Please help

[upset inmo]

I have a 98 Windstar and in March i had the transmission rebiult,it started acting up again a few weeks later so he worked on it again.Now its doing it again but this time worse.When going down the road at full speed it will shift into low gear and cruise or the speedo will stop working when the trans starts to act up.But then it goes back into gear and cruise and speedo starts to work again.

[LeSabre97mint]

Originally Posted by upset inmo

I have a 98 Windstar and in March i had the transmission rebiult,it started acting up again a few weeks later so he worked on it again.Now its doing it again but this time worse.When going down the road at full speed it will shift into low gear and cruise or the speedo will stop working when the trans starts to act up.But then it goes back into gear and cruise and speedo starts to work again.

Hello Upset

Welcome to AF's. It sounds like your vehical speed sensor (VSS) may be giving you trouble. It's located in/on the transmission. Have you brought it back to where it was worked on?

Regards

Dan

Here is the answer I got as a PM:

Originally Posted by upset inmo

well i had it rebuilt the 1st of march then a week later it failed again so i took it back,now its doing it again just worse.this will be the 3rd time he has had to work on it,i'm wondering if it might not just be the mechanic?and if the trans would have anything to do with the criuse and speedo messing up when the trans starts to slip?also found out today the rack and pinion is gone is why my power steering quit yesterday too when all the other stuff happened.

[wiswind]

Also, only having 1st and 2nd gear is "limp mode" which can be caused by the TRS (Transmission Range Sensor). The TRS is mounted on top of the transmission, under the air filter stuff......A cable goes from the TRS to the Gear select lever on your steering column.
A common failure is for the switch to fail such that the PCM does not know what gear you have selected......and it puts the transmission into "limp mode"

You can see a picture of the TRS in my picture titled "Under the Air Filter".....the Cruise control module is shown in that picture also.

It is an inexpensive part and fairly easy repair........sure worth looking into.

The other thing worth mentioning......when your transmission was "rebuilt"....it is CRITICAL that they throughly flushed the transmission cooler(s) and made sure that they were not clogged, partially or fully.
When a transmission fails, it is possible for crud to become lodged in the passages in the cooler that is mounted inside the radiator, and also in any auxillary cooler.
If this crud is not removed.....or the cooler(s) replaced if the correct flow cannot be restored......the transmission will overheat and fail again.
This is as per FORD TSB # 03-14-08 which is a update of TSB # 98-13-12

[Jeckler]

I'd go with the VSS failing. Different car, but same brand.....

My '95 Taurus developeed the same symptoms about 5 years ago. It was under warranty, and the transmission was replaced, TWICE. After it did it the third time, they found the VSS had gone bad. Once that was replaced, it was fine. So a new tranny for about $300 (the VSS was not covered under warranty).
The VSS has gone bad two more times since then, with the same result. There is supposed to be a heatshield protecting it, but seems to have been left off during one of its replacements. A new shield was crafted and installed two years ago. Knock on wood.

A good indicator that it is the VSS is the fact that the speedo quit working, and the cruise control ceases to work.

[zombie13]

Reading some of this makes me wonder if I jumped the gun. Here goes (and I know this isn't the correct forum....) I have '95 Contour that was running fine, cruising a 70 down the hiway when there was a loud pop, followed by the engine running louder than it was previously (read: different gear). The speedo also quit at this point. Successfully got to work, and then on the way home, the tranny seemed to skip second. It would rev in first until it finally had a large jump into what I figure is third. My assumption was the tranny went kaput so I bought a new car. Was this a valid assumption?

Z.