Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Transaxle After half year struggle. ATX still has problem

Igy,

Iâ??ve been away from the CEG site for awhile (new hobby), but I happened to see your post while looking for some info for my nephewâ??s tour.

Any how, from what I read I would say that your line pressures look good (I assume you took them from the port on the driverâ??s side with a good 0-100 lb gauge and at warm idle). If so, I would not be concerned with the pump.

Next you need to check the CT pressure. Connect a 0-100 or 0-150 max gauge to the center tap on the front of the tranny next the VB cover. You should get 40-50 lbs with the car in park at high idle. Next with an assistant and the car warm, go for a ride. Drive between 40 and 55 Mph, keep your speed steady and check the gauge. You should see 50 to 85 psi when TCC not locked and 85-100 with TCC locked.

If the CT pressures are correct but the tach shows TC slip then you still have a bad TC (not uncommon with rebuilds).

If the pressure is good during unlocked driving the and never goes over 85 when (steady speed 55) Then the TC is not receiving the command (hydraulic or electronic) to lock. The bypass clutch and converter valve should be checked as well as the BOO switch.

If the TC pressure is always low then you have an internal leak. This could be valve body or TC, loose VB bolts incorrect or missing gaskets. Or perhaps, your rebuilt VB is defective?

Give it a try.

jeff

Today, I did the CT pressure test. The CT pressures are always low. Here are the results:

P:40PSI(cool idle) 20PSI (hot idle)
R:35PSI (cool idle) 10PSI (hot idle)
D:15~20PSI (hot idle) 40~50PSI (TCC off at 50mph, most time it is 40PSI) 50~60PSI(TCC on at 50mph, most time it is 50PSI)
WOT: 60PSI (hot idle).

When the tranny in failsafe mode, it is 60PSI at 50MPH.

According to Jeff, there is an internal leak inside VB or TC. But I just replaced these two parts. Is it poosible that a poor pump cause the low CT pressures?

Well I really don't know where to start.

I have a 98 Contour 2.5 6Cyl. I have had for about six months now a check engine light on. About the same time frame I started having this problem. Please be nice as I am trying to tell you what I am feeling when it happens.

While driving down the road at diferent speeds it will act like it jumped into nuetral. The RPM's will jump up until I let off of the gas pedal. When I let off of the gas pedal it seems to jump into a really low gear becuase the car jerks very hard and starts going again. It does not do it all of the time but when it does it I feels like I will blow my engine. There is no set time or place or event that this happens.

Last night my wife calls me and tells me that the O/D light is flashing as soon as she started the car and left work. At city travel the car could not go faster than 30 MPH. It would do the "shifting thing" over and over again. So i assume it was at low and high speeds of up to 50MPH. Had to have it towed to a shop.

Again does not do this all of the time. And again will seem to go into neutral then back into gear really hard.

I am not a mechanic in anyway. I read this intire tranaxile fourm and decided that this thread best explains or seems to resemble my problem. Everyone at this point is telling to get new ATX. That cost to me in AZ is about 2 grand. Talked with uncle who owns B an B trans in Colorado and he says without code he can't help but sounds like I think he said a Inner SPrag or something elect. Of course in his defence he is a state away and only has what I am telling without codes.

After reading this forum I called the shop and advised them to tell me exactly what code pops up when they get a chance. It has been to the same shop now six times for same problem. It never does the shifting thing for the tech working on it. It has left me and my family on the side of the road four times from this problem. I would like to know what all of you think I should do to get this fixed. I will do what it takes at this point. I have eight payments left on the car. I cannot aford a new car at this time cause I am a low paid cop. Will check back on this forum every hour to get a responce.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Bud, your uncle is right. It would be very hard to tell what the root cause of the problem is, unless we could have some codes.

If the check engine light is on, there is a code there. If you O/D light was flashing, then there might be another code in there that only a more in depth scanner can pick up. If you can get us these codes, we will do whatever we can to help you out. It could be something as simple and cheap as a range sensor (around $40 from the dealer and you can install it yourself... maybe) or as your uncle stated, you could have an internal problem such as a cracked forward drum or something along those lines.

Tell ya what I am going to do. I am going to start a new thread for you, that way it will be easier for you and everyone else to keep track of this issue for you. The new thread is here.


Welcome aboard, but sorry it had to come under these circumstances.

There were some fragile seals around one of the main drive shafts in the Mazda tranny I rebuilt. When I re-assembled it, I crushed the two new seals - they weren't fully seated and, as I said, they were fragile. It may be something that simple causing the problems. I re-installed the original Mazda seals & I was fine from there.

I know this isn't really helping, but my point is; the symptoms mimmic a bad TC, so the TC may not be the problem. Far more likely to be a goofy seal. Soooo much fluid pressure, heat, & mechanical stress, yet some tranny parts are very delicate - tricky work.

Why did I even post. Shaddap Jim...

I too have been battling this problem for a long time. I even had my trans rebuilt and everything replaced, including the TSS and VSS. The problem was still there. When the O/D light would start blinking I would pull off of the road and restart the car, no more blinking light but a hard 1-2 shift that would last only a short time then go away until the light would blink again. Well, the last time I changed engine oil my car wouldn't start. It turned out to be a bad crankshart sensor. But, since I replaced the sensor my trans problem hasn't happened {2-3 weeks}. THE ONLY THING REPLACED WAS THE CRANK SENSOR! So, I must conclude that the PCM uses the crank sensor when calculating slip for TCC sol. control. I know there are other sensors that are used for this but didn't know this was one of them. If I hadn't cured the problem accidentally I would still have it. I hope my past experience can help you or possible find a new direction to look.

Igy,

If your data is correct and your line pressure is good then you can rule out the pump.

If this was my car, I would pull the VB and test the converter regulator and bypass valves to see if they stick. Then I would dissemble and inspect them carefully for ware. The valve components are anodized and will be shinny if worn. Donâ??t forget to check the bores. Just because someone says something is rebuilt doesnâ??t mean that it was actually fixed or updated. If you are happy with the VB then check the gaskets and separator plates and be sure to reinstall and torque the bolts to the correct values and in sequence. Also check the gasket and torque of the Sol regulator assy.

From your numbers it looks like the TC is getting the command to lock (so you can rule out PCM problems) but the pressure canâ??t build to the required 80PSI due to a week valve or a leak in the circuit. Your TC could be at fault as Unisys12 is correct in noting, you can get bad rebuilt parts as his experience points out.

jeff