Thunderbird VALUE of car now? Sell value now??

Try kelly blue book

and NADA as well as car.com.

Jeff

1994 T-Bird is said to be the very worst year for automatic transmissions.. plus you have 110k on the clock, and it is RWD So the general public is only going to think old worn out car, lousy in snow, with a chance a lots of other stuff wearing out in a hurry.

Now if you get a motor head or a T-Bird lover interested it will be another story.

On Sat, 14 Jul 2007 17:18:17 GMT, Jeff sayd the following:

Kelly = $1,680 NADA = $1,575

LAWL, with the repairs needed I would be spending about $500 MORE than the car is worth to sell. hmm, what to do now?

Yours Truly, Crackles R. McFarly Associates Degree in Air Quality and Pollen Studies Certified Air Quality Specialist 'X7 Station: Fulton County, Georgia'

On Sat, 14 Jul 2007 23:34:57 GMT, Steven Stone sayd the following:

Ah yes the tranny. It didn't SUCK until the 2nd yr I owned it. Then WHAM shudder from hell then it just kinda acts sometimes like it's deciding on if it WANTS to change into 4th or downshift to 3rd. About

1% of the time, you let off the gas and it NEVER downshifts which as you know is a braking effect most drivers enjoy.

I've resigned myself to pushing the button and turning O/D OFF forever, no matter city/hwy driving. It actually drives in a dangerous manner with OD on even on the hwy..

I wish I had read this NG before purchasing this car in 2000

I wonder if I should fix it, sell it or burn it for the ins money..

j/k about burning it...

Yours Truly, Crackles R. McFarly Associates Degree in Air Quality and Pollen Studies Certified Air Quality Specialist 'X7 Station: Fulton County, Georgia'

What would you get for $2200? Something better than the car you have now, with the repairs you need to make? It is almost always cheaper to fix an old car than to buy a new car.

Are you better off selling the car for $1000 and putting more money into a new car with more safety features that is more reliable?

Jeff

Would appreciate it if you could elaborate on this a bit.

AODE or 4r70w or both? In terms of TSB's? Other criteria?

The MLPS goes without saying. :-)

Puddin'

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!" -Friedrich Schiller

The 4r70w in my '94 TB LX 4.6 that I've been driving for 10 years shifts (up and down), between 3rd and 4th, very reliably, at about

38-39 mph.

I got the shudder at 38k mi., changed the fluid, and it went away (thankfully).

Have you replaced the MLPS? Kept up with maintenance/repair religously? :-)

Puddin'

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!" -Friedrich Schiller

On Sat, 14 Jul 2007 22:45:16 -0500, Puddin' Man sayd the following:

If you mean fluid,filter,gasket for tranny, no i have not done that.

See, In my previous 5 cars I owned, changing the tranny fluid was something you did every 1-2 Million miles and it never mattered.

I even remember friend's cars that they drove over 200K without touching the tranny fluid. They did the oil and other things. It never caused a problem.

It seems this car's tranny was made by a robot. It reached an error and just kept going to save time/money for FORD.

Yours Truly, Crackles R. McFarly Associates Degree in Air Quality and Pollen Studies Certified Air Quality Specialist 'X7 Station: Fulton County, Georgia'

On Sun, 15 Jul 2007 01:46:11 GMT, Jeff sayd the following:

See the problem is I can barely afford the ~$1700 tranny repairs but their is no way in hell I could sell it and add some money to buy a newer car.

I simply don't have that money and won't for many months to come if then.

So, you'd fix the car and drive it another 100K?

I am satisfied with the car, I do like it, so it's not a matter of me liking the car or wanting to keep it, i'd rather keep it if you know what I mean. ?

Why don't you spend $30 for a new MLP sensor (nuetral switch) and fix the trans so you can use OD. You can get it atalmost any discount auto store and you can replace it in

15 minutes or less once you get under the car. All you need are a couple of ordinary hand tools to change and adjust according to the instructions that come with it.

ABSOLUTELY---This very same part failed on my 95 Continental (car went apeshit all of a sudden), 95 Town Car and 93 Crown Vic. New from Motorcraft (if you want the best part) is around $45 wholesale, and cheapies are available in the $20's from places such as rockauto.com. If you are going to keep the car, put the Motorcraft one in for sure.

Many a transmission gets rebuilt at the rip-off joints solely as a result of the failure of this part (the tranny shops thank God every day for faulty netural safety switches, aka shift position sensors...).

On the 4.6 of that era, plugged up EGR valve passages also contribute to rough shifting. I would also recommend that you do a measured mile check for your odometer. If it is off by more than 2-3%, you may have the incorrect driven gear at the vehicle speed sensor location. This, too has a bearing on upshift/downship points. Typically, the transmission downshifts from 4th. to 3rd. at around 35 MPH. There is a formula for determining the correct driven gear and I would be happy to share that with you if it comes to that.

Land O'Lakes Fred snipped-for-privacy@peoplepc.com

Methinks you need to take inventory of:

1.) What you got, i.e. "How bad is it?". 2.) What you need, given budget constraints.

You could try answering questions like:

Is it the V8?

Is the motor solid, not burning/leaking much oil, not making hideous noises, etc.?

If you select o/d, and it properly shifts between 3rd and 4th, do you still get the shudder? If so, is it lots worse than when it first -started- to shudder?

Any other peculiarities in tranny operations?

Etc.

But what you really need is a good, honest mechanic with Ford tranny knowledge that could test-drive your car and render knowledgable opinions about it's condition. Somebody that don't need to lie to you.

See lugnuts post re MLPS. IIRC, some gal on here maybe a year ago got hers fixed at Pep Boys for around $60 (parts and labor). That

*might* fix the shifting problem.

Other stuff you gotta sort out one way or another.

Good Luck, P

"Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens!" -Friedrich Schiller

As Paul noted: "I'd also suggest draining the tranny and torque converter and refilling with Mercon V - there is a Pennzoil Mercon III / Mercon V on the market. (Not all Mercon V products are compatible.) It eliminated the shudder in my '95 Crown Vic instantly."

Two tranny shops told me I needed to rebuild my tranny. Someone on this n/g suggested a flush and replacement of all fluid. Cost me about $100.00 at Jiffy Lube three years ago. No "shudder" problems since.

Isn't it amazing what a little preventive maintenance can do? Particularly when performed on a vehicle one purchased used where one can have no idea how it was used or abused, or whether it was serviced properly or not by the previous owner(S.) ;)

mike