to the Gen II Taurus as well?
So you can ramove the pump and valvebody without removing the whole transmission from the vehicle?

Damon · 01-11-2005, 05:22 PM

Nice Writeup!

I just want a library like yours (Provides all-data for free!)

-Damon

powertoolman · 01-11-2005, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Non SHO'er@Jan 11 2005, 06:16 PM
Would these instructions apply to the Gen II Taurus as well?
So you can ramove the pump and valvebody without removing the whole transmission from the vehicle?

I'm not a Taurus guru, so I don't even know what a GenII is. However, the procedure is generic enough that I believe it will work on all models and years, including the AX4S.

The only thing that I do know will change is the bolt pattern on the valve body. For example, the AX4S has 3 bolts across the bottom and the AX4N has 4 bolts.

I show the 5 bolts that are not removed for the AX4N. On the AX4S, you will simply need to look for the short bolts (in similar locations to mine). There is nothing wrong with removing too many bolts as long as you keep at least one bolt in the pump cover to keep the vanes and rings from falling out.

01-11-2005, 10:31 PM

Wow, amazing job!

95SE · 01-11-2005, 10:42 PM

So could you theoretically remove the valve body (say to install a shift kit), with the transaxle in the car?

sabledale · 01-12-2005, 12:51 AM

very nice documentation.

taurusse1995 · 01-12-2005, 01:21 AM

Very Nice as well I had the same issue If i had this info 2 Months ago this would have been good....And I would Have saved X amount of dollars...Very Nice documentation....Wow reading all that put me In Jumbles...GOOD JOB!

larrylange · 01-12-2005, 03:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Non SHO'er@Jan 11 2005, 06:16 PM
Would these instructions apply to the Gen II Taurus as well?
So you can ramove the pump and valvebody without removing the whole transmission from the vehicle?

These instructions apply to Gen I and II as well.
Powertoolman did a good job indeed. It is the exact way we are working overhere in Germany.
Larry

begran01 · 02-08-2007, 01:53 PM

I have a 97 Taurus GL with the AX4N and started to do some searching on the internet when my tranny started to act up.
The symptoms were:
- slow to engage into drive when taken out of park or neutral
- "service engine soon" light came on and, though I forgot what the code # was, the reason was because the torque convertor was not locking up at highway speeds.
- eventual "surging" when at a complete stop. this was from the tranny doing what felt like jumping back and forth from drive to neutral ,though the gear selector was not moving nor was it stuck between D and N.

My searches turned up your posting and, suspecting (and hoping) the problem was due to a bad pump, I decided to tackle the repair in my garage.
It turns out my suspicion was correct, the pump input shaft bearing had come apart and the pieces of the bearing were keeping the pump from supplying enough fluid to stay in gear at low engine speeds and lock up the TC at highway speed.

I want to say a big THANK YOU! for your posting. I don't know if I would have attempted this repair if I hadn't seen your article first.
The instructions were very good, clearly enough to do the job if you have some basic mechanic skills and tools.
I do have one tip for anybody doing this repair: you don't have to remove the metal battery support bracket completely. Mine was stuck to the body with some type of sealant and aven after removing the retaining bolts, I would have had a hard time removing the bracket. As long as you remove the plastic tray and the battery, you have plenty of clearance.
Also, because I couldn't seem to get enough clearance to do so, I never removed the engine sub-frame completely form the car. I just removed all of the bolts and nuts and moved the sub-frame away from the engine enough to remove the pan.

The entire repair took about one 10-hour day and cost me about $230 for a new pump, housing, and shaft. The tranny place that got the new parts for me said they would have charged about $700 for th total repair. The savings was well worth the effort!

THANK YOU POWERTOOLMAN!

