How do I tell if this is a transmission problem or CV joints?

Transmission filter change and complete trans fluid flush did help somewhat. Have had this service done every 30K miles.

Shuddering is intermittent, worst when accelerating. Sometimes accompanied by a popping noise.

Steve
Racine, WI

How do I tell if this is a transmission problem or CV joints?

Transmission filter change and complete trans fluid flush did help somewhat. Have had this service done every 30K miles.

Shuddering is intermittent, worst when accelerating. Sometimes accompanied by a popping noise.

Steve
Racine, WI

Sounds like CV if you say poping. Ive never seen one shudder, but maybe its chipping itself away, or jamming up..
These trans dont pop, they Bang then dont move. Since yours is a 01, all the mods have been done in the trans.. Like the Rear in the transmission..

CV joints check out. Looks like the transmission is failing.

CRAP!

CV joints check out. Looks like the transmission is failing.

CRAP! HAHA Crap.. Im still waiting for mine to fail me, but its still holding gears. I guess its gonna give me some time to get together the 2k for a nice shiny one..

At least it is cheaper than getting a new vehicle. A high-mileage Windstar is not worth much to sell or trade. Plus, the Missus likes her Windstar, and when Mama isn't happy, nobody's happy.

Steve

At least it is cheaper than getting a new vehicle. A high-mileage Windstar is not worth much to sell or trade. Plus, the Missus likes her Windstar, and when Mama isn't happy, nobody's happy.

Steve

Oh yea, been looking around at used winnies and they all are about 6k some are up ther 10k for 98 and up.. Wow.. Its worth the New trans as another 8 years of driving is worth 2k which comes out to 20 bucks a month for the next 8 years.. Not bad.. Better then 400 450 month for 30k new ouch.. Thats 5k in one year in just payments-- no fuel.

I have mentioned it before.....
I could go out today and get a nice smelly new vehicle.
I have worked very hard to have my financial house in order.
The MAIN way that I have done this is by not spending money that I do not need to.
I invested a good $1200 in repairs last spring.....all routine maintenance items for a vehicle that, at that time had 183K miles on it.
The owner of the independant shop told me that normally, he would say that I was crazy to spend that much.....but that he had personally driven my vehicle, as well as look it over.
He felt that "We will see 300K miles out of this" because I have maintained it.
Now......what would I spend on another vehicle that I would feel that it was good to go for 100K + miles?

I have a couple of rust spots on the rocker panel that came through this winter.....a very rough winter here in Wisconsin.
This is the first vehicle that I have owned that took 13 years to have a rust spot come through.
Patch, Patch, Patch......and I hope to get "a couple more years".

So.....if the vehicle is otherwise in good shape.....and you plan on keeping the vehicle for some time.
It is worth investing some money into it.

A vehicle depriciates the MOST in the first 3 years.
So a person who buys new every few years is really taking a beating in the wallet.

Mine started out with a shudder and it ended up being the Coil pack.. Now every now and then I get a single bump type shudder every once an a while. Not sure if the JPsoreson from advanced auto coil pack is a little lower than OEM type coil pack or not.. also my wire clip that plugs into the coil pack broke. But only the clip that locks it. so I taped it.. That could be my problem as well still don't know. But if you have not already changed your coil pack,it might be worth looking into.. I also installed a trans cooler a few months back... My trans still pulls hard but most people say on here they really get no warning when there trans fails. So it could be the TRS sensor or low interm servo.. Thats just a wild guess..

... also check out that powertrain wiring harness for chafing against things on the firewall. Will have to remove the cowling for a good inspection.

Transmission is OK. Now I have a "driveability problem.:banghead:

Got a P1401 code, and am replacing the offending DPFE? sensor to see if that helps.

Got a P0303 code (missing on cylinder #3) as well, which I am attributing to the other sensor. I can always replace the spark plugs, wires, etc. as a matter of normal maintenance.

It helps having a code reader. It has been suggested that I may need to have the problem diagnosed by a shop with a full-blown diagnostic tool, since the OBD-II code reader I have is not sophisticated enough to pinpoint the problem.

I'm appreciating the project car we have at home, a '64 Mustang. It's got an inline 6-cylinder 170 CI carbureted Falcon-type engine with a 3-speed manual transmission, and does not have any of the emission controls or fancy electronics of newer cars.

Steve

Transmission is OK. Now I have a "driveability problem.:banghead:

Got a P1401 code, and am replacing the offending DPFE? sensor to see if that helps.

Got a P0303 code (missing on cylinder #3) as well, which I am attributing to the other sensor. I can always replace the spark plugs, wires, etc. as a matter of normal maintenance.

It helps having a code reader. It has been suggested that I may need to have the problem diagnosed by a shop with a full-blown diagnostic tool, since the OBD-II code reader I have is not sophisticated enough to pinpoint the problem.

