1999 Ford Taurus P1744 code

Hello,

My 1999 Ford Taurus SE with the 3.0l 24v v6 displayed a ses light while on the highway today.

I read the code when I got home, and it displayed a P1744. I looked it up and it said "torque converter clutch failure."

I called the dealer I usually have the car serviced at, and they said I could expect anything up to a transmission rebuild!!! I only have 67,000 miles on the car, and it drives perfectly. It has no shifting problems whatsoever that I can notice. Wouldn't a torque converter clutch failure be something you can feel while driving the car? I cleared the code and it has not come back on yet. I have a 40 mile daily highway commute, so I'm kind of nervous to see whether or not it decides to come back on.

Was this just a fluke that won't occur again, or am I going to have to expect a transmission rebuild? I have already spent $2000 in repairs on this car since the beginning of June (engine mounts, subframe mounts, rotted engine hoses and more), so I will not be happy if I have to shell out another $1200 for a tranny rebuild... I was planning on just waiting it out to see if the light comes back on and I'm hoping it doesn't.

Any recommendations on what I should do? It shifts fine and I'm stunned at the idea of a possible transmission rebuild at 67,000 mi with no shifting problems... Any advice would be highly valued. Thanks!

The most likely cause is a sticking or bad TCC solenoid inside the transmission. You can check the connector at the transmission to make sure it is clean and tight and that it is not damaged in any way.

If the TCC and wiring are okay, then pressure testing of the transmission will need to be done.

I don't think it would be as much as he guesses. A new torque converter from Ford is about $265.00 and about 8 hours labor. Throw in a $40.00 TCC solenoid and I don't think it'll be more than $1,000.00. Not good news I know, but better than 2K

You might try completely flushing and refilling your cooling system. I got this same code about 4 years ago about 400 miles after flushing and refilling my tranny fluid. After I did the coolant (a few months later), the code went away and never came back. My conclusion was the code appeared due to a heat build-up in the tranny caused by sludged up (and/or low) coolant that was not sufficiently cooling the new tranny fluid. Apparently the old, (original), blackened tranny fluid that I had replaced didn't hold heat the way the new fluid did.

But that's just my theory...