96 Taurus Trans troubles

Hello All,

I have a 1996 Taurus with 3.0 engine. All was good, and then the check engine light came on...

Now the trans only goes into 1st or Reverse...if you drive it, or run off ground, it goes up to 20 mph, then shifts to neutral...then goes back down to 0 mph & repeats.

It was working great until the light came on. I have been told three scenarios:

1) Trans has "internal hard part issues"
2) Computer is bad
3) Possibly solenoids in valve body are bad.

Anyone deal with this before?

Any sound solutions to the problem?

I can handle changing the trans if necessary, but the fluid looks/smells great, and the apply/engagement into 1st/reverse is perfect...

The car does have 150,000 miles on it, and the trans looks original, but i am not sure if it is...

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I plan to do one of two things this Friday:

Either pull the side cover on the trans & maunually check the solenoids, or tow-dolly the car to the local trans shop to hav them plug in to the trans/engine harnesses to check all electrical components ($30.00)

I will probably do the latter, as it will take less time, and it could rule out the possibility of a bad transmission (may be the vehicle computer).

Please let me know what you have done for this issue.

Thanks!

JHMACH1

My '97 is doing strange things also. Consider the TR switch on top of the trans where the shifter cable attatches. Here is a repost from both this and another forum regarding my problem:
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I believe it's a AXOD (it's not an AX4N, too dark out to check for sure). Vehicle is a '97 Sable wagon, 3.0 Vulcan (12 valve), 120K. Fluid is perfectly clean and filled. No previous slippage or concerns whatsoever.

Symptoms are:
Seat belt indicator light illuminates, along with rapid opening/closing of a relay under the dash. Wipers and power windows quit working, along with loss of power steering boost. Sometimes (not always), trans will refuse to go into OD, and/or the gear indicator is off by 1 detent (ie. first is first, drive also holds first, OD is 1-2-3 w/ no 4th upshift). Sometimes it gets "stuck" between 2-3 upshifts. Seems to do this only after driving 15 minutes or more (heat soaked electrical component??).

My Haynes manual does not show or speak of much detail regarding these symptoms. I suspect a faulty TR switch (where the shift cable attaches to the trans). I've inspected it's plug and wires and all is like new. Anyone else run across this situation before?
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May or may not be related issues, but might be worth looking into also...
Pete