98 windstar weird transmission problem??

98 with 116000 had the car since it has been new and living in florida until 3 months ago we changed the trans fluid and filter every year about 15000 to 20000 miles cause of the heat down there.
since moving to mass i have had this problem last sunday night, the car has been perfect for me till now never a problem since it has been new, sunday at 9:00 pm wife gets in the van to go get gas for the week and calls me to say it is stuck in park can not move the lever out of park. I tried everything pressing the brake hard moving the wheels pusing the car a little back and forth and nothing worked looked under the dash only to look for something i had no idea i was looking for maybe somnething jammed or really obvious but nothing.
SO i started pulling it with some force and after the 4th hard pull it like popped and moved and all seemed fine until my wife came back.
said there was no drive and sometimes stuck in first??

so the next morning stupid me takes it to the worst possible place THE DEALER. and after 3 hours and $97.50 later they tell me it is inside and it needs a rebuild.i tried telling them i swear it has to be either a sensor or something in the linkage from me forcing it. they said no and they can start right away on the rebuild and basically held his hand out and said it would be about $1700.00 to rebuild,
what a joke he said come on with the liles which are about 116000 he said it isn;t worth fixing.yeah well to me it has been the perfect vehicle...so i drove it home and it was weird all the way home nothing exept first gear and not manual first i was only up to 30 mph but down hill up to 50 so i know it was notmanual first.
now I tested it last night and tonight and this is what is up...

can not start it in neutral has to be between neutral and drive. right in between to start the car.the shifter doesnt seem to go completely down to 1st,
when i put it in drive from park and take off all it will do is stay in first?
until i put it into 2nd and bac to drive then all is fine stop and go stop and go all is fine.
when i start in manual first as in put the shifter all the way to 1 it seems to be in 1 but i can get up to almost 40 which is not in my opinion 1st gear.

not sure where to go now. thank god i have a third vehicle that my wife can use so i am not stuck into a repair that isn;t needed.

I know there are numerous solenoids and sensors that affect how it acts and when it shifts. what now what do i look for???
could it still be in the linkage because i forced it out of park???
is there an adjustment on the trans for the actual linkage or is it under the dash?
looking at the transmission from above seems that everything is tight in there.
are the solenoids or sensors easy to get access to under or from above. with the wheels off or on???

sorry this has been so long but I am so stuck with this right now and afraid to go to the dealer or anywhere becasue with the mileage all they say is it is inside the transmission and fork over up to $2000 for a rebuild..

thanks everyone for any advice.
David M

1...At up to $2000 to have it rebuilt.....you should look into a bit more for a rebuilt one....that comes with a warranty. You can get one through FORD or from Jasper.

2. I think that you have to have your foot to shift out of PARK....Someone correct me if I am wrong.
If I am correct....There is a sensor on the brake pedal arm....under the dash......and / or a pressure switch on the Brake Master cylinder that must be activated in order to release the shift.
Someone else....who has experience with this hopefully will jump in and provide you some more guidance on how to verify this.

Stop light fuse blown will keep it locked in park.Normally,you can turn ignition switch to on position,pull lever to neutral and start engine.
Check your owners manual.
Also-have [TRS]Trans range sensor checked.
Very important:Report back.

Stop light fuse blown will keep it locked in park.Normally,you can turn ignition switch to on position,pull lever to neutral and start engine.
Check your owners manual.
Also-have [TRS]Trans range sensor checked.
Very important:Report back.




it is out of park and not sticking anymore so it isn;t a fuse or something lke that ...
I just pulled the air cleaner housing and there was alot of oil in there not sure if that has anything to do with it?? but it is dripping right over one of the electrical connections, i think that is the neutral safety switch or is it the dtr as some call it...
the oil seemed to have dripped right onto that connector but if it had why would that make it not come out of park last sunday?
how can i check the trans range sensor supposedly they did at the dealer monday but the connectorhad never been off and i am sure of that with all the oil and grease that had been on it today,
also the connector at the end of the linkage tht connects to the trs i believe that is it there is a yellow connector that holds it in place how does that come off because it looks like there is an adjustment on that kinda like a bunch of notches like on a wire tie or zip tie..
I think if i can find out for sure if that is the dtr or dts I will buy one and also some electrical connection cleaner and try to put it on saturday,
what do you think???
just drove it again and seed fine except when you take off from putting it into drive from park that once in drive it stays in first until yoyu put it into second and then back into first, and then after that it is fine even stop and go seems fine just until you put it back in park and then into drive then all over again..
why is that i can not start in neutral anymore it has to be almost into drive???
does that have to do with that connection at the end of the linkage and that sensor.
thanks all..

what is the thing called at the end of the linkage cable at the transmission end . neutral safety switch or is it the transmission range sensor or transmission position switch. need to know which one so i can gget it from ford saturday morning.
people on these forums call the same part by a few different names.

also i tried taking the cable off maybe there was a adjustment on it? but there is a yellow square connector on it to hold the cable to that part,how do i take that part off very little room in there to move and i could not figure it out can not force it as i already messed something up forcing it last sunday.
thanks

Transmission/transaxle range sensor # F5DZ7F293BA $54.13 from the Ford dealer. From Autozone it is called a neutral safety switch Wells part number F428 and price is $24.99.

