Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting ATX Woes....I think

Okay, so today I got bored and decided to remove my throttle body and clean it. I also considered optimizing it while it was off but I ran out of time right after I pulled the Butterfly Plate out. So I hastily put everything back together and re-installed by TB back on my car and made all the necassary connections. I start up the car and take off. Acceleration seems good and Throttle Response improved just from the cleaning but then a serious problem quickly arises. I'm cruising along at 35-40 MPH and I stomp on the pedel (car info:'98 V6 with ATX) and absolutely nothing happens. No downshift, and very modest acceleration (as if I were in O/D or something). Also, a week ago I had the the local Zip Lube flush and refill my tranny with 62,000 miles on it. They had me sign a waiver beacuse there was no past history of a flush performed by them and I am not to sure about the vehicles past as I have only owned since last October. The car seems to be producing power, so I think it is transmission related, but the fact that it happened after I removed my TB is just a little weird. Any wisdom, insight, advice is appreciated.

Was your OD light flashing or did you get any CEL codes for us??

Did the engine rpm go way up or did the car just kinda lug & gradually accelerate?

Right after a TB dismantling, I'd suspect a slipping cable or loose bracket is not letting the TB open up. Check that with an assistant pressing the pedal in the car.

Make sure that the throttle position sensor is engaged with the shaft and moving with throttle movement.

No the O/D light was not flashing but I did get a CEL but it's too late to take it to Autozone now. The thing with the acceleration is intially (from a standstill in 1st) it seems fine except the revs climb way to high in a very rapid manner. Even under moderate throttle application (taking off and speeding up to 30 MPH on my street) the engine almost revved out to 6000 RPM! After that there is no power it seems like because it won't downshift. Tried punching it at 30,40,50, and 60; nothing but abysmal acceleration. Me and my dad just checked to see if the TB is opening up and it appears to be so I'm getting very worried that this could be a costly transmission problem.

Rogerm60
I'm not sure what you asking but it appears that the TPS is engaged with the shaft. Thanks for the help so far.

I know what it is and yes, more then likely it is your TPS. Just take it back apart and you should find what's wrong.

What's happening is that the TPS cannot correctly detect half to wide-open throttle. Moving the throttle directly to one of these positions, will induce a downshift from the transmisson. Since this is not happening and we know that the only thing that has changed on the car is the TPS, it has to be the problem.

The TPS is not something that can just be thrown together. Not harping on ya, just stating a fact.

Take it back apart and rotate the internals more towards the ground. This should bring everything back into check. I'm not exactly sure how you do this, but I know there have been several people on here that have modified their TPS and had the same problem. And almost everytime, they had it or the internals miss positioned.

If you're not getting a lot of slipping from the clutch packs, I'd guess that the range selector switch/solenoid has gone belly up. Not an expensive part.

Perhaps we can get a friendly visit from Phil. He's got more experience with these trannies than I do.

Calling Unisys12!!!

Wow! Thanks everyone for the great advice. I think what unisys12 is saying is probably right (what a relief) and I am going to disassemble everything later today when I get back from work. Once again thanks, and I'll post later to see if the problem has been corrected.