Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Transmission Problems

First off my name is Albert and i'm kind of car savvy. My specialty is the lovely DSM (japanese car made by americans) so I know about screwy problems with Mitsubishis.

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I am familiar with car forums as well and performed a search. Coinsidently enough the guy in this thread actually lives in the same town as me. So hopefully Carl Beasley Ford can give me the same deal

The MLPS seems to be my problem but it looks like its been replaced before based on the pictures in the reference thread.It's black and looks newer with a connector. The transmission was serviced in 2001 from the sticker under the hood. My o/d light was flashing as well so is that definetly a VSS or VSS connector?

My speedometer is fine and in order to limp myself to work today I had to turn the o/d off on the highway and it was fine. Then for regular driving i switched back because it seemed to drive smoother and the light started flickering on and off.

Today is the first time I had this problem and the transmission has a significant whine w/ higher rpms. Sounds like a tranny ready to grenade to me but i'm not sure. The fluid is good nice and pink but it did have a burning smell to it. The first time I checked it I did it with the car off and it was mildy dirty but still pink. I then rechecked it with the car running in Park and it looked perfect.

Please let me know which direction to go. This car was purchased for $2200 in May w/ 121k now it has 128k.

Also one important thing to add because every variable counts. Yesterday there was very hard rain and hail. I actually pulled into a carwash bay (I'm smart hehe) to protect the paint/glass. Some mild flooding and went through maybe 1/4 tire high water at one point. Parked the car went out to grab some grub and it drove perfect as usual at 8pm last evening. Then at 630am this morning the problems started by slipping transmission and a loud whine w/ rpms.

Welcome . As you suspected, it could be water getting into the conectors for the MLPS or VSS. I would suggest removing those connectors and drying it out first (use hairdryer). Then reset the PCM (pull Fuse 4 and 11 for a few minutes). If the OD off light flashes again or CEL codes lights up after that, scan it and you should be more aware of what the issue is. Good luck.

Go get your codes read BEFORE resetting the PCM. That way, you have an initial starting point.

Also, give the complete set of symptoms.....

Steve

Great thanks for the advice/help. But how do I go about removing the plug from inside the wheelwell.

It seems brittle and I don't wanna break the sucker.
It has two tabs I tried pushing in and using a screwdriver being careful I couldnt slip it off.

EDIT: Got that falker loose. looks like its never been removed and to my amazement some drips of water came out and a wet connector.

105* today it should dry it out well but I will use a heatgun I have here at work.

Thanks a bunch I hope this solves the problem. I was out on my back in my khakis lol.

The tranny drove and shifted normal then about 5minutes into the drive it would slip. It has never slipped before today. Any gas over 1/2 throttle it would slip. I noticed it going on the highway. Then the shifter when put into neutral at a stop (trying to cool down tranny)it wouldn't find drive again until I shut the car off and turned it back on and waited like 30sec (while holding up morning traffic on a US highway) The first big hill it let go completely and I had to stop on the hill. Then after turning the car off/on again the tranny was fine. It does seem like a nonmechanical problem to me as well.

Do you think water could of entered the transmission? it wasn't very high.
Can a wacky sensor make these problems occur? I guess i'll find out on the drivehome at 6pm for myself.

Try taking out in 2nd gear next time it slips. That is a mechanical selection and should work provided there are no mechanical or hydraulic issues.

Still need those codes to get a direction...

BTW, which sensor are you working on, the TSS?

Steve

ok got outta work at 6, Reconnected both sensors and no more slipping but gears shift harder. Using 2nd to start it is a smoother start.

Autozone OBD2 codes ran were the same I was aware of:
P0133 O2 Sensor
PO420 Cat
PO171 Lean 2nd bank

No tranny codes. On the way home on the highway the o/d light started flashing again. Still no slipping but like I said harder shifts.

Any reccomendation where to start on sensors? The tranny still whines w/ RPM's but shifts and had it to 80mph without slipping, uphill 45mph no slipping (earlier today it couldn't make it up the same hill) so I believe something is working better.

Me and my bud use this car to carpool to work is the purpose as a daily driver. He's not into replacing what the codes ran at before until inspection. What annoys me is he has the money to make it right but with a Widebody MR2 Turbo, Navigator, and a Turbo CRX he really just wants it to get from point a to point b with minimal expense its really a low key car to commute so we don't get targeted as 22/23yr olds.

If it was my car I would make everything right. In my eyes as an enthusiast i'd want all my cars running up to par for reliabilty. The car recenty got 34mpg on the highway on a day trip to NYC. The car does run slightly hotter because of the Cat but has a brand new thermostat and coolant sensors.

If it is a V6 Duratec, start by changing Bank 1 Upstream O2 sensor. Then drive for a while and see if other codes return. Note that P0171 is Bank 1 lean.
Bank 1 Upper O2 sensor removal in Duratec Maintenance FAQ
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=v6maint&Number=1023736&Forum=v6maint&Words=replace%20o2&Match=And&Searchpage=0&Limit=2500&Old=allposts&Main=1023736&Search=true#Post1023736

If it is I4 Zetec, then change the upstream O2 sensor (before the catalytic converter).

Edit. You did not mention which connector you had water in, you need to check for both VSS and MLPS. The way to get the tranny codes is run a real time scan (when the engine is turned off, the tranny codes are usually erased unless it is a "hard" code).

Has the ATfluid ever being changed?
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=tranny&Number=992476&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=31&fpart=1