01-11-2005, 05:22 PM	#13 (permalink)
Damon Senior Member Member Number: 1423 Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Woburn, Massachusetts Visit: My Garage Posts: 3,226 Trader Score: 0 reviews Rep Power: 0	Nice Writeup! I just want a library like yours (Provides all-data for free!) -Damon __________________ 2003 Taurus SEL - Gold Ash Metallic, 10K 2000 Taurus SEL - Performance White - SOLD! 8/09 1999 Sable LS Wagon - Vibrant White - SOLD! 4/07

01-11-2005, 10:42 PM	#16 (permalink)
95SE Senior Member Member Number: 309 Join Date: Nov 2002 Visit: My Garage Posts: 786 Trader Score: 0 reviews Rep Power: 0	So could you theoretically remove the valve body (say to install a shift kit), with the transaxle in the car? __________________ 1995 Taurus SE 3.8L Port-matched Police Package heads Port-matched upper and lower intakes Half-shafted throttle body Dynomax Cat-back exhuast kit K&N cone filter 70mm supercoupe MAF EEC Tuner (36* WOT spark advance, try THAT at sea-level) Transaxle pressure riser Bar and plate trans cooler Quarter mile: 17.715 @ 78.35 at over 6,000 ft elevation

01-12-2005, 12:51 AM	#17 (permalink)
sabledale Senior Member Member Number: 1580 Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: central Minnesota Visit: My Garage Posts: 769 Trader Score: 0 reviews Rep Power: 0	very nice documentation. __________________ My Garage My accident

01-12-2005, 01:21 AM	#18 (permalink)
taurusse1995 Senior Member Member Number: 300 Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Boston MA Visit: My Garage Posts: 1,921 Trader Score: 0 reviews Rep Power: 0	Very Nice as well I had the same issue If i had this info 2 Months ago this would have been good....And I would Have saved X amount of dollars...Very Nice documentation....Wow reading all that put me In Jumbles...GOOD JOB! __________________ " Now Riding In a 2004 Dodge Intrepid ES "To keep one car on the guessing list, I donate my win to whoever wins yours, unless I win yours, then my win is donated solely to myself as a win squared. (win²) In the evnt that I do not win, the next winner wins the right to name the next car. (TrueBlue)"

01-11-2005, 11:36 AM	#11 (permalink)
powertoolman Junior Member Member Number: 4279 Join Date: Nov 2004 Visit: My Garage Posts: 12 Trader Score: 0 reviews Rep Power: 0	I found the missing pictures and added them. I also corrected a trivial mistake and an ommission.

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01-11-2005, 05:16 PM	#12 (permalink)
Non SHO'er Member Member Number: 3578 Join Date: Aug 2004 Visit: My Garage Posts: 93 Trader Score: 0 reviews Rep Power: 0	Would these instructions apply to the Gen II Taurus as well? So you can ramove the pump and valvebody without removing the whole transmission from the vehicle?

01-11-2005, 10:31 PM	#15 (permalink)
jason8225 Guest Member Number: Visit: My Garage Posts: n/a	Wow, amazing job!

02-08-2007, 01:53 PM	#20 (permalink)
begran01 Junior Member Member Number: 11090 Join Date: Jan 2007 Visit: My Garage Posts: 1 Trader Score: 0 reviews Rep Power: 0	I have a 97 Taurus GL with the AX4N and started to do some searching on the internet when my tranny started to act up. The symptoms were: - slow to engage into drive when taken out of park or neutral - "service engine soon" light came on and, though I forgot what the code # was, the reason was because the torque convertor was not locking up at highway speeds. - eventual "surging" when at a complete stop. this was from the tranny doing what felt like jumping back and forth from drive to neutral ,though the gear selector was not moving nor was it stuck between D and N. My searches turned up your posting and, suspecting (and hoping) the problem was due to a bad pump, I decided to tackle the repair in my garage. It turns out my suspicion was correct, the pump input shaft bearing had come apart and the pieces of the bearing were keeping the pump from supplying enough fluid to stay in gear at low engine speeds and lock up the TC at highway speed. I want to say a big THANK YOU! for your posting. I don't know if I would have attempted this repair if I hadn't seen your article first. The instructions were very good, clearly enough to do the job if you have some basic mechanic skills and tools. I do have one tip for anybody doing this repair: you don't have to remove the metal battery support bracket completely. Mine was stuck to the body with some type of sealant and aven after removing the retaining bolts, I would have had a hard time removing the bracket. As long as you remove the plastic tray and the battery, you have plenty of clearance. Also, because I couldn't seem to get enough clearance to do so, I never removed the engine sub-frame completely form the car. I just removed all of the bolts and nuts and moved the sub-frame away from the engine enough to remove the pan. The entire repair took about one 10-hour day and cost me about $230 for a new pump, housing, and shaft. The tranny place that got the new parts for me said they would have charged about $700 for th total repair. The savings was well worth the effort! THANK YOU POWERTOOLMAN!