91 escort gt tranny problem need help

[kikwearsk8er]

I start the car in the morning. i can't get out of first until like 5 mins down the road. sometimes my reverse doesn't seem to work well. after it warms up it runs great. i don't know if the fluids/filter have been changed. how hard is it to do?

[taillight]

Not hard, but messy.

[kikwearsk8er]

can u point me to a post that will show me how

[taillight]

Get a big drain pan. Remove the bolts. drop the pan. remove the filter. Get a filter and gasket. clean off old gasket. Put in new filter. Install new gasket and bolt up pan. fill with trany fluid with engine running to full mark on dip stick

[kikwearsk8er]

thanks alot . any idea on how much it'll cost and how much fluid do i put in

[taillight]

About $25 plus 3-5 qt. transmissiom fluid.

[kikwearsk8er]

thanks alot.

[kikwearsk8er]

i noticed another problem. if i sit in park and try to rev it it is very slow to get up and only gets to about 4k

[mightymoose_22]

If it has been awhile, consider changing spark plugs and wires while you are at it. Another $30-40 or so depending on what parts you choose.
You may be revving slow due to a miss, but it could be something else.... a compression check is always a very useful test for something like this too.

[kikwearsk8er]

well i just finsihed changing the fluids/filter. it drove like S*** like it was before. i parked it to make sure i had enough fluid in it now i can't get it to go forward or backward. what could be the problem now.

[denisond3]

How many miles are on this car, and were they highway miles, or in-town miles?
The 2nd generation (91-96) Escorts used a 4EAT automatic transmission. I had a friend whose 93 Escort would stick in 1st gear until the tranny got warmed up - about 5 to 10 minutes of driving along at slow speed but with the engine howling at high rpm. He finally pulled the transmission and got it rebuilt. In our 92 Escort (with 190,000 highway miles on it) the tranny quit working one day when it wouldnt move forward after coming to a stop sign. Nor would it back up. Even after I poured in 2 quarts of ATF it would only turn the wheels if they were jacked up off the ground. So I removed and rebuilt the tranny. The only new parts that looked different from the old ones were the little pressure relief piston for the oil pump, and the spring for that pressure relief piston. The paperwork with the rebuild kit mentioned that low oil pump pressure at low rpm had been a problem with the 4EAT - hence a stronger spring and different relief valve piston were provided.
Most people would say your transmission needs rebuilt. But if I were in your situation and had a place where I could work on it, it might be worth putting in those two new parts, the spring and the piston, to see if the tranny would still work. They can both be installed in the tranny from underneath, without too much trouble, and without removing the pan again. While it may be a long shot - its much cheaper/faster than changing out the transmision.
The oil pump is at the end of the tranny furthest from the motor, and is made of cast iron, whereas the rest of the tranny case is aluminum. The oil pump spring and piston will drop out if you remove the hex head plug that is at the bottom of the oil pump. You might need to remove a plastic splash shield to reach this. If you can find a business that sells automatic transmission parts they can sell you a bubble-pack with just the 'improved' spring and relief valve piston for the 4EAT. I think they cost about $20. You would have to drain much of the ATF out of the transmission, or let it dribble out of the hole when you unscrew the plug below the spring. One business that advertises their transmission 'hard parts' on ebay is: ctpowertrain. You can also do a search on ebay for 4EAT and find used transmissions for sale - but I would make sure that any used tranny that goes into the car has had the new type of oil pump relief valve spring and piston installed before it goes into the car.
You may have to put a rod up into the bottom of the relief valve piston to get it to slide down. You will see how this is possible when you have the new little piston in hand.


I dont know why the engine wont rev up normally. If your car has reached 100,000 miles, it should have its timing belt replaced. If the timing belt has slipped a tooth - it may still start and run, but will be really feeble on power. A compression test would show this, as uniformly low compression on all cylinders. And it will soon slip another tooth too - then it wont start.

[kikwearsk8er]

thanks for the info

[kikwearsk8er]

i can't seem to find the location of this pump. can u give me some refrence points on it location. or maybe a picture if possible

[mightymoose_22]

Now THAT is some of the best advice I have seen around in awhile...

I would certainly do the same after hearing stories similar to yours... considering the cost and easy access, give that relief valve a try.

As for the lack of power, do you feel it is engine related or a result of the transmission problems?

[kikwearsk8er]

i think its with the tranny. if i leave it in park she'll rev but if i put it in any gear it'll unly get up to about 4k. i still can't seem to find that pump either