95 Windstar Tranny- Just got codes, plz help!

Ok, as the title says- it's a 95 Windstar. No idea of previous history, other than... there are alot of things under the hood that look 'new'.

Problem history:
1- Transmission OD light flashing, since we bought it.
(1 week passes)
2- Trans started shifting VERY hard.
3- (next day)Trans stopped shifting completely.
4- Replaced filter/fluid. -Trans runs flawlessly. (old fluid burnt; alot of shavings attached to magnet preinstalled in pan)
(1 day passes)
5- Trans starts shifting hard again.
6- Replaced fluid/filter again.(fluid clean, no new shavings apparent)
7- Trans now stuck in 'limp' mode- R, P, N, 2(or is it 1?), only gears that work.
8- Replaced TRS- no change in performance.
9- Replaced Throttle position sensor- no change in perf.
10- Had codes read today at transmission shop:
PO732, 733, 734, "ratio incorrect". Hrmm. I dunno whut dat means :(
Unrelated (?) codes also pulled: PO305 (#5 cyl misfire).

I can deal with the cyl later... heh.

Trans mechanic said, "There is nothing wrong electrically with the transmission. It is something internal, mechanical, that is broken." He will rebuild it (only option he gave) to the tune of $1800. (I don't have 1800, and won't any time soon.)

Vehicle currently goes a max of 20MPH, with a max RPM of 2500 before it starts to 'spin out' the engine. If I put it in Drive, the trans will 'silent shift' to N, when this happens; if I place the selector in 2, then it does NOT slip into N, but just wraps out the RPM, while remaining 'under power'.
Can anyone offer any help?

I had my transmission not go over 2nd gear, and ended up having a remanufactured unit put in. Was just over $2800.
A flashing OD light is the same for the transmission as a Check Engine light is for the engine. It is something that you want to have checked out.
If that is the original, never rebuilt transmission, then there are improvements that you want to make sure that get done to it.
1995 was the worst year for the Windstar transmission, and they made some corrections, which can be done on yours.

You could try doing a search in this forum for the codes that you listed.

P0732 Incorrect Gear Ratio while commanding 2nd gear (SS1 and SS2)
P0733 Incorrect Gear Ratio while commanding 3rd gear (SS1 and SS3)
P0734 Incorrect Gear Ratio while commanding 4th gear (SS1 and SS3)

SS = Shift Solonoid that is listed as possible for that concern, there are 3 of them.
Also, the chart that I looked at listed possible other internal issues, such as defective friction materials, stuck valves, etc.

IMPORTANT!!! Make sure that your shop back flushes the transmission cooler and makes sure that it has the proper flow as the cooler can become clogged by crud from the transmission.

A clogged cooler will cause the repaired or new transmission to over heat and fail again!!!!!.

The fluid flows out of the transmission, to the cooler(s) and back into the pan. The pump inside the transmission pulls the fluid from the pan through the filter.
My point being, crud that gets into the fluid, flows out through the cooler before it is filtered.
FORD has a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) out that says to back flush the cooler lines and do a flow test whenever a transmission is replaced or rebuilt.

Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) code is usually P0500
Transmission Speed Sensor (TSS) (how fast the input shaft is turning) code is usually P0715

The Transmission Range Sensor (TRS) is a high failure item, with the shift symptoms you mention. So that was a very good thing to try.

Failure codes help in the diagnosis of a problem, but it take a good technician to make the best use of the codes, with the symptoms, with the knowledge of the particular transmission.
The best solution is a good transmission technician that you can trust.

I've read somewhere about it possibly being a band that commonly breaks as well? I don't know much about auto-trans, sadly :( Give me a throw out bearing anyday lol.

The mechanic did say that he verified that the gizmos ARE sending the 'shift' command... and the computer believes the trans is shifting... but it's not.

Wiswind, do you have any pics of the covers for the bands, so I at least know what to look for, to see if those are broken?

"Bands" is a correct term for the older mechanical automatic transmissions.
The ones that seemed to last forever.
You would take your vehicle in and have the "bands adjusted".
That does not apply to the newer transmissions.

