95 taurus 1 -2 tranny shift problem

[latdf7]

Thanks in advance for your help - I have a 95 - 3.8 V6, 130K, original tranny.
Lately and now getting worse (maybe colder temps) on first startup or after car sits for a number of hours the car has a very hard time shifting from 1 - 2.
Once it gets into 2 everything appears fine even after a minute or 2. 1 - 2 is fine at the next stop sign - all is ok - just after the car sits for awhile will this problem arise. Speedometer works. I really hate to take it to a tranny place but at least with your help I can have some honest advance knowledge of what the problem may be. I really appreciate any responses. Thanks.

[UsedtobeSmart]

It sounds like a hydrolic pressure problem to me -- as you said, colder morning temperatures. When the tranny fluid is cold it's thicker and the transmission has problems pushing it around. Have you checked fluid levels and quality? If the fluid is burnt-looking or smelling (and if you have any doubts it should be bright red and NOT smell foul at all), try getting a fluid and filter change if you're not up to doing it yourself. It might help, it might not, but in any case it's a good idea.

Unless, of course, someone else here says it's a bigger problem than that and you should get something else done to it, in which case you might be smarter to get another car.

Any problems with that 3.8 overheating or anything? I've heard horror stories about them.

Good luck!

[latdf7]

Thanks usedtobesmart - I should have mentioned the fluid and filter was replaced at 90K and the fluid looks ok (somewhat more full than it should be - I did add more fluid in summer - why - I dont know but about the same time the problem started - hmmmmmm). I will take your advice and change out the fluid and filter this weekend. Also the car never over heats and I mean never. The temp needle barely gets up to 1/4 of the way up even in the heat of the summer. Thanks

[shorod]

Originally Posted by latdf7

Also the car never over heats and I mean never. The temp needle barely gets up to 1/4 of the way up even in the heat of the summer. Thanks

Be careful here as the guage is driven by the coolant temperature sender and the PCM gets its coolant temperature reading from the Coolant Temperature Sensor. The two devices are different, so the sender may be reading one thing when the sensor is actually reading something completely different, and more accurate (or vice versa).

Also, if the guage is never getting to the halfway point, there is probably an issue if that is an accurate representation of the coolant temperature. It is possible that your thermostat is stuck open and the engine is not getting to temperature. Since tranny fluid is likely routed through your radiator for cooling as well, your tranny may not be getting up to proper temp either, causing your TFT to read low (correctly) and alter your shift schedule. This may be a stretch, but something to consider.

-Rod

[TaurusKing]

Have someone scan your car for trans codes, if the car is not shifting when the pcm is commanding it to, most likely a code will be set, which will probably not turn on the check-engine light, it'll be in the hard memory test.. you can buy a code reader form your car, most likely obdI, for about 30 bucks or so, I do believe some vehicles in 95 may have obdII on them, not 100% on that though.. you can have some pressure tests done externally by a reputable trans repair shop, some will run rudimentary diagnostic tests for free, use a locally-owned shop.. The worst case scenario probably looking at around 1500-1700 dollars for a quality rebuilt withn the latest upgrades..130k miles out of that trans is really good and unusual, my son's 93 3.8 has 146k on the original trans,my 94 wagon ax4s failed at 67k.. my 99 wagon ax4n completely destroyed itself internally at approx 65k, the planetary gearset fractured in three pieces, extreme damage according to my trans man, and unusual.. he hadn't seen that much damage in years

[latdf7]

Thanks for all of your advice - I changed the fluid and put in some lucas transmission conditioner. We will see if this works. The weird thing is the 1 -2 shift problem only happens after the car sits for 8 hours or so. Literally after 1 minute of driving at 30 mph and stopping at the next stop sign the car will shift fine. It almost appears the fluid needs time to work its way into the transmission. I will have to go to a locally owned place and grin and bear it. From what I have read here it seems best to replace the transmission versus having them trying to rebuild it - is this correct? Also, do they need to drop the whole tranny to get at most parts anyway like valves, solenoids and what ever else they need to get at?

[jacjm]

i have a 95 with a hard 1-2 shift. changed fluid, 2 bottles of lucas, and still the same shift. only shifts hard when accelerating pretty good. if you ease up to 2nd, it shifts normally. it is the 3.0l engine and i'm not sure of the trans identity/ can anyone recommend a proper diagnosis?

[shorod]

Originally Posted by jacjm

i have a 95 with a hard 1-2 shift. changed fluid, 2 bottles of lucas, and still the same shift. only shifts hard when accelerating pretty good. if you ease up to 2nd, it shifts normally. it is the 3.0l engine and i'm not sure of the trans identity/ can anyone recommend a proper diagnosis?

From your description, I'm not sure this is a problem. The transmission is adaptive and should shift more firmly under hard acceleration. During leisure driving, the transmission will delay the shift by a few milliseconds to give a smooth, comfortable shift. It does this, partly, by allowing the clutches to slip. During aggressive acceleration, it will shift faster and not slip the clutches as much to prolong the transmission and clutch life. Similarly, when the transmission fluid temperature (TFT) sensor reads that the transmission fluid is cold, it will also firm up the shifts for the same reason.

From your description, it sounds like it might be working as designed.

If you are adament that something isn't right, you could check the operation of the TFT sensor as well as the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS). I'm sure there are other sensors involved, but I'm no transmission guru.

-Rod