P1744 Please help!!!!

[khemika]

I have Ford Taurus 99 and this code-P1744 has shown
after a week I just bought this car. Many mechanics tell me the only way to fix this problem is to rebuilt or change a tranny...that will cost 1300 - 1500$$!!!! (that's almost half of the car price I iust paid!!!!) OMG!!!!!? Therefore, I decide just leave it like that........till now a year & half pass...my car still running good. But anyway I have to move and wanna sell it so I have to fix it. And I'm pretty sure that's not concern directly with the trasmission like many others siad...(I read a lot about P1744) but what it is about? What should I do?
1. Should I change the Transmission Range Sensor (TRS)
2. or should I do something with the coolant system
3. or Is it about the vehicle speed sensor?

All mechanics & Ford experts..Plese help me out with this problem....please!!!

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum, and thank you for first searching for the code!

I'm not a mechanic or a Ford expert, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.... j/k

According to the service manual, the code definition is "Excessive slip detected during full TCC engagement." The diagnostic procedure for this code (Transmission Pinpoint Test C) is 14 pages long in PDF format. If you would like me to e-mail you a copy of the procedure, send me a Private Message with the request and an e-mail address for you that will accept PDFs.

Oh, it would also be helpful to know if you have the AX4S or AX4N transmission as the diagnostic procedure is specific to the transmission type.

-Rod

[khemika]

Thanks so much Shorod
Umm..so it is really concern about the transmission.
Can u help estimate the cost for the car fix follow your 14 PDFs pages
by local mechanic? Or Do u have any suggestion about the place to fix it?
I really appreciate your help. I will try to find the transmission model & will
send all information to u.

[shorod]

I don't have any clue as to what it might cost to repair the issue, or suggestions on where to take the car. You should probably check with co-workers and friends to find out if there is a local shop that others have used and been pleased with.

The problem could be something as simple as an input or output shaft speed sensor to a torque converter clutch issue.

-Rod

[Colt Hero]

Completely flush the cooling system (using the TSB "ph Iron Cleaner") and see if that makes the code go away. I had this same code (5?) years ago after completely transfusing my tranny fluid (against all recommendations b/c I hadn't touched it since new and the car had 97k on it at that time). The P1744 code appeared about 400 miles later. Wasn't until I completely flushed the cooling system (I'm guessing 4-6 months later) that the code went away and never returned.

Apparently, in my case at least, this code was connected to the cooling of the tranny fluid. Since the cooling system was so gunked up (standard for '97 vintage Tauruses) it wasn't cooling the tranny fluid properly. For the old, blackened tranny fluid I guess this wasn't a problem, but for the fresh tranny fluid the computer didn't like it. Maybe the fresh fluid held heat better than the old fluid??? I dunno... It's been 60k so far and no code ...

[Tom mclaughlin]

Im new here and I had a P1744 Problem...
I noticed that between 1st and second gear it clunks into gear or sometimes slips into gear..All the gears are good and the tranny is good aswell. Today it didnt want to change out of 1st gear for a while...But I let it sit for a bit and now it seems to change gears better than before..No slipping or clunking into gear..I know its prob not fixed,But my fluid looks and smells ok, nothings wrong with the gears and now the check engine lite is gone away and it shifts ok... What in the world is going on with this..Is there a way to change out and flush out the old tranny fluid ? If so how do I do this..Im not a mech ,But can follow directions well...Oh and 1 more question.
If its shifting ok for now , will it mess up on me when Im on the interstate going back to Kentucky ???? I need it to last till I get back to Ft Campbell Kentucky..Where Im in the army...Does it sound like a cooling problem ?
Please help if u all can.
Thanks Again
Tom McLaughlin

[Colt Hero]

It doesn't sound like what I experienced with my Taurus. In my case, there were no shifting problems beforehand. I was only completely transfusing the fluid because I was about to take the car on a 2000-mile round trip and the tranny fluid was still original from the factory (97k miles previous).

I used the Ford procedure to transfuse my fluid: Remove lower cooling line to tranny (mine had 3/8" plastic coupling that just pinches off/clicks back on), attach 3' hose to line, run car at idle to pump out 3-4 Qts (SHUT OFF ENGINE IMMEDIATELY ONCE FLOW STOPS), pour in 10 Qts of new fluid, run car at idle again to pump out ~10-12 Qts (my old fluid was black, so I saw the new fluid coming out), again - SHUT OFF ENGINE IF FLUID STOPS - lastly add back in 2-3 Qts. Then run engine to normal op temp and check dipstick level. Should be in crosshatched area. If below, add new fluid in 1/2 pint increments.

My Taurus holds ~12 Qts fluid total. Because I'm not a mechanic and everything I do on my cars is usually the first time I'm doing it, I measured everything that came out to make sure I didn't end up overfilling the system (a very bad thing to do).