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 I�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 it�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.
