Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Wrong five speed tranny installed?

I recently replaced the five speed from my '95 Duratec with a used tranny from a local salvage yard. The yard had one already pulled and recommended a local installer, which I used. Both provided 90 day parts and labor written warranties. Since the new tranny was installed, the following has happened:the fuel cutoff/rev limiter no longer seems to function, higher RPM to maintain the same speed than before, vehicle runs much hotter, mileage broke 400 miles on a full tank(previous best was less than 360 miles), car takes FOREVER to build revs, and makes noise like a stock car when you back off WOT. I was at full throttle in third and passed 7000 RPM in a flash, got totally off throttle, tach winds past 8000 and tach stops functioning. I now have a distinctive tapping (bent valve?) that was not there before. I've owned the car since new and change oil every 3000 miles. Car has stock computer and 153,000+ on it. Yard says there is no way they sent wrong tranny, because the four cylinder tranny wouldn't fit,so they couldn't have sent the wrong one. Any external way to tell what tranny and gearset I now have ? My old tranny is still at yard but the label on the pan ia unreadable. Yard and installer want me to prove the tranny is wrong , but will refund labor and parts charges if it is the wrong tranny.(Yard is paying labor at shop of my choice up to the amount of original install, shop wants nothing to do with car.)Help!
MARK

I hate to ask this, but did you ever get the wiring harness recall done?

If the harness is in deteriorated condition moving it would make it worse.

It sounds to me like your tach is reading high...the rev limiter/fuel cutoff is built into the computer and can't be disabled without a chip.

Might want to connect a shop tachometer and verify that the tach reads correctly.

It also sounds like the engine may be running lean...is the check engine light on?

Brian

I had the harness already replaced by Ford, CEL was on before tranny change, but dissappeared after the change was made. I had replaced both O2 sensors earlier, but was never able to clear codes using procedures listed on website. Mileage improved from 280 a tank to 340-350 after EGR cleaning and sensor replacement, but i have never gotten over 400 miles a tank ever with this car. Any code numbers to tell the difference between the 4 cylinder vs. 6 cylinder MTX?
MARK

If you can find the engineering number on the transmission (which looks like a part number) Bill Jenkins should be able to cross it to a part number and tell you what it's for.

The thing is that the engine should not be getting better gas mileage if the transmission is geared lower, which the 4-cylinder is (the final drive is lower I think).

Brian

Usually in most cars that are manufactured, tranny 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th gears all have different ratios and different gear spacing or else a different final drive ratio (ring and pinion gears), between the 4cyl and V-6 models because the torque/ and horsepower curves are always drastically different between the two engines. 4cyl engines usually need more high RPM rev to help keep the motor up in it's powerband while accelerating, and V-6s tend to have extra low-end torque, and can run a lower RPM through the gears. I'd go to the Ford Dealer in your area and discuss this with the parts salesman. He should be able to give you 2 different part numbers of the 2 units, if they are in fact, different. I would bet they are different, and also your speedometer may be reading off too, if the speedo gear is different in the new tranny you got. I'd get the p/n's from Ford and go show the junkyard, and then go find a real V-6 tranny