[garnold0611]

Well, I am assuming the answer to this is yes, but here is the question anyways.

REcently while driving on the expressway my car couldn't hold onto overdrive. It would constantly shift down into 3rd and then TRY to get into overdrive, before falling back down into third. So, I checked the transfluid and saw that not only was it a bit burnt colored, but there was quite a bit of air bubbles in it. So, yikes, fluid is getting too hot.

So, my first step was to change fluid, flush the torque convertor, change filters... do all that stuff and cross my fingers. Well, same results. After a bit of driving the fluid gets too hot, and it won't shift into any gear.

So, well, now I'm looking at the thought of rebuilding the tranny because it is probably so worn down that all it is doing is working so hard to shift it's boiling that fluid.

I guess I am asking what you guys think... as the fluid is cool, she shifts just fine. As the fluid heats up, well, who knows what gear I'll end up in. Time for a rebuild?

 

[Rockledge]

Welcome to TCCA.

I'm not an expert on trannies but it does sound like yours needs some fairly major service. Maybe someone else can be more specific as to what is wrong. Do you have the AX4S or AX4N?

In any case, rebuilding a tranny depends a lot on the condition of the rest of the car. If you aren't having any other problems, and the paint looks good, and it's been regularly maintained, then a rebuild is certainly worth considering. Your OHV Vulcan engine will go another 100K easily as long as your cooling system and other major components are up to snuff.

If you do go with a rebuild, make sure you strengthen the tranny with a shift kit and that you install an addtional tranny cooler while you are at it.

 

[garnold0611]

Thank you for the welcome... I found thsi website as I was looking up Taurus information.

So, in response to your posting on here, the rest of the car is tip top - which makes me kick myself for neglecting the transmission. I even go so far as to wipe down my engine whenever I wash my car to keep it looking nice and neat on the inside (I learned this was a good idea when a mechanic once said they paid a little extra attention to details when they saw I took a little extra attention to the car.)

So, yes, it is definately worth getting the transmission rebuilt... and worth looking into getting another cooler installed for the fluid. I guess we all have things we overlook, and I learned a $1300 lesson on this one. But so be it, we live and we learn...

 

[Bob Gervais]

Welcome to the TCCA, I'm sure you'll find yourself at home here.

I would get it checked first, obviously. Is it setting an SES light? Are there any codes stored? The torque converter not locking up will build up some excessive heat, though I think your problems may be a little more than that.

 

[JCC]

Make sure you have the tranny cooler flow tested. A partially colapsed cooler will cause the tranny to get hot slow or fast depending on the degree of colapse. There should be a minimum of one quart in twenty seconds of flow thruogh cooler. 1.5 to 2 quarts is normal. Just did mine and found .4 quarts witch explained why fluid was burping out the front seal and then not leaking when cold.

 

[1fast97]

Has the O/D off light flashed at you yet?

Mine did that almost a year and a half ago and I thought I was doomed. The battery died shortly after that and ever since the tranny has behaved. I don't know why, but you might want to try reseting the computer by pulling the battery cable (but not before checking the codes).

What year is it? And which tranny (AX4N, AX4S, AXOD..)?

 

[garnold0611]

Nope, never got any O/D lights at all... actually, nothing to tell me something was wrong down there. Well, except for the transmission fluid that could have been sold as chocolate milk - but as I said before, that is all my fault. So be it. It's in the shop now getting rebuilt (pretty good deal... $1200 for the whole shot) and based on recommendations I'll ahve them put in a shift kit and I'll look into a transmisison fluid cooler.

So, I'm not sure resetting the computer would od much good - there were times the car would slip completely out of gear and drop me down to first. This happened after driving it a little bit in the city (stop and go driving you know) but it would maintain 3rd gear on the highways (it would never make it back up to overdrive.)

So, seeing as how overdrive is the first thing to go, I had my initial fears when I would lose 2nd and 3rd gears in the city - and after a complete dluid flush and replace, the problem was still there, so looks like its time for a new tranny. And with less than 100K miles on it, it's worth it.

So, in my 13 years of driving I have had one major expense for a car and that was redoing the exhaust on a Probe way back when. Other than that it has been replacing a hose here and there - so this evens things out. I just hope this marks the beginning of a good streak!

 

[wpski]

I had that same exact problem, I replaced the transmission range sensor, also known as the neutral safety switch and the problem went away. I don't know if it was a loose connection or bad part, but this seemed to fix it complelty so far.

 

[chococat1079]

There's a guy that worked at Ford that I know that worked on transmissions for 25 years and he says that the AX4N and the AX4S work better if you drop in a extra quart of ATF on top of what is recommended which is, I think 13.6 Quarts...A transmission cooler really helps too...

 

[deniz]

garnold0611-

where did you find a shop to rebuild your tranny for 1200 bucks? Sounds like a good deal to me.