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Tranny Woes

msandiej

Be Gentle I'm New Here
Joined
May 4, 2006
Messages
2
Location
Ruston, WA USA!!!
As if this poor car hasnt gone through enough...

97 Contour SE recently underwent a cat gutting...as you all know the pre-cats are a super spendy repair...really not worth fixing. When this was done, I had all the other maintenance performed. She had her tranny flushed.

After that, she started doing this weird thing. When I would go up a hill, she would kick back on me. It seemed she didnt want to downshift to go up the hill. I would manually shift down into 2nd to alleviate the discomfort. (Shes an automatic). It became more and more frequent...and started doing it when I was accelerating at all. Getting on the freeway, starting from a light....all the time. I then started turning the OD off to see if it would help. It did for awhile. Then the proverbial poo hit the fan.

I was driving along a straight road with no slope at all. Suddenly, she started jerking back and forth. Revving between 800 and 6000 RPM...Like shifting high, then low and so on...without just picking a gear. It was undriveable.

Now...to the question...

I called the Ford dealership. They told me that this is common after the tranny is flushed. Its the last hoo-rah, basically. My tranny has given up on me. To fix? Oh...$3600! Um, no.

Now mind you, they have not physically looked at it. I called a tranny shop who would do a rebuilt for $2400...still too much. But they offered to pull the casing and look inside. If there are no metal shavings, then it would cost about $1200 for the repair (instead of a replacement).

$1200 I would do...But, I will be charged a few hundred just for them to pull the casing and look at it.

So, I ask...Is this my tranny dying a horrid death? Or is it possible that Im just slipping?

Also...in case you thought of asking...When I spoke with Ford, they asked if my OD light was flashing. It is not. This is part of what led them to believe the tranny was actually dead...as such a MECHANICAL failure would not affect the computer.

Your thoughts and the like are much appreciated!
 
With no codes, I would suggest that you check if the ATfluid level is correct. Then check the Turbine shaft speed sensor ($26) and manual lever position sensor ($45) as well as the linkage to it, before a rebuild. If your "OD off" light were flashing, I would suggest the vehicle speed sensor.

ATFluid change and MLPS
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=3460&highlight=mlps

Turbine Shaft Speed Sensor.
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/sh...fpart=all&vc=1

and this
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/sh...fpart=all&vc=1

Vehicle speed sensor
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=1816&highlight=vehicle+speed+sensor
 
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