Ford Taurus Wagon OD off light

Hi there, I'm new here. Have done a bit of reading and it seems like the taurus has a weak spot there. I LOVE my Taurus Wagon! Here's the problem. We had a pretty hilly drive from Penticton to Calgary, AB at Christmas. Around 8 hours into the drive our OD OFF light came on. We stopped and checked the transmission fluid. It was dirty and needed some, so hubby added it. While in Calgary we went to my dad's mechanic who said that there were some metal filings in the pan and changed the fluid and filter in the transmission. He felt that we would make it home safely, which we did. On the return trip we kept the car below 100K (60MPH) and turned the OD off. The transmission isn't slipping at all, but obviously there is a problem there. The car has the duratec engine and 185,000K, it is a 1998. Questions, will it hurt to keep driving it till we can afford a new transmission? How long would you guess that it would hold out?

THANKS for any input!

Tracey :)

well, if you can't afford a new transmission right now you don't have much of a choice to keep driving it, it will cost you the same amount if you get it fixed now or fixed later.

thanks for that :). Any suggestions how long this puppy may hold out??? She isn't slipping at all or anything, but the mechanic did find metal filings in the pan. Tracey :)

I'm not sure I understand your problem. You say your O/D switched to OFF, you filled up your tranny and found filling in your pan, replaced the filter and fluids and your tranny works good without slipping. Two questions.

1. If it's working fine now, why worry? Metal shavings aren't uncommon in trannys. Unless it was excessive, I wouldn't worry too much.

1. You say you drove back below 60K and kept the O/D off. Why? Unless you are towing, your car is going to turn your O/D off by itself. The only reason I would switch it off is if you'd get to a point where the tranny keeps changing back and forth a lot or possibly going up long hills. I know the road from Penticton to Alberta has some long hills, but I don't think it would require the tranny to be out of O/D all the way.