95 random shifting

[krmn22]

hello
can anyone tell me what to do
my car shifts up and down when sitting at stoplights seemes to be in nutrial when i first start off from a stop and doesnt shift properly at speeds less than 45 once i get up to about 55 runs like it has nothing wrong with it if i have to start up fast it will shift in and out of gears and chirp the tires
fluid is pink low oder have not checked for codes
its a 95

[shorod]

Does the cruise control work fine at 35 mph or slightly higher? If not (or really even if it does) I'd initially suspect the Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS).

You can search this Taurus forum for "speed sensor" and find some of the symptoms others have had that point to a faulty VSS as well (in case you're curious).

-Rod

[krmn22]

i have never used the cruise control i tried disconnecting it so i will see how it runs today

also if my vss is bad would the check engine light come on or do i have to run the codes to find out?

i also did look around for vss and it seems like it could be that but i will drive it again and see

thanks for your help

[shorod]

What did you disconnect, the cruise control or the VSS? Disconnecting the cruise will not take the VSS out of the circuit. Also, if the VSS is faulty, disconnecting it may not cause a change in the shifting since the part is already bad.

However, if the cruise works and holds speed just fine (with the cruise and VSS connected), I would suspect that the VSS is probably working properly.

Depending on the degree of fault it may or may not cause a trouble code to be stored. With a 1995, a good OBD-I scan tool may be able to access the datastream from the PCM and display vehicle speed. This value would come from the VSS in most cases and help you troubleshoot.

-Rod

[krmn22]

i dissconnected the 6 pole plug from the back side of the round plastic thingy on the driver side that is bolted to where the front shock comes through the body of the car it has on cable that runs to the throddle body last night both on my way to and my way home i had no shifting errors exept when i innitionally put it in drive it drops in kinda hard but other than that it seems to be running ok as far as shifting goes new problem is it is running hot but i am pretty sure it is the thermastat
thankyou for the tip on what to search for it seems that i got lucky and it was the easiest fix at least this time