98' SE Sport Automatic Tranmission no 2nd gear

Originally posted by AliasJerkâ�??¢:

Originally posted by projectSHO89:
Save your money for now.

Can you get a manual 2nd gear (shift selector in "2")?

Never heard of a gear getting "porked". Are you sure you didn't misunderstand?

Steve

HELLO!? guys, who here has heard of a trannie job costing as much as a brand new car? between 13000 and 18000? Im really hoping he ment 1300-1800. Which if thats the case, then thats not a bad price at all for a newly rebuilt trannie... Get a good warrenty though.

That typo was noted and ignored. Perhaps you should also..

Apologizes for the numerous typos in my original post. The responses are very helpful and I have a better understanding of the issue.

Yes, the amount to rebuild the tranny is $1300-$1800 total and is a good price with all labor included. If that were the only expense in repairs it needed I would likely go though with it, but this Contour also has a power steering leak and needs brakes/rotors. Now Iâ�?��?�m up to $2500+.

I had a difficult time reading the notes written by the mechanic on the work order and I still can't figure it out. The first comment was: 1) Trans Shot, 2)Borks or Rocks or something...

A message on my voice mail by the shop owner I neglected to listen to said that they tried a fluid flush with a "special cleaner" that did not work in attempt to break up a sticking valve body. The hard shifting feels like it is between gears 1 and 2 especially up steep grades. Placing the shifter in 2 does not seem to shift out of 1. On hills from a complete stop I have to take 1st up to 30mph and 4500rpm to cause a shift into 3rd.

What I have noticed is that the shifting may be slowly returning to something more normal as itâ�?��?�s been driven a few days after the flush. Its shifting from 1st into 2nd or 3rd(hard to tell) around 3800rpm. I also added another bottle of Gunk Transmedic to the fluid. I'm also feeling some hard bangs when upshifting.

The issue started last weekend during high winds when the car was fighting lots of resistance. My first thought was that it might be an environmental issue with air pressure variances changing the readings on a sensor and influenced the computer to shift at higher rpms. The problem is that the behavior did not reverse itself after the winds subsided.

Originally posted by Nesaukee:
..What I have noticed is that the shifting may be slowly returning to something more normal as itâ�?��?�s been driven a few days after the flush. Its shifting from 1st into 2nd or 3rd(hard to tell) around 3800rpm. I also added another bottle of Gunk Transmedic to the fluid. I'm also feeling some hard bangs when upshifting.
..

If the shifting is getting better now, I would go with another drain and refill and see if it improves. In addition, for the hard bangs when upshifting, change the TSS.

Turbine shaft speed sensor.
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=1238311&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1

ATFluid change
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=tranny&Number=992476&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=31&fpart=1

Edit. Oh, and welcome to the site.

Have you run a PCM quick test with a scanner to see if any codes are either set or pending? This is the first step that should be taken, even before a road test.

If the harsh shift is only out of 1st into (presumably) 2nd, then the TSS may be a suspect. If you are getting other bang shifts (2-3, 3-4, or on downshifts) then don't bother - your valve body is worn.

Placing the shifter in 2nd from a stop should mechanically force a 2nd gear only condition....

A scan tool (not a code reader) would be your best friend right about now. It would allow yuo to read sensors in real time and get a better feel for what's going on.

Steve

I did a bit more test driving and the trans really is shifting though 1-2-3. 1st shifts to 2nd at 3500rpm@20mph if I lift off the gas a little, then it shifts from 2nd to 3rd at 2250rpm@35mph but only drops about 200rpm after the shift. I never make it into 4th regardless of speed.

The temp guage is barely reaching the "N" in normal even after 45mins of drive time and it sure acts a lot like a Contour does on a cold winter morning.

Appears to be a thermostat issue. Can an amatuer replace one of these things or should I leave it up to a shop?

Thermostat stuck on open or broken Engine Coolant Temperature sensor. So far, it was not necessary to know if you had a 2.5 V6 or 2.0 I4. Do you have a I4 Zetec Engine or 2.5 Duractec engine? And yes. Changing the thermostat or ECT sensor can be done by an amateur.
Not getting to 4th could be the OD off button being depressed.

Thermostat.
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1b/c8/7d/0900823d801bc87d.jsp

Its a 2.5L Duratec V6 thankfully. I'll look at replacing these compomponents and post back the result. I've tried switching OD on and off but it doesn't have an effect on rpms or speed over 45mph and still seems to be in third with that gear's amount of resistance. OD button does have a downshift effect between 25-40mph or so. All gears are running 500-1K higher rpms than I am use to seeing.

The shift points are quite low, I mean at 20 - 30 MPH (or 30-40 KM/H) the first gear goes into second and RPMs drop back down to under 1500, sometimes lower than 1200. If you can get a rebuilt tranny for cheap, and have a guy install well but for cheap go for it, the leaks here and there can be sealed without too much problem. The rotors on the other hand, is there anyway you can live without them or are they warped really badly? IF it comes to a point where spending all the $2500 is necessary I would invest in another car right there and then.

Originally posted by m4gician:
..The rotors on the other hand, is there anyway you can live without them or are they warped really badly? IF it comes to a point where spending all the $2500 is necessary I would invest in another car right there and then.

LOL. My tolerance is a little higher. Rotors are maintenance items. Even when you buy a new car, you will have to plan on spending money on it in 4 years or so. I have spent $800 this year on maintenance items (2 tires, ball joint, wheel bearing, alignments, etc.). And expect another $1500 to $2000 next year (2 tires, brakes, probably suspension items, etc.). And maybe $3000 the next year (probably time for new precats and main cat then).

