My 1994 Mondeo 1.8, 16 valve, automatic gearbox is sometimes reluctant to go into 4th [top] gear until it has done about 5 miles ... sometimes more. Are there common faults that can cause this? I can sometimes force it to change up by dropping into neutral [whilst moving at about 50 mph] and then returning the shift to drive. Any advice gratefully rec'd.
94 Mondeo Estate automatic box. Resists 4th gear
Jul 29, 2004
3 Replies
Get shot quick. This symptom is a sign the pump is on the way out as low pressure output affects the 4th gear lock up as you have discovered.
You dont say how many miles your car has done, but if its over 70k then its a wonder its got this far!
Tim..
Dunno the Ford box, but it's a standard feature on ZF - it waits until things are up to temperature before allowing overdrive. They also hang on to the low gears longer when cold - presumably to warm the engine up faster for emission reasons.
But 5 miles seems a long way. If it is designed to wait, perhaps the sensor or connections are iffy?
a fluid change might do the trick
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