Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Tranny

I just purchased a 2000 CSVT and sometimes it is difficult to get into gear when stopped. If I turn off the engine, then it will go into gear easily and there are no problems shifting when accelerating. Any suggestions?

Try changing your transaxle fluid to a synthetic. You can search and read reviews on which one to use. For now (or forever) just blip the throttle to about 1500-1750 before fisting it into gear. This should work very well if done right. If it doesn't work, I'd say it's time to rebuild probably. Someone else should chime in sometime soon. How many miles on it? This thread would actually be in the transaxle forum below, but it's your first post, so I don't think people will care. Watch out for Search Nazi's and welcome to CEG.

Oh, by the way, don't listen to Zippy Zetec a.k.a. luvinmycontour.

that type of malfunction can be the clutch not disengaging. try reverse,if it grinds into reverse check the pedal, cable,attaching points.a competent shop will usually diagnose whether it's outside the bellhousing for an hour of labor. good luck

I have a hard time finding a fully synthetic tranny fluid..I can only find the dura blend stuff...where can i buy a few quarts?

Mobil 1 Full synthetic ATF. Any decent auto parts store that carries the Mobil 1 line should have it. Add friction modifier to make the "tranny cocktail" so often mentioned here manual tranny cocktail

Allways check/search the "Mods/Parts" section of the site for lots of good tips!

How many miles do you have on your car? I had the same problem with my 2000 SVT around 92,000 miles. The problem was the spring in the pressure plate of the clutch. When I replaced the clutch, the problem went away. I also tried synthetic fluid and the transmission shifted better but I still had problems getting into gear when stopped. It cost me $1050.00 to replace the clutch and all the other recommended components. I replaced everything with new parts and not rebuilt ones. I think the MX-75 pressure plate is a bit weak for the SVTs and spring in the pressure plate will wear faster than the clutch lining. Do all the cheep things first but if none of the cheep things fixes your problem you will have to replace the clutch since you will eventually damage the flywheel and it also will need to be replaced along with the clutch. Good Luck!

It has 38,000 miles. It feels more like a linkage problem. I can usually get it into another gear, and then it will usually go into the gear I want. Reverse is no different. Once I am moving, there is no problems whatsoever. I also am experiencing "moosing" when it is a cold morning and it is first started. It doesn't appear to be related to the a/c, since it is off and only happens when it is cold(below 50 degrees f)outside. Other than these two quirks, the car is solid.

well first thing is the moosing is a common problem. run a search and you'll find a vast wealth of knowledge on this as well as a fix. dont get anything from ford to fix it. they claim they fixed mine under warranty by replacing the hose kit but it still does it. i just havent had the time or motivation to do the fix. the tranny issue is rough. have you checked the linkage to make sure there's no restriction on it? if its fine when you're driving then you're looking into tranny issues internally. mine is rough when its cold and once it warms up its fine. my issue is just b/c i need to put synthetic fluid from the dealership in it. if you end up needing a tranny ive got a spare one. the spider gear is broke in it but nothing a lsd cant fix.