The newer transmissions are electronic.
When you shift the gear selector, the Transmission Range Sensor (TRS) tells the computer what gear you have selected, and the computer commands the transmission to go into that gear.
Your mechanic is telling you that your windstar is fine up to that point.
The computer is not seeing the correct gear selection in return.
You know that it is not correct, as it is not shifting into the 3rd and 4th gears.
There are 3 electrical solenoids (SS1, SS2, SS3) that shift in a certain combination to give you all combinations of gears.
When they say that it is an internal problem, they are saying that the problem is inside the transmission.
Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures beyond the simple fuid and filter change, as that is all I have done with the transmission on my vehicle.

There are 3 electrical solenoids (SS1, SS2, SS3) that shift in a certain combination to give you all combinations of gears.

Ok, (and thanks btw)- do you, or anyone else know, if/how the shift solenoids WOULD show up on a code scan, if they did? I'll look around, but I read a post somewhere, that talked about them having to be individually (ie; seperate from code scanner?) tested?

What I'm wondering now then... a) what one 'cause' would affect all THREE, and b) could it be a multiple SS1-3 failure, not picked up by scanner? (or was it, and that's how it reads when they come up?)

Sorry for asking so many questions- I just want to bang the idea out as much as possible before breaking something else :)


When the PCM is calling for 1st gear, SS1 is OFF, SS2 is ON, SS3 is OFF

When the PCM is calling for 2nd gear, SS1 is ON, SS2 is ON, SS3 is OFF

When the PCM is calling for 3rd gear, SS1 is OFF, SS2 is OFF, SS3 is ON

When the PCM is calling for 4th gear, SS1 is ON, SS2 is OFF, SS3 is ON

When the PCM is calling for P/R/or N, SS1 is OFF, SS2 is ON, SS3 is OFF


Just a theory- if SS1 and/or SS3 was faulty... Could that be my reason for failure? On thinking about it, I am not sure if I am stuck in 1st, or 2nd gear. My max speed is 20MPH, at 2500RPM. Any higher RPM, and it 'spins out' the engine. There is no noticeable shift, from dead stop, to 20MPH... (The mechanic wasn't sure if I was in 1st or 2nd either, noticed same lack of ANY shift.)
SS2 MUST be operational, since 1st OR 2nd gear, as well as P/R/N all work perfectly. Shift to P/R/N is smooth, and strong.

edit:
How is/do I adjust the TRS? I lined up the 2 notches... they were within a 1/8" inch of eachother where the shaft to switch was 'happy'. When tightening the screws however, it DID move the switch, causing the shift lever on dash to change to 2nd... Not sure if that is creating headaches now or not, heh.

Well, finally got it into a rebuild shop. The mechanic says that "all of the friction parts" are shot (front & rear clutches, bands, etc.) He told me that it doesn't look like any single piece caused the entire meltdown, but that most likely it was low on fluid at some point, the rear clutches started going first, and it went down hill from there. The only "hard part" he has to replace is the "sun gear" (don't know what that is, but have heard of it on the forums.)

He generally figures the problem was one of poor maintenance before we bought the rig (it broke 2 weeks after we got it.) He is also planning on the system flush to remove any old crude from the cooler and lines.

Transmission fixed! The rebuild shop replaced / used:
Rebuild kit, Shift Kit, 2 bands, Sungear, Torque Converter, 1 piston, and various other parts/seals. He flushed the transmission cooler, changed filter/gasket, fresh fluid, etc.

The way he put it, "All of the 'friction parts' were bad- the Sungear and Forward clutch were the worst." The rebuild includes a 12k / 1 year warranty. He said that the sungear was the only "hard part" that was shot.

There is no good news for you.( sorry ) What has happened to your tranny is the forward pistion for low gear is out, what i mean is if you had it jerking on you most likely it has cracked the pistion or messed up the seal there.. Best thing to do is go to ford, or to a relieable tranny shop and get it overhualed.. I know you don't want to hear this but nether did I when it happened to me...

i thought so