1994 AXODTransmission Fried?

[beads]

My daugters 94 Taurus will not shift out of 1st gear. The transmission has been shifting hard for sometime now. I tried changing the fluid and filter several weeks ago which helped for a couple of days but then it went back to shifting hard. Today the car will not shift into second gear. Does it sound like the transmission is fried?

[rhandwor]

What did you find in the pan when you changed the transmission fluid. Was it burnt and did you find a lot of trash. Are all the plugs on the transmission plugged in especially for the shift solenoids. A transmission shop will install new solenoids but if the fluid is burnt or a lot of trash was in the pan get it rebuilt.

[beads]

The fluid wasn't burnt..there was some fine shavings on the magnet...about 1/16 inch, but no real trash or chunks etc.

[rhandwor]

I've changed the solenoid on my 1997 F-150 but I haven't changed one on a front wheel drive. You can buy them at Ford parts and you can buy a transmission rebuild manual if you want to do it yourself. On the F-150 it was remove the pan unplug the solenoid and remove the torx bolts holding it in. Not a bad job at all. I also cleaned the valve body which was harder.
A transmission shop will do it if asked but will want to do a major rebuild.
Use a shop who does a lot of Ford's. I've got stuck using a rebuilder who didn't do it properly. These are rougher to rebuild and Ford made some changes because of problems. They are very hard to remove from the car and expensive for parts.

[beads]

Ok this is weird now....
This morning I drove the car to church about 3 miles away with the intention of stopping by the AutoZone afterward to have the codes read. On the way to church it did not shif out of 1st gear. On the way to the AutoZone after church it suddenly was shifting through the gears with a little bit of harshness (No, I didn't really say a prayer for it). The codes read 645-648 ("Incorrect gear ratio obtained" (gears 1-4)). When I started it again and drove home it was actually shifting through the gears smoother than it has in many months although from 1-2 seemed to engage at a little higher RPM's than might be normal if I kept the accelerator depressed. If I feathered it shifted at a lower RPM.
What does "incorrect gear ration obtained" mean? What would cause the sudden cure?
Thanks in advance for your help.

[shorod]

It sounds like you have some shift solenoid issues, or possibly input, intermediate, or output shaft speed sensor issues.

If it's either solenoid or sensor issues, it shouldn't require a complete rebuild to replace them.

-Rod