1998 Ford Taurus --Transmission problem---

[la-z-boy]

Then I am driving my car and everything seems fine. I come to a stop light transmission jumps out of gear. Then I have to hit in reverse and then to drive; and car starts moveing with no problems until next stop.

Some ideas? Vehicle has 3.0 liter engine with 150k.

[mrosenwald]

My car does the same thing. I purchased it this past summer, and had no problems for about 3,000 miles. Then I started having trouble when I had to stop for a traffic light or stop sign. I didn't change to reverse gear, though--I just sat there, and after a couple of seconds it would all of a sudden jump into gear and take off. It did this to me in a very random manner for a couple of weeks, then stopped. It has about 103,000 miles on it, and I would like to know what is going on, and how many others have the same problem.

[la-z-boy]

I think i need another transmission...

[drdisque]

yes, this is the typical AX4S transmission failure, it is caused by one of the pistons inside the transmission warping. be happy though, 150k out of an AX4S is really good!

[la-z-boy]

how i hind out which tipe of transmission is in my Taurus: AX4S or AX4N ?

[drdisque]

if your transmission pan has an AX4N, then you have an AX4N, if it says anything other than AX4N, then you have an AX4S

[la-z-boy]

How much usually costs to replace transmission and where can i buy it?

[LarryKL]

Dont want to get oily? The Vehicle Certification Label on the drivers side door jam identifies the auto type. Under the "TR" code, L = AX4S, X = AX4N. At least on my 99 Taurus.

[la-z-boy]

Thanks LarryKL, I found that my transmission is AXAN (like you said i looked at thr label on the drivers side door).
Maybe somebody knows approximately how much is to put new trans?

[drdisque]

a remanufactured trans is about $1800-$2100 with install depending on how good the warranty you get is and where you live.

[la-z-boy]

I think< drdisque> that 1800-2100 is to much, i saw remanufactured trans on ebay for 650, plus labor, so i think it will be around 1100, maybe less....

[pray4mojo]

Great. Mine is doing the samething.

[pray4mojo]

Gods of Ford Taurus's:

Is there anything else this could be?

[drdisque]

nope, not really. The only symptom remotely transmission related thats a quick fix is surging accompanied by a violently moving speedometer, this just requires a new VSS.

[powertoolman]

If you have some basic tools, this is something you can repair and save yourself $2000. You can buy a lot of tools with the $2000 you save.

That's what I did. I used this as an excuse to buy some better tools, and I had never touched a tranny before. It took me about a day to get the valve body out of the engine compartment. Once the valve body is out, you could even pay someone else to fix the valve body for a couple hundred. It only took a few hours to put the car back together.

You don't need to remove the engine. You loosen the driver's side main cross member (but not from passenger side), and remove the transimssion/engine motor mount (frame) and isolation pad. (With the engine supported of course.)

The Haynes manual will help you get the motor mount and isolation pad out (with a good picture of it too). Find a small tranny shop and see if they will show you what the valve body looks like and where it is located. Once you see it out of the car, it will be easier to understand where it is in your car.

The most frustrating part for me was getting all the little crapp out of the way from above the engine. (battery box and wiring harnesses).

Before I had started, I was fairly sure that a $5 retaining clip was at fault, as this is very common on the AX4N. It turns out my pump self destructed. I bought a used valve body (including pump, solenoids, and new pump shaft) for $200.

Oh, I almost forgot. Most tranny shops will connect your car to the computer for $50 and pull out the tranny codes. I actually found an AAMCO shop that pulled the codes for free. Plus the guy showed me the valve body (and suspect retaining clip).