I don't have mine here to look at it, but from memory the repair involved removing two mounting bolts and one nut which secured the shift lever and unplugging the electrical connector. Tools required: 13mm wrench, 10mm socket

Don't take the cable off the shift lever - remove the nut on the top of the shift lever and lift the lever off to get to the switch.

The oil in your filter area is comming in through the PCV valve. Try changine with a Motorcraft one.
If you have too much flow through the PCV valve, you could be pulling oil in. Some aftermarket PCV valves may permit too much air to pass through.

Problem FIXED!!!!!

3 different dealers told me the transmission needs to be dropped and most likely rebuilt and I don't have to tell you how much they were quoting me...

Thi morning went to autozone and spent $24.99 and bught the neutral safety switch andi was back down to just 30 MPH stuck in first gear... I went to my brothers house to use his garage and took me maybe 20 minutes to replace the part and as soon as i looked at the old one it was so obvious to me that was the problem, the new one has two small plastic tabs that fit one the shift lever shaft but the old ones were sheered off, i guess it froze up and that is why I could not get the shifter out of park last sunday, and you know how it goes the weakest point on the link will break and i guess that was those tabs, and it worked fine at times i guess it would depend how much it turned on the shift lever shaft.
anyway i cleaned the connector with some electrical contact cleaner because i had oil from the air cleaner dripping on the connector.
and now the car shifts like it is new...
I feel lke going back down to the local Ford dealer and slapping this $25.00 dollar part down on the counter with the $97.50 dollar dagnostic fee that they charged me last monday only to tell me it is internal and needs to be rebuilt...

what is sad is I am lucky to have a 3rd vehicle to use so the windstar could sit for as long as i needed it to unitl i found the correct problem. But how many people do not have that ability and have no other solution than to tell Ford to go ahead and rebuild the transmission and then still only to have that same problem after giving the dealer maybe $2000.00 ...
obviously these vans are known for this and it is crazy that that's not the first thing the dealer would look at. I guess if it isn;t a specific code the dealer just says it needs a rebuild.
I am definatly keeping this van it has been a very dependable car have had it since it was new and that is why i was so shocked when i was told it was a rebuild i needed. because every 3000 miles oil change every year major tune up and every year transmission fluid and filter change. and it is my wifes car so it is not abused by any means...the only other problem we have ever had "knock on wood" is the switch for the rear air which just before we moved back up to mass from Florida, broke again but we will do that near the summer for the AC...

thanks for the advice all and so many people hate their windstars on this board and swear to never by a ford and espeially a windstar again but then again the only people visiting this board have had problems...
I would buy another Windstar tomorrow if i had to...
My other 2 vehicles are 1995 2wd explorer and 2002 4wd explorer. and the 1998 Windstar.

Yes I am definatly a Ford person and it will stay that way. All makes have their share of problems for sure No matter what you buy or own.

Feels pretty good to be able to do your own repairs doesn't it? These boards are invaluable in providing solutions that otherwise would be nearly impossible for us to come up with on our own. Your revenge on the Ford dealer is that now you know you can get answers to automotive questions and you won't be spending any money with them anymore.

Happy to see,that you got the best of it,i mean just 25 bucks spent,instead of 2000+ at the dealer,who would find some more problems if he saw you easy going.
These boards are really great,lots of valuable people with tremendous knowledge.DMS825 even told you what part number to get it and how they call it at Autozone!Amazing guy!

Well you mentioned people with problems and yes i am one of them.A code 300 is exact problem,first i need to change plugs and wires but what is next,God knows,because i have read,that could be more things involved...

Very good to hear that you have your problem fixed for around $25. YES, the dealer should have checked the switch first. They have a lot of great diagnostic equipment....and the newer cars have great on-board diagnostics....but it still takes a technician to make it all work properly.
I am very happy with my "soccer mom" windstar....and plan to hang on to it. Not a sporty car....but serves my needs very well. And I am happy with the service that I have gotten out of it.

