Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Once again another transmission problem

I have a 1995 ford Contour LX 2.0 s4 with 115000 miles, during short trips it shifts fine but for any trip over 30 miles shifting gets real erratic and will sometimes just disengage. I suspect that this is overheating, does this sound right? also I have been told that once a transmission starts to slip that it cant be saved, this dosent really sound right as the tranny is fine for short trips (absouluty no problem). Do you folks think that a tranny flush/fluid change would help? Thanks all.

Yeah a flush would work. If this is the first time it has been changed itll prolly fix it. Here is the how-to for the ATX from the FAQ section under transmission:

There's two ways. The first way is a drain and fill approach and the power flush. There is also a manual flush that I will also cover.

A)Drain and Fill - Jack the front of the car up a small amount. Remove the drain plug, using a 3/8" drive rachet. Allow the 4 quarts to drain out. After the ATF drains out, simply re install the drain plug and let the car down. Add 3.5 quarts and crank the engine. Hold the brake and work though all the gears. This ensures that all the fluid works through the system. Leave the engine running and check the fluid level and adjust as needed. You should only have to possibly add the last .5 quart.

B)Power Flush - This procedure calls for a mechanic to hook your ATX up to a machine that will force new fluid into the ATX case and, at the sametime, sucks out the old. The force of the fluid coming into the case cleans out most, if not all, contaminets throughout all parts of the ATX.

C)Manual Flush - To perform a tranny flush yourself, follow this little "How-To" by RoadRunner, Transmission Forum Moderator at CEG. Before you start put 4 quarts of WATER in a bucket and mark the INSIDE of the bucket with an INDELIBLE INK MARKER, at the top of the water level. When you get under the car, you will see two lines that go from the transmission to the passenger side of the car. One attaches to the BOTTOM of the radiator, while the other goes to the TOP of the radiator. Follow the line that attaches to the BOTTOM of the radiator back to the transmission. This is where you want to remove the line and then put the end of it into a bucket. Pour out the water and dry. Now you have a 4 quart measure inside the bucket ! Start the car and let it idle while the bucket fills. When it gets close to the 4 quart mark, turn off the car, and pour 4 quarts of ATX Oil into the Dipstick Tube. Take the 4 quarts in your bucket and pour it into the 4 empty ATX Oil bottles. You'll need to repeat this until the oil coming out of the line starts to resemble the oil you ar pouring into the dipstick tube.

This is more than likely the cause.
good luck!

If you flush just remember to shift the gears around. If your car has never had the ATX oil changed then there might be problems. The worn metal flakes inside the tranny can come loose and float around into bad spots. So a flush might not be a good idea. Just like the lady at work that gave her 96 Honda a flush and an engine light came on 2 days later. There was a problem with a switch inside the tranny. I just cleared the code and it never came back. So while this problem was just a glitch for her, you can see that there are things going on inside an old ATX that should be taken lightly.

You can have superlube do a gear box flush.

What I would do is while the car is cold drain the fluid from under the tranny. Make note of whatever amount comes out and put the same back in.

If you want, you can try adding a bottle of lucas transmission fix.

A bad range switch can cause intermittent jumping out of gear. The older ones (like your 95) have more problems then the new. It�s easy to change and about $40 bucks (I think).

jeff

I dont know if i would flush your tranny. ATF can gunk up and turn to almost a solid matter and bind to your tranny internals. So when ATF is circulated in the "power flush" sense, it gets rid of the "gunk" and that can sometimes tear away/tear apart at your internals. At most garages/quick lubes, if you dont have any records of having a power flush performed (the t-tech is a common machine) and you have around 100,000 miles, they ask you to sign a waiver stating the shop isnt responsible for any damage. How dirty is your fluid? if it's black, then you should do a drain and fill (if applicable).

Have a look at this post before you flush. It sounds a lot like a bad range sensor.

link

jeff

Ok I think from what im hearing its probably the tranny cooler. In the 95 is the cooler in the radiator? I see 1 non finned coil just in back of the front bumper is this the tranny cooler? If this is it it really looks inadequate. I gotta get a book. are there any diagrams or photos online anywhere?

I don�t know how you came to the conclusion that it is the trany cooler?????? You don�t know for sure if it is really overheating. And if it did overheat you would smell it.

I suggest that you start with the range sensor.

jeff

Got a hayden cooler and installed between the ac condenser coil and power steering cooling coil on the fan side (dident have to take off the bumper it fits in there like it was ment to go there) held in place with nylon wire ties. Cut into the tranny cooling line that ran underneath the radiator and used regular hose clamps. Have absolutly no problems with it now. Thanks for the help all.


Got this cooler and kit at bulkpart.com
OC-1402 Hayden Transmission Cooler & standard installation kit 1 $23.41 $23.41