94 escort wagon will not shift out of first and speedometer quit at same time

[ethanaw]

94 escort wagon 1.9L- not shifting out of first gear and speedometer quit working.

I assumed that these problems were due to the extreme cold, -10 Farenheit, because it didn't do this until it got super cold. both problems showed up at the same time. i checked the transmission fluid and it was a little low and i filled it but there was no difference.

[denisond3]

I could imagine the cold (combined with normal aging) made the speedo cable really stiff, and that the parts that spin that cable might have snapped. There is a plastic gear inside the tranny that doesnt look too hard to damage, which also turns the Vehicle Speed Sensor.
The speedo cable plugs into the top of the VSS, which itself fits into the tranny, above where the passenger side axle shaft comes out.
This is a spot that is hard to get a good look at. Even after removing things to get to it, and taking out the bolt that clamps it down, the VSS will likely be hard to pull up - due to corrosion between its housing and the tranny case.
If that drive snapped and the VSS wasnt reporting 'movement' to the PCM, I can imagine the tranny staying in 1st. And of course the speedo wouldt work either.

[Intuit]

Speed sensor ?

Come to think of it these vehicles have mechanical speedometers and have service my own about three times. Don't be surprised if it eventually starts squealing at you intermittently with the needle jumping around a little. May take more than a year or two to reach that point though. The problem was much worse in cold weather. In really cold weather parts contract. The speedometer cable which attaches at the speed sensor turns a metal plate. That metal plate is placed before a magnet which is attached to the needle you see in your instrument cluster. Wear allows that metal plate to constantly moves in and out, too close to and too far away from that magnet. That destroys the precision of the speedometer. If it moves too far away from that magnet it may not work at all. That could be what you're experiencing.

The speed sensor is both electronic and mechanical. I have a manual shift so can't really tell you what happens if the electronic part of the sensor goes bad. But theoretically an automatic transmission won't know when to shift if it doesn't know how fast the vehicle is moving. The mechanical portion should always work but had a seal go bad one time, which meant I was getting out of the car with transmission fluid all over my shoes. (rode in via speedometer cable) This was because I slightly overfilled the manual trans though, not knowing of that possible consequence.

EDIT 09y01m19d_091233: Actually may have it backwards. The magnet might be on the cable side and the plate on the needle side. Could be one way or the other... it's been awhile. Either way the concept is the same.

[ethanaw]

the vehicle speed sensor was the problem. $47 at autozone. it was pretty easy to get to from underneath the vehicle, and it came right out with quite a few taps on the exposed edge(to the rear of the vehicle). there is an o-ring on the VSS so the tranny fluid doen't leak out. There is a rod that fits into a square socket on the plastic gear which contacts inside the transaxle, this piece spins a magnet which i assume basically acts like an encoder to the computer. the rod that the magnet is on spins the speedometer cable.

[ethanaw]

oh yes, there are two different sensors that ford used in this vehicle, one that has a red plastic gear inside the transaxle( this has 22 teeth, and is more expensive by $16 at autozone, about the same at advance). the one with the white plastic gear inside the transaxle has 23 teeth. you will of course need to know which one you have before you call to find a replacement.

[Intuit]

I originally had a white one, but in replacement had received and installed a red one from the dealership. This was a couple of years ago. What is the difference between them ? I have a manual shift transmission.

EDIT: Nevermind... you said the teeth count. Strangely this hasn't presented a problem and I've removed/reinstalled the speed sensor a few times since then when refilling after replacing CV axles for outer CV joint wear due to torn boots.

(btw I never trust Autozone for anything other than light bulbs and oil... that is until I went through a pack of light bulbs inside six weeks -- and no there's nothing wrong with the vehicle -- original bulbs were OEM Kelly brand 13yrs old (adhesive gave way causing bulb contact-ends to fall off) and non-GE replacements are fine)

[Intuit]

You know now that I think about it, this isn't the first time that dealership has given me the wrong part. Last time they gave me the wrong head gasket set. Alright, need to start getting those specialized parts from a different area dealership....