Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting SVT tranny situation

Just an update-

The dealer installed the new tranny in my SVT yesterday, but called to say it was not "performing properly" on a test drive. They will tinker with it today.

So....got the car back this afternoon with the new MTX-75 installed.

Shifting is somewhat "notchier" than it was before, and I find I have to be very careful to make sure I push the lever all the way into third, lest I release the clutch and over-rev the engine.

After stopping for a coffee, I had a lot of trouble getting it into reverse to get out of my parking spot.

Those who warned this would be a waste of time....you were right. This is worse than the original. What a waste of time.

This was exactly my experience too. I think its worse than before.

// Chris Root
// '99 SVT

I haven't gotton a new tranny yet but I think I might need to do something with the one I have. I have hard time getting it into any gear sometimes, mostly at a standstill, once moving it seems to be OK but still a little notchy...Any body know of a upgrade kit for the tranny and maybe I just might pay to have someone upgrade it to make it stronger and smoother too. Possibly any company already makes an upgraded MTX-75 with an upgraded clutch and maybe even a Quaife, that would be nice...

i found out that with my car, when im haveing problems getting it into gear, i pump the clutch and try again......so far this has worked for me

I had the same problems you guys had when mine was replaced about 2 months ago. It almost made me sick when I drove my car. My service manager told me to put about 500 miles on it and if it wasn't any better, bring it back. It seemed to get worse than get any better. I took it back and they tinkered with it for 2 days. Whatever they did, it worked. It even seems like it's getting smoother the more miles I put on it.

the story continues....

The dealer came and got my car today (I don't believe it!), to see what they can do with the transmission.

The Service Advisor says they've replaced a dozen or so Contique MTX trannys with the same problem in the past six months. They've been on the phone with Ford engineers in Detroit to see what they can figure out. According to the SA, the new tranny they installed last week is supposed to be the "best and most advanced version of the MTX-75 yet".

The SA picked up the car himself, and even he says the shifting is terrible...he coudln't get it into reverse to back out of my driveway.

In the meantime, the car has developed something new...a kind of creaking or snapping as it takes up drive in first gear. Sounds like something tightening in the drivetrain. The SA noticed the noise too...he says it could be the exhaust was not re-installed just right after the tranny swap, and is flexing a bit on take off.

I have to say, the dealer has been great. They even offered to deliver a free loaner to my house for the duration. (That could be because I complained about all the grease on the inside of my doors after the initial visit last week)

Stay tuned! (if you're even with me this far)

My dealer was great too, but I came to the conclusion that it was beyond their ability to fix it. I wish Ford would address this once and for all. For now I am living with it.

// Chris Root
// '99 SVT

You lucky b*stard. There is no way I could've gotten an SA to come pick up my car. It took a month and a half and constant baby-sitting to get my tranny replaced under warranty last August.

I had the same cold shifting problem, not being able to get into any gear. I must've gotten one of the good replacement trannies cause my problem was solved. Not sure if that was totally due to the tranny though, cause they replaced the throwout bearing and clutch plate assembly. There was some notchiness, which I was warned about, but that is gone now and was most likely due to the fact that everything was new.

At least we're lucky they're still using the mtx75 in the focus or we might be s.o.l. on new or replacement parts.

Good luck on yours, I know what you're going through.

By the way NO ONE should go for that "its your clutch" bullshiot. Call the transmission hotline if the dealer tries to jerk you around.

Since moving down to Houston , I have started having problems with shifting into first and reverse after the car is parked for a short while and the engine /transmission gets heat soaked. The problem is intermitent as well to make things more puzzling.

On the new tranny replacement problems, one of the guys in Canada had a theory that the transaxle alignment had a lot to do with the shifting problems. Those with problems after a new transmission should check with your service advisors to see if an alignment was done. It requires a special Ford tool to do properly.

I'll try the clutch pumping to see if that helps my situation.