Hi,
my trans will start downshifting erratically to 2nd and up for a couple minutes then stay in 2nd until the car if left to cool down.
Is this the dreaded ford trans problem or may it just be electronic.
I recently replaced the oil and found a fair ammount of metalic sludge at the magnet.(approx 2cc)
Thank you
Eric Girard
downshifting is probably the vehicle speed sensor,, i had one go out in a 93 taurus.. go to auto zone and get them to give you a free check engine light test(i know the check engine light does not come on and it is not gonna for the error, but the trouble code is still in the computer.. i cant remember what the numbers are but go there and have them do it and put in a new veh. speed sensor and your problems will probably go away.. on my car after a change out of the VSS it still did now what to shift and i found out that it was the wires in the line that broke(not the whole wire), just the copper inside of the wire, the plastic/rubber around the copper was hiding the break..... i changed the motor mounts about one month before and must have stretched the wires at that time.....
-snip-
I have a similar problem, on a 93 Taurus, but unfortunately for me, the AZ's around here only have OBDII checkers, and the 1993 Taurus is too old. :/
Anyone else have any other suggestions? I've tried NAPA, O'Reilly, AutoZone, Advance Autoparts, and several independant shops.
And, for the VSS, how hard is it to replace and where is it, and whats it look like?
Chuck
Thank you for the replies, the speed senor was something I was thinking of but dismissed since my speedo still works fine.
About a six weeks ago I had to lower the engine/trans to replace the stabilizer bar, perhaps I partially damaged a wire.
Regards,
Eric Girard
you probably did mess up the wires like i did... this is how i would check the wires... i got the wife's sewing stuff out and got some pins and shove one in to the wire about a foot or so from where you think there is damage..( in the case of this with possible damage all the way up the wire i would take the electrical connection off and use a meter and check for continuity from the inside of the plug to the extended part of the wire( shove the pin into the wire and measure there)... did you have an open circuit??? if so then get some wire from a hardware store and a pack of butt connetors and replace the damaged wire....... check on both sides(should have two wires).... hope you can do it yourself as i had mine brought to the dealership as i hurt my back and couldnot work on it at the time and it cost me about $400 for them to change out the VSS and then when they could not get it to work they found the problem and fixed the wires.... hope this helps.
Well I earn a living designing electronic instrumentation and mechanical design, so I realy see no problem testing or replacing the sensor.
But still. I don't see why the speedometer is working. It did happen to give erratic speeds sometimes in the last 2-3 years without the trans failing.
Well this should be easyer than replacing a transmission. I don"t have a garrage...or 2K to spare.
Thanks,
Eric Girard
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