1998 Transmission woes

I have a 1998 Windstar with 65,000 miles. Recently, I experienced a problem with the transmission after being stuck in stop-and-go trafic for about 20 minutes. When the trafic finally cleared, the car would not go out of first gear, and the speedometer would not work. When the car finally decided to go into gear, the speedometer shot up to the proper speed. This same event happened twice in the last week. I have read some other listings here, and it seems to me that the problem might be related to the transmission speed sensor, or vehice speed sensor. Since this problem is only happening when the car gets hot from standing in trafic, I am thinking that the sensor may have gone bad and is overly sensitive to the heat. Does anyone out there have any similar situations, or advise on what might be causing this ? Thanks !

i also have a 98 and fortunately have not seen this problem yet. i've read about too many tranny problems and am going to bite the bullet and change the fluid/filter and have a cooler installed. heat seems to be the biggest contributor to tranny failure. hopefully one of the other members can answer your question.

vehicle speed sensor or vss.

Car Pal.....is the VSS something I can replace myself. I am very handy, but never attempted any transmission work. Is this senson located on the tranny, or inside it ? Is it easily accessable ? Would appreciate some hints. Thanks !

Your symptoms are similar, but not identical to mine. Mine was stuck in second after getting hot, and the speedometer worked fine. Replaced the transmission/transaxle range sensor. $53 part from ford. Takes screwdriver, 13mm wrench, 10mm socket, and about 15 minutes. Procedure for replacing both the VSS and TRS is described in the Haynes manual. Approximately $15 at your local parts store.

I too am having a similiar problem with our 98 Windstar, but my problem starts when I leave our driveway. Seems to start out in first and then will not shift until I drop it into 2nd gear and then back into drive. Of course the speedometer doesnot want to work when this happens. We had the VSS replaced and it is still doing the same thing. If anyone has any ideas, that would be great. Thanks

We have a 98 Windstar that my wife drives daily. It often will not shift out of first gear and the speedometer doesn't work. After much cursing and getting red in the face it will fianlly slam into 2nd and will go ahead and shift through the gears as it should, but about 1/2 the time the speedometer still wont work. Which sensor do I need to replace?