97 Taurus Transmission

I have a 97 Taurus with the 3.0 engine and AX4N tranny. The transmission recently started slipping like the car was in neutral. It doesn't do it all the time though. Today it started this slipping about the time I turned the A/C on. When it runs, it runs good. It just occasionally slips like it's in neutral. It seems to work OK when I shift to low. Another note, related or not, is the power steering seemed to quit about the same time. When I turned the A/C on, the tranny and steering both quit. After I parked the car, shut it off and restarted it, everything worked fine. I know there's an aluminum piston in the tranny that can cause this problem, but are there other possibilities? Can all of these problems be anyway related? The car has about 83,000 miles on it. Thanks!

Welcome to the forum!

Does the A/C seem to work just fine when the power steering and transmission seem to have problems?

Is there a chance the belt is slipping when you turn the A/C on, the alternator stops providing current, and the battery is weak so electrical features stop functioning properly (such as electronic transmission controls)?

Have you pulled the tranny dipstick and checked the level and condition of the transmission fluid? If not, do so and reply here as to it's condition (color, smell, any sparkly flakes, etc.).

-Rod

After following Rod's advice, have the Transmission Range sensor checked also. This thing, in Ford's wisdom, has grounds for a lot of things run through it. It is relatively inexpensive and easily changed.

Ahhh, yes, I forgot about the TRS. Good suggestion!

-Rod