Sorry about my typo.... should have read "foot on brake to shift out of park". Which is something else to check for your initial problem. In case you or others have the same problem in the future.

davidmmm
The TRS sensor has terminals for-battery power,signal return,TRS toPCM,to liftgate release,starter control to interlock,to backup lamps,fused accessory feed,and to starter control.As you can see it can be a multi-problem switch/sensor.
Congratulations.
Thank You for reporting back.

As common as this item is to fail.....NO excuse for the dealer to miss that.

The oil in the air feed IS solveable.... The only way that it would get there is through the PCV path. I found that out when I used the PCV point to spray 'SeaFoam" in to clean the intake.

I agree with you....I am VERY happy with my Windstar....and it DOES feel GREAT to fix things myself. I relied on the dealer for most things except oil changes until this past spring. Guess what......It ran better this past summer with over 138K miles on it than it did with 38K miles on it. The dealer has given me very good service....but they do not have the time to spend to fine tune things like we can. I take it in to the dealer for a "safety check" before loading up my chuch youth group and heading out on our yearly mission trip. But that is AFTER I have gone over it and done my thing...... A GOOD dealer service department does have its' place.

Hi, we were having the same problem with our 98 windstar, couldn't figure out what it was, we were told it was the transmission. I went on line and searched and found your entry, it was identical to what was happening to us. We went to Ford and bought the switch $45, problem solved. Thanks for giving so much detail about the problem, it made it easier for us to identify that it was the same problem we had.

Hi, we were having the same problem with our 98 windstar, couldn't figure out what it was, we were told it was the transmission. I went on line and searched and found your entry, it was identical to what was happening to us. We went to Ford and bought the switch $45, problem solved. Thanks for giving so much detail about the problem, it made it easier for us to identify that it was the same problem we had.

I had the same problem a year ago it was worse in the damp weather thats what led me to beleive it wasn t transmission over haul but the way it drove you would think it was toast ....I got you beat took the trans switch off and cleaned up with wd 40 about 50cents worth no problem since ....

I had same problem and it was fixed by changing the Transmission Range Sensor or Neutral Switch witch is same thing takes about 15min to do it 8mm and 13mm wrench very simple job. I had same estimate from transmission shop 3000$ Cad to fix it 20.000km/6months warranty just for 15min job and 39$ sensor. So suggestion is to change sensor and see if that helps, good luck :)

I had this problem a couple of years back and found somewhere on-line that the best way to check the shift issues was to unplug the NSS (I think you had to do it with the engine running) and drive up the road manually shifting - this shows that the switch is at fault if you can shift into second. I may have the details slightly off there as it was a couple of years ago now but that was my problem at the time - stuck in first. I changed the NSS and all was well again - a big saving over the feared transmission job! I used an after-market NSS, not a Ford one, and now I have the issue of occasional non-starting in Park so I'm wondering if it has gone bad. Recently it was giving a 'hesitation' or 'stutter' under load as if considering a down-change but not quite doing it - you had to accelerate to get it drop down a gear. I recently bought a parts van that had a recent NSS change so I'll probably try swapping it over. BUT I did read with interest what 'FordTracMan' said about the NSS being connected to the lift-gate in some way. We've recently had to pull the bulb out of the interior light as the van thinks a door is open (dash light shows this) and is leaving light on. I haven't figured out which door is causing it yet but the side slider is disconnected due to same problem a few years back, so it's not that one. Is it possible/likely that the van thinks rear door is open and won't start? But then shifting into Neutral wouldn't help, surely? So far it has always started in Neutral.
Like a number of you on here I do like the Windstar, despite it's dubious image, and it serves us well as a comfortable cruiser (can't do without drivers armrest now!) and load hauler. Like any vehicle - you have to maintain them if you want them to be reliable!
Probably a bit of a rambling first post...
Cheers.

I have the same problem, not shifting. I had the transmission serviced and the problem went away after a few hiccups. Went on a trip to check it out and had to return home, not getting above 2nd gear. A 270 mile trip with the engine at 4K rpm and a speed of 55 in a 75 mile an hour zone is stressful to say the least. Looks like the neutral safety switch may be 'just what the doctor ordered.' I'll try it tomorrow.

Concerning the door open indication, light on problem: The side door has a switch that is operated by a 'finger poke' as the door is 'completely closed.' The 'finger' should push up on a switch and say that the door is safely, completely closed. My inside the door switch is defective. There is a repair video that shows replacing that switch by removing the sliding door. Too much for me. There are 4 spring loaded contacts on the leading edge of the door. When the switch is working and the door is closed the upper and lower contacts complete a circuit and all is well. I did not replace the switch, I placed a wire across these two contacts and always make sure that the door is completely closed. This may be called 'cheating a safety' but it works. Take the risk if you desire, or get that switch replaced, your choice.