Greetings,
your input is greatly appreciated in analyzing the following problem. Two weeks ago, my 1991 Ford Taurus (3.8 Engine, Automatic Transmission) stopped working. It had to be towed. When shifting in ?D?, it would drive 2 meters and then stop. The same for ?R?. Restarting a few moments later, would allow only for the same. (Few seconds movement, and that's all). Transmission fluid level was still ok. I checked that right after it stopped the first time. The engine was at operating temperature. Level was fine. Aday later, I noticed however that it was a little bit leaking under the Transmission fluid pan.
Anyhow, all mechanics I spoke to said that the transmission is dead. I was not ready to invest so much in a car that ruined me anyway. As a desperate act, I thought I would just replace the transmission filter. A friend helped me carry the task.He was not convinced that it would help,but he did it to please me. It worked! The filter was very dirty. Black was the fluid inside with a lot of deposits. The car was running, and the noise I was hearing on the driver side close to the air filter was gone. My friend was even more surprised than I was. The filter was only 22 $ CAN. We naturally put new fluid. I still have some problems however. When starting, it would go well until it reaches the 20 km / h speed, then it would have hard time reaching 40 or 50 km / h. When pushing the gas pedal, I see the number of RPM going high as much as 3000, but it would stay for a long while at 40 km /h, and the car would shake forth and back. It feels as if it wants to jump. Often I think it would just stop on the road. I release then th gas pedal for a while and then push again very gently and patiently... (The people driving behind me get upset, and I feel bad. I see them changing the lane. They are exhausted. )
I thought that it's a problem with the fuel system. I did a fuel system cleaning. I also replaced the fuel filter. It was indeed very dirty. (I thought that a clogged fuel filter would be the source of the problem.) The car runs very well when reaching the 60 km/ h , and even better at
80 or 100 km / h. But the situation remains the same at lower speeds, and especially after restarting at a light or a stop sign. Can I assume that the fuel pump is working well because the engine is running at higher RPM's when accelerating? I have read also somewhere that the Speed Censor might be defect. I must add that I always had electrical problems in that car. Right now the parking lights are not switched on automatically when starting the car. (As they used to) . The bulbs are ok. The fuses are ok. There seems to be some bad contacts. The radio led go sometimes off, and come back when I move the coins tray.Or would you rather tend to confirm that the Transmission is very tired and will retire soon?
Thank you kindly for your insights!