[techknight]

Dad gave me a 1998 ford taurus SE a couple months ago. it has 146,000 miles on it with the vulcan V6 engine.

Engine: Changed oil, plug wires, and replaced the plugs with denso iridium as they were on sale about 800 miles ago. one of them died, and the 3 in the back head toward firewall looked black/rust color looking. So yea, motorcraft on those... hehe. After replacing them AGAIN, the engine runs fine. smooth, and no misfires. Still gotta get the IAC fixed though. wants to idle too high and drop back down to normal idle when thrown into neutral or park. Got an engine idle overspeed error P1506 code once, but it never returned.

Anyway, transmission: The transmission seems to be just fine, as far as shifting, and it is showing no signs of failure or trouble yet. shifts through all the gears smooth and fine both cold and hot, allthough the engine feels "jerky" when the tranny hits overdrive/lockup going about 40mph. almost like a spark-knock feel. hard to explain.

The transmission fluid isnt pink anymore, its a tan color. kind of like regular oil. As far as the smell, heck I cant tell the difference between burnt and unburnt, but it smells just like fluid to me.

after a little bit about my car, now my question:

Ive seen 50/50 posts about whether or not the tranny fluid gets to this state if its ok to change it or not.

Should I change the transmission filter/fluid? or is it too late? or what.... Someone told me to change it and put some special treatment into it, and others have said NOT to change it, itll hurt the tranny even more.

any ideas? Thanks.

 

[Jeff K]

My opinion! Do not get the tranny power flushed! Use the method in the Wiki to change it using the trannies pump to pump out the old fluid. Drop the pan and change the filter. Do not put in any additives (which are all basically seal swellers).

 

[egiroux]

My opinion! Do not get the tranny power flushed! Use the method in the Wiki to change it using the trannies pump to pump out the old fluid. Drop the pan and change the filter. Do not put in any additives (which are all basically seal swellers).

I Agree!

 

[techknight]

information in the wiki? whats a wiki? So it is safe to change the transmission fluid, even though it looks old and isnt pink anymore?

 

[Vulcan_5_101_186]

Yes, absolutely change it. Older AXOD transmissions (like yours) require automatic transmission fluid (ATF) changes every 30,000 miles. See your owner's manual; it should be in there.

If you drop the pan and change the filter, be careful when removing the old filter and seating a new one. There are helpful hints on the TCCA site about how best to do this, but I don't recall exactly where. (If memory serves, there's an issue involving removal of a metallic ring on the neck of the old filter than secures it in the trans housing, but I honestly don't recall the details.)

When removing the pan, it's best not to bend the flange that runs around the perimeter of the pan too much. A badly bent flange can causing sealing issues (i.e., leaks) after you've reassembled everything.

Another option is to avoid dropping the pan altogether. Buy a hand pump and pump the fluid out via the fill tube. You'll be able to remove 4-5 quarts at a time using that method, or about 30-40% of the ATF in the system. You won't get all the old ATF out, but replenishing even a third of the fluid can really benefit the trans. (Don't do that if the engine/exhaust system is hot. ATF is flammable.)

I think the jerkiness you feel near top-gear lockup is either failure of the lockup clutch to engage as it should (potentially due to many factors such as wear, ancient ATF, inadequate converter clutch circuit hydraulic pressure), or an instability in the lockup clutch control circuit caused by many factors accumulating (including wear and fluid that is no longer to spec). The first feels like longitudinal transients/slipping, while the second feels like vibration as the lockup clutch locks up. The first can be fixed (but it might not be cheap if surgery's required on the lockup clutch), but the second ... maybe not. (Check for a TSB on it.) But if your ride has 150,000 on it and it still runs well, that is its own reward.

Ditto on the "no power flush," "no additives." Get some new fluid in there, even if you only change some of it.

 

[techknight]

ok, now since i dont know what a wiki is, i cant seem to figure out where to locate what Jeff K has mentioned.

with that said, How much fluid should i fill it with, if i cant empty torque converter?

as far as 150,000 and being its own reward, thats the lowest milage car that ive ever owned. I have only had my license since 2007, and ive been through 4 vehicles already. the taurus being the 4th.

i had a 93 ford aerostar at 176,000. ran great then randomly seized up engine, no idea why. oil pressure was good, and oil still full and water was fine. although the head gasket leaked antifreeze on the outside of the engine, however NONE was in oil.

i had an 88 chevy celebrity, that was my longest lasting car, it had almost 400,000 miles on it and you could see through the whole car it was so rusted up, i put 12,000 on it and then engine suddenly died. couldnt get it restarted, had fuel, spark, etc... popping out of breather with apparent timing issue so i scrapped it.

then got an 89 buic century with 189,000 on it and it ran great. but within the same month i got it someone decided i shouldn't be allowed to have a buick century and totaled the car for me.

So dad gave me this ford. it has alot of issues, like sway bar clicking/popping noise from the front end, the door adjar light on, with dome light on, so i turned dome light off, squeeking power steering pump berring, plugged heater core, missing A/C compressor clutch, and little stupid issues like that.

So basically after i got the car, i just did the basic tune-up, oil change, plugs, wires, new air filter. and 800 miles later, had to change the plugs again, as one plug was dead, and the back 3 plugs looked black/rust colored and front 3 looked fine.

but I am more worried about engine/trans right now, as i want the car to last.

 

[danhasenauer]

Try this link. You can also look under "Topic Finder" near the top of the page. That is the TCCA "Wiki".
How to Flush your transmission at home - Taurus Car Club Maintenance and Modification Wiki

 

[danhasenauer]

From TechTerms.Com:
"A wiki is a Web site that allows users to add and update content on the site using their own Web browser. This is made possible by Wiki software that runs on the Web server. Wikis end up being created mainly by a collaborative effort of the site visitors."

The TCCA Topic Finder (wiki) is a collection of members shared experiences, tips, and hints regarding the Ford Taurus/ Mercury Sable.

 

[techknight]

got a dead link in the "wiki"

http://www.taurusclub.com/downloads/AXOD-E Diagnosis.pdf

 

[sheila]

Try topic finder @ top of the page.