Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting ahh, it was a good month

October 2001 was one of very few months that I didn't have transmission problems.

Today I filled up with gas and when I tried to drive off the shifter wouldn't move out of neutral. Turned the car off put it in first, started it and drove off only to be stuck in neutral at the first traffic light. The shifter felt like I was trying to move into a gear without the clutch pedal pressed even though it was to the floor.

This is the third transmission. It's about 2500 miles old, as is the clutch assembly including pres plate and slave cylinder. Also, all of the shift linkage is new.

Once I can get into gear, shifting while driving is seamless. Up and downshifts are greeted with the 'snick-snick' and everything seems fine. Just when it's in neutral and at idle, everything goes to hell. Any ideas?

-Matt

PS - I did the test that brought about the second replacement trans... put the shifter in first and held the revs at 2500rpm while not moving (clutch pedal to the floor). After about 10 seconds the car started bucking as if something was slipping. The last time I did this, in front of the service manager, he told me "this is normal as the PCM is trying to tell the vehicle to move." How is that possible?

WOW, glad to hear that everything went well for ya. i do have a ? for you though considering that you are the "expert" now. i have a leak somewhere. they tested everything and said that they found nothing. the leak is coming from the driver side of the engine. i'm thinking that it's some type of "tranny" leak or something that would be over there. it's not red and feels like water. have any suggestions? just wondering cause american ford has no idea and i'm completely out of them also. thx to anyone for help...

SVTourboy
Try bleeding the clutch first.

Spec,

Are you sure it's not just water from the air-conditioning system? I remember when I was in Minnesota there would be a puddle of water under the car whenever I had the A/C on, probably due to the humitidy. Although it's cold there now I think, so if you haven't had your A/C on lately and still see the liquid, I'm out of ideas for you. Oil is carmel/black, brake fluid the same, sometimes red, like power steering fluid. Maybe it's a coolant leak? Anyway, best luck trying to diagnose it.


Terry:

It's not the transmission or clutch, from what a couple friends and I think. If I take off the airbox to get a clear view of the transmission, there's this weird, plastic, rectangular object that the shift linkage kind of 'hooks' into at the top of the tranny, which has an extreme amount of play and I think when everything gets hot, it's that plastic piece that's causing all of the problems. Any idea what I'm talking about? I tried to find a parts book for our cars to get a name for that piece, but no luck so far and the dealership can't look at my car until mid-next week.

Hope that info helps.

Matt