My insurance now is $450/yr (comprehensive) and personal property tax is $40/yr. With a new car, I can expect to pay $2000 in insurance and $1200 in personal property tax per year. In addition to a yearly car payment of about $5500 for the next 5 years. So when I think about it, $2K to $3K per year seems cheap compared to $8700 per year for the next 5 years.

I don't have a diagnostic computer to read the sensors, so I took the car up to Firestone and they checked the thermostat and it is opening/closing properly, the VSS is reading the proper speed, but the ECT is reading they say about 10 degrees below normal but shouldn't be causing a problem. It looks a lot more off than that since the temp gauge usually runs between the "O" & "R", but since last Saturday runs between the lower limit mark and the "N" in Normal on the temp gauge.

Could this be causing rpms to run high in all gears as the PCM adjusts rpms to get the temperature up and return higher readings from the ECT?

They did not find any error codes on the ECC, but that is because I pulled the 3 amp fuse for the ECC error code memory a long time back. This fuse is pulled because one of the three catalytic converters is returning a low voltage although there is nothing wrong with the cat or the sensor. It was constantly switching on the Check Engine Light, so I pulled it to wipe the codes when the car is turned off.

They said they were not sure if the '98 model year takes the square or round ECT and they only have one of them and to bring the car back on Monday morning when their supplier is open.

I read my Chiltonâ�?��?�s repair guide on this but since I live in an apt complex this might be difficult to do myself especially if the trans fluid has to be drained and recycled. I'll likely take it back to them Monday unless there is a better alternative for Contour repair in the Metro-Detroit area.

Here is a post from Chongo. It highlights the ECT sensor for a 2.5 L V6 Duratec.

Originally posted by chongo:
Did someone call me out.......LOL

here you go.

and from Autozone, how to test.
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1b/ca/ba/0900823d801bcaba.jsp

What do you know...The Autozone Online Repair Guide is a verbatim copy, pictures and all, of the Chilton 1995-99 Contour/Mystique/Cougar Repair Manual. I wonder if there is a CD burnable copy of it...

The ECT is not the cause of your transmission problems.

Take it to another transmission shop for a second opinion.

Steve

I'm not absolutely sure it is a trans problem. I'm the amatuer trying to determine why high rpms, 500-2000 above normal, are occuring before gear shifts and stays high even at freeways speeds. I'm not getting bangs and determined that the car is not missing gears(the only one might be OD, but that would be expected in a cold condition like Winter before the car warms up). Its acting exactly the same way it does on me in winter on a 10 degree morning and the temp gauge is reading much lower than it normally does and sometimes it drops all the way to the low mark. Its also guzzling a tun of fuel, another indicator of a sensor problem.

This points to a bad ECT returning too high resistance and a condition that would be expected if the sensor were going bad.

If it ultimately turns out to be my amatuer assesment of a trans problem, it's not going to a trans shop, its going to a dealership as a trade-in or sold as-is though an eBayMotors reseller. Its not worth the money, especially when I can buy another late model used Contour SE sport for less than $3000 from a private seller with half the miles this one has. I see them online quite often.

I did some additional driving tests this evening in a business park. It does appear that 2nd gear exists, but engine rpms are "racing" and not adding any additional speed over 1st. Staring off with the gearshift in 2nd and depressing the gas to reach 4000rpm only gets the vehicle to 25mph.

Starting off with gearshift in 1st and reaching 4000rpm gets the vehicle to 25mph, and then shifting the stick up to 2nd drops the rpms down to about 1250. Depressing the gas pedal and accelerating to 4000rpm in second does nothing, it immediately races like its in neutral. Shifting to 3rd (D) at 25mph@4000rpm will upshift to 3rd gear.

Performing high rpm and shift tests causes the temperature gauge to drop out from "N" to below the low mark once in 3rd gear.

With this info in mind, would you say bad transmission or sensor?

My Dad replaced the MLPS switch on his 1993 Mercury Sable transmission, reverse gear was intermittent. The new switch fixed it. The Contour has the same type of switch, fails often.

I had the same problem with my 1997 2.0L. When going to second gear the rpms rise and it takes 4 seconds to get into second gear and then goes right into 3rd gear. The tranny person found the 2-3 band cracked at the band end. It cost me 950 dollars for the overhaul. If you need to see a picture, I can take one.

I started a new subject thread named "98' 2.5L stalls won't remain running after jump" since the behavior of my Contour has suddenly changed again after this subject was started. Take a look at the newer subject.

I'll go back to the posibility of a bad transmission or the other sensors mentioned in this thread if replacing the Crankshaft Position Sensor(CKP) suggested by Chongo doesn't resolve the additional problems I'm experiencing now.

I wish to thank everyone who helped me with the issues on my '98 Contour. The problems are still not yet resolved, but I have instead financed a slick black 2005 Ford Focus as a replacement vehicle. The look with aluminum sport wheels is amazing. Its like a 500 but better :-)

Any suggestions as to the best way to sell my '98 Contour (ebaymotors, autotrader, etc...) would be helpful as I did not use it as a trade-in at the dealer.

Originally posted by Nesaukee:
..
Any suggestions as to the best way to sell my '98 Contour (ebaymotors, autotrader, etc...) would be helpful as I did not use it as a trade-in at the dealer.

Our classifieds?
http://www.contour.org/classifieds/

As many places as possible. Better to have more exposure when trying to sell.

Your local newspaper might work, be upfront about the car's issues. The stalling might actually just be a bad battery or wiring at the battery if you are lucky.