98 taurus 24v trans stuck in 1st gear no codes

[borninabarn]

My friend has a 98 taurus with the 24v motor.200k on the car.Tranny has been working fine and all of a sudden the car wont shift out of 1st gear.No check engine light has ever come on speedo works and fluid recently changed.Any list of Ideas to check for?Thanks,Born

[shorod]

Probably the first thing to check is to make sure the fluid level is correct, not too low and not too high. Also, are they sure the correct fluid was used when changed?

-Rod

[borninabarn]

The tranny fluid is just right.Do any of you ford techs out there know anything else to look at or check?Thank You!!

[micheldb10]

Hi,

I have a 96 Taurus 24V which is doing exactly what yours was doing...not shifting out of 1st gear. I have had a transmission leak for the last few months. It did this few months ago and I put in the Lucas Trans. Fluid to stop the leaking and it worked fine for a couple of months. It starting doing this again. I drove twice and it shifted fine, but it's pretty much stuck in 1st gear. What was the resolution to your problem? Thanks.

Michel

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum!

Check again to see if it's stuck in 1st or 2nd. Second gear is usually the default for when the transmission recognizes there's a problem. Also, try shifting to different forward gears using the transmission lever to see if really only one gear works or if the others work when manually shifted.

-Rod

[micheldb10]

Rod,

Not sure if it's 1st or 2nd. I'm at 40mph at 3,000 RPM. The day after I noticed the problem, it shifted perfectly fine for a while, then it stopped. The day after that, it shifted into gears fine again. But it has been stuck in this gear for the last 3 days. I saw a post from a woman who had the same problem, and by replacing the transmission range sensor, everything went back to normal. How do you try to shift into different forward gears. I tried 2 on the shifter, but it didn't shift into another gear. P, D R, everythings work fine. When it does shift, it shifts smoothly without any problems. I've had a leak in my transmission for the last nine months, but I have been monitoring the fluid levels and refilling as required. I haven't brought it in to have the codes pulled. Let me know what you think.

[shorod]

Certainly having the transaxle codes should help narrow down this issue. A standard, consumer-grade scan tool won't access non-powertrain codes, so you'll likely need to use a professional scan tool to get this information. In otherwords, getting the transaxle codes probably won't be free.

It sounds like you're transmission is in 2nd gear, which would indicate limp-home mode. Does the shift lever allow you to shift to "1" or is "2" the lowest you can select? It's been awhile since I had my '98 SHO and it was console shift, so I'm not sure if that would allow me to select "1" or not.

Transmission Range Sensors have been known to cause some pretty odd electrical issues and for awhile it seemed like everyone was fixing their Taurii issues by replacing their TRS's.

-Rod

[micheldb10]

I can shift into "1" or "2" and drive without a problem. But it seems like the same gear. I don't notice anything different than driving in "D". Reverse is fine also. I might have a repair place put in a new TRS. It's a 15min repair and the part isn't that expensive. If that doesn't work, then I'll have them pull the codes and go from there.

[Big_red16424]

I wish i had some experience to help you.

So in lack of this i'll post

I hate automatics.

I have an automatic olds achieva, decent car but would be nice with a standard.

[trannyman52]

on driver's side of transaxle,,,just above axle shaft,,,,turbine sensor,,,see that it is plugged in,,,,remove and clean,,,or take to auto zone or similar to have it checked,,,,,,if no signal,,,,computer assumes car is not running......