Transmission problems in a Ford? Really?
I dumped my Sable after two transmissions (each at ~60K miles). My old '89 T-Bird starting having Transmission problems at ~120K.
I now have a dead 98 Ford Windstar (with the 3.8L engine). I hate this car, electical problems, dome light, door-open indicators, speedo died, etc. It lost first gear at 60K miles and we got the entire transmission replaced under the extended warranty. Now, 60K more miles later, the transmission has gone out altogether.
It happened on a cold, cold day. I started the car at work, drove 10 miles to the grocery store. Outsite temp is maybe -2 degrees (F). As I pull into the store parking lot, it felt like I was on ice. Lots of engine, little movement. A couple weeks earlier the check-engine light was intermittently coming on and off - it’s been on solid for two weeks or so by this day. I’ve half learned to ignore it.
After fussing with it, I realize that it’s the transmission not grabbing. I rev it up, it grabs for a moment and I pull into a space.
After coming out, maybe 10 minutes later, it grabs again when I rev it and I stutter my way to the house - maybe three blocks. If the car had a failing centrifigal clutch, its the behavior I’d expect, grabbing at high revs but not at low. Now that I have it home, only three blocks from the grocery store, it’s not moving at all, regardless of how high I rev the engine.
Now it won’t move at all, forward or reverse, any gear setting. It’s like it’s stuck in neutral. I can push it while idling (in gear) but the wheels seem locked in park.
The transmission fluid is clear, not-smokey, & on the stick. I added a quart anyway, hoping that it might help. (Figgered it can’t hurt, I’m probably going to have to get the case cracked & therefore drained anyway). This past summer I fed the transmission a quart of Lucas transmission conditioner to try to keep the seals happy.
We’ve never towed with it. Mostly it’s around-town miles with the twice-yearly road trip (+/- 2500 miles).
I’ve got two ideas, either the torque converter or the tranmission pump. I’ve also had the neutral safety switch & vehicle speed sensor suggested.
So - I need a cheap way out of this - I don’t have a lot of money to throw at this but I need a car. The salvage yard has a lot of Taurus models with 3.8 L engines, but no 1998 models, either Taurus or Windstars.
I’m not very automotive savvy - I’m a computer geek for a living - but I’ve got some talented friends with a large garage & air tools (one’s an auto painter, the other an off-road hobbyist). We’re assuming that this is something we might be able to do ourselves.
So - am I full of it thinking I can do this? Is there a good way to cross-reference this tranmission to other model vehicles and find a way to either pull the entire tranmission or just a torque converter?
Diagnostically, am I on the right track? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks - B