Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Transaxle rtansmission problem

I have a 2.5L 95 Contour with 123,000 miles. I have the dealer chance xmission fluid every 40K miles but now it looks my transmission is starting to act up. In the morning I drive to work (55 miles all highway) and everything is fine. But on the way back (about 10 hours later) everything is fine until I hit traffic or get to a traffic light. When I come to a stop, I can feel a slight jerking before the car comes to a stop. When I acclerate again, there is a slight delay and then the car jerks forward and starts moving. The force of the jerking is directly proportional to how hard I step on the gas.

Any ideas what the problem might be? I checked the transmission fluid and it looks normal and the speed sensor was replaced about 4 months ago because it had broken inside the transmission.

Thanks for your time.

It really does feel like the transmission. When I acclerate, the engine revs up - no problem. I replaced the plugs and wires at 100,000 miles with Ford Racing wires and platinum plugs (Autolite I think).

Thanks

You mensioned that when you come to a stop, the engine spins freely for a second, like you put it in neutral. Then it just 'catches', BANG - off you go like normal. Usually happens when the engine is cold. Once warmed up for a few minutes, it's fine.

I had this same problem for a few weeks when I first got my car. A nice change of fluid (the 4 quart drain & fill method three weekends in a row) has fixed it. Been fine for over a year now.

Another thing that will help, get an external tranny cooler installed to suppliment your stock transmission cooling. All of my cars with a tranny cooler have NEVER suffered a failure. $100 or whatever it costs for the parts & install is worth it.

Eventually, you'll want to install the CD4Ejr shift kit from Trans-Go. I'm working on installing mine soon. I'm a DIY kinda guy. Tranny work is always exciting, you always think you're gonna ruin it.