I'm appreciating the project car we have at home, a '64 Mustang. It's got an inline 6-cylinder 170 CI carbureted Falcon-type engine with a 3-speed manual transmission, and does not have any of the emission controls or fancy electronics of newer cars.

Steve

And why arnt your driving your mustang? The 6cly is a daily driver!! Get out on the road and get the looks! No reason to drive a winnie right? Saw one on Mecom sell in the 30ks.

DPFE sensor. Where the heck is it located?

Mustang needs rewiring. Bought a Painless kit, and I am on vacation the last week of April, plan to rewire then. Old main harness was brittle and falling apart.

The missus is driving our '05 Expedition, which is a gas hog!

Results:

Did a tune-up and other routine maintenance on Sunday, replacing the following:

Fuel Filter - way overdue to be changed
Spark Plugs - toasted, with some evidence of electrode erosion
Coil Pack - somewhat beat up, no obvious defects
Spark Plug Wires - dirty and discolored, the left front wire had an extra piece of insulation, which I transferred to the new wire

It was difficult to change the rear spark plugs and wires. Only attempt this with a cold engine, or you are likely to get burned! As it was, I ended up with some minor bruises and scrapes.

Results were good, and the van is running much better. I got my Expedition back!

Never underestimate the value of routine maintenance.

Steve

I got a 00 windstar with a shudder as well. I was told today that I will need a new tranny. My problem is that it only shudder's every once in a while. It has 47500 miles on it and I really do not want to either pay for a new tranny or get rid of this van since it is paid for.

Can some one please tell me what they think it could be? It doesn't show any check engine light and when it shudder's it feels like I just hit a set of those rumple strips.

I got a 00 windstar with a shudder as well. I was told today that I will need a new tranny. My problem is that it only shudder's every once in a while. It has 47500 miles on it and I really do not want to either pay for a new tranny or get rid of this van since it is paid for.

Can some one please tell me what they think it could be? It doesn't show any check engine light and when it shudder's it feels like I just hit a set of those rumple strips.

trinitus -

The transmission has codes that can be read by a special scanner that a dealer or transmission shop would have. My transmission guy did not charge me to do a test drive and read the codes at no charge as well. Then he advised me that the tranny was OK, and it was a "driveability" problem.

Most of the trouble has gone away - see my last post for details), and now it sometimes idles roughly when cold and/or wet, and sometimes stalls. Codes are related to lean fuel mixture and unknown emissions leak. I want to check the fuel injectors before the snow flies, and have bought a "noid light" for that purpose.

Lots of things can cause shuddering. Get a good diagnosis. Even a cheap code reader will at least get you some idea of what is causing the engine light to come on.

I took it today, to the dealership where I bought it. I got there after it closed so I might have to wait until Tomorrow to find out anything. The check engine light never came on, so I am hopeing that they can find something on their machine. If not maybe they can reproduce the shudder while driving it. My bitter half say' to get this second opinion as the cost to rebuild/replace the tranny is not cheap. Sounds like this is a common problem for the Windstar transmission.

if it comes down to replacing the tranny, I guess it will better than buying a new car. I do hope it is something a little less costly than a transmission though. I will let you guys know what the answer is tomorrow.

I took it in for a second opinion yesterday, the results were the same. The Torque Converter is going bad. The Transmission chain where I took it to first wanted close to $2000.00 to fix the the problem. It will come with a two year unlimited milage warranty. The Dealership where I bought the van new wants close to $1500.00 with a 12 month or 12000 mile warranty. In either case the van will be out of service until next week.

The Dealership is closer to the house and I have them preform work on all my cars before. They usually do a good job. I had the Transmission chain store work on one car before but when they got done I almost wrecked the car less than three minutes after I picked it up. They didn't put the brake caliper over the rotor properly. Other than that the work they did was good. I believe I will go with the Dealership this time.

FYI, it could be due to your transmission torque converter clutch. Look to see if you RPMs go up when it shudders. If so, then your transmission might be slipping intermittently.

I had an intermittent shudder that started when the van was about five or six years old, with around 80k miles on it. At the time I thought is was an issue with the suspension, but could never resolve it. It wasn't a big issue since it only was very noticable when doing interstate driving.

Several years later, when the van was eleven years old and it was at 190k miles, the transmission failed. In the process of getting the rebuilt replacement transmission I learned that the transmission torque converter clutch can 'chatter' causing a shuddering of the front end. The chattering is occuring when the clutch is already engaged, causing a loss of lockup during the chattering. Losing lockup allows the RPM to increase, in my case about 300-500 rpm. The shutter doesn't last very long, only a second or two at most, then the clutch re-engages for a while. It can happen frequently (it was as often as once a minute), but normally it only occured once every 5 to 10 minutes.

The rebuilt transmission cost about $1800, and included a 3-year 36k mile warrenty. I believe that the problems with the TCC could have been repaired for under $300 if that was the extent of the problems.