1988 Crown Victoria: Slipping in Overdrive

The possible problem here is that when the bracket broke it messed up the pressures in the transmission. I've been told that driving them for very long with the cable not connected properly, as would happen when the bracket broke, is very damaging to the transmission. That said, there is really no way of knowing exactly what going on with yours, it could be anything from just worn out OD clutch/band (don't know which it uses) to a failure of some of the hard parts. When the OD in my Explorer went out it was due to a disintegrated roller thrust bearing for the OD unit which then proceeded to grind up other parts. But I was able to drive it for many days by not using OD. I could tell other things were wrong however - it no long had any engine braking when you took your foot off the gas. How is yours in that regard, does it still feel "normal" when you coast? If it's just worn out clutches you can probably drive it for a long time and many miles by just not using OD. That's how all cars used to be, it just means the engine runs a little faster and you use more gas - it doesn't hurt anything. But if you have other damage there is no way to predict when it will "blow up". Personally, if it seems OK other then not having OD it'd just keep driving it till if and when it stops working and then worry about a replacement.

call a local cab company - they have more crown vic experience than any other user class. if you do so, you'll find most of them say the transmissions start to go at pretty much exactly your mileage. [this was confirmed for me as a "design life" by a buddy that used t work at one of frod's r&d facilities.] so, while others are indeed correct that you might be able to "fix" the immediate situation with some tinkering, it's not going to pay if the rest of the trans craps out next month.

bottom line, just bite the bullet and replace it. if not, get rid of the car at an auction and buy something newer [and better supported].

Did it slip prior to the bracket/reverse failure?

Multiple possibilities. OD band worn/broken, low apply pressure, internal damage

All depends on what the problem is.

Don't have my crystal ball handy.

Depends on when the trans came out of the vehicle, where/how it was stored and what condition it was in.

I would take it to a good trans shop. They would be able to answer the questions better because they can see and run the vehicle. It's possible that a fluid/filter change and a couple adjustments will fix the problem.

You could always try some Trans Tune by Seafoam.

I concur with the above, the below may prove of interest: "According to Mike Stewart of Mike's Transmissions, one of the most common problems with the AOD is its tendency to burn up the overdrive band."

Crown Victoria, what a stupid name for a car, it's nearly as bad as Edsel or Probe!

FORD - Stupid cars for stupid people!

replying to Jon, BetterWorld wrote: And you are stupid enough to believe that the name of the car has some bearing on the quality. Fortunately for you, they don?t make an Ignorant Dipshit, as you?d undoubtedly own a fleet.......