98 windstar 3.8 lit - Turbine Shaft Speed Sensor

[jayjp200]

Friends,
Did anyone had expertise on how to remove the Turbine Shaft Speed Sensor? It is not the Vehicle Speed Sensor.
It is located right besides the transmission range sensor.
I do not know how to remove it. Please help.
Thanks

[wiswind]

The Turbine Speed Shaft Sensor is mounted on the driver's side of the transaxle.....right next to where the driveshaft comes out.
It is at about the 11 o'clock position relative to the driveshaft.
It has 1 electrical connection and is held in place by 1 bolt.

[jayjp200]

Wiswind,
Looks like I am confused with something else. This sensor is right besides the TRS (transmission range sensor) and is vertically mounted.
I have just added a picture here. Please tell me how do I remove it.
Thanks.

[jayjp200]

Wiswind,
I have already damaged it trying to get it out and now I must get this out.
Thanks.

[wiswind]

I have tried looking at pictures on alldataDIY and my own pictures.....
My own pictures do not show it (as you know......it is down in there....hard to see).

I am sorry that it is not a good time for me to go out and look......my windstar is sitting outside....and we are in the middle of a snowstorm right now.....(snow and wind)......

The best that I am seeing from alldataDIY is that it looks like that connector could be a wire harness connection.
In other words......it is not a sensor, but a connector.....on a wire harness that goes to various things inside the transmission.

In the drawing on AlldataDIY, it looks like the plug up top.....wires inside the transaxle going to 6 different connectors.....also inside the transaxle.
They call it "Bulkhead assembly - wiring connector"
It looks like there are 9 pins inside.

As viewd from the vehicle wire harness connector, that plugs into the transaxle connector.

Pin 1 is Shift Solenoid 1 (SS1) Orange with Yellow stripe wire
Pin 2 is Power to all shift solenoids SS1-SS3 Red Wire
Pin 3 is Torque Converter Clutch solenoid (TCC) Red with Light Blue stripe wire
Pin 4 is not used (may not be present....or blank)
Pin 5 is Transmission Fuid Temperature (TFT) input Orange with Black Stripe wire
Pin 6 is Shift Solenoid 2 (SS2) Pink with Orange Stripe wire
Pin 7 is Torque Converter Clutch and Electronic Pressure Control (TCC & EPC) power source Red wire.
Pin 8 is Shift Solenoid 3 (SS3) Pink with Black stripe wire
Pin 9 is "signal return" Grey with Red stripe wire
Pin 10 is Electronic Pressure Control (EPC) solenoid White with Yellow stripe wire.

[jayjp200]

Originally Posted by wiswind

The Turbine Speed Shaft Sensor is mounted on the driver's side of the transaxle.....right next to where the driveshaft comes out.
It is at about the 11 o'clock position relative to the driveshaft.
It has 1 electrical connection and is held in place by 1 bolt.

Wiswind,
How do I test this sensor which you have mentioned. Mine shows 130 ohms. It is a small magnet built in the sensor.
Is the VSS and turbine shaft speed sensor the same for 98 Windstar 3.8 Lit.?
Please reply.
Thanks.

[wiswind]

Vehicle Speed Sensor which tells the speedometer how fast you are going AND sends an electrical signal to the PCM telling it how fast you are going has 2 parts for vehicles with the mechanical speedometer.
A cable connects for the speedometer....and the cable spins when the vehicle moves.
The magnetic part sends a electrical pulse to the PCM.
Mine failed......speedometer was fine but the electrical signal to the PCM became intermittent and caused problems with transmission shifting.....and flashing O/D light on the gear select lever.
There was a code stored that indicated that the VSS was bad.
The VSS is a pain to change due to the location.
I was on a trip with my youth group when mine failed.....going up a LONG steep hill in 105 degree F heat...pulling a trailer with 7 of us in the vehicle.....so I was pleased and surprised to find that it was just the sensor.
The place that replaced it was great...and they told me that they often get the wrong part when they order them....and check the physical size between the 2 parts right away.
The speedometer cable has a connection that you can disconnect about 2 to 3 feet from the sensor.....under the big flex hose that goes from the air filter box to the throttle body.
Makes it easier to work with.
The guy was under the vehicle.....working "by feel" to get to the bolt and the electrical connection.
Of course.....they had to wait for the catalytic converter to cool down since he was practically hugging it throughout the process.

Turbine Speed Sensor, is super easy to replace by comparison.
This measures the speed of the shaft that is coming out of the torque converter.
So the pulses that the magnetic pickup send to the PCM tell how much slip there is in the torque conveter.
The PCM knows the speed going INTO the torque converter from the RPM value of the engine.

These 2 parts are completely different parts....not interchangable, even though the electrical signal is produced in much the same way, the physical package of the part is very different.

As far as testing.....it would be a matter of seeing if there are electrical pulses coming out of the sensor when the shaft is turning.
In all honesty, if you have a code indicating that one of these parts is defective, and you don't see an obvious problem other than the sensor, like damaged cable to it or unplugged connection, you are best to just replace the part.
The part is NOT expensive, suggested list that AlldadaDIY lists for the VSS is just under $40, and just under $30 for the TSS.

Rockauto lists them for less, select the correct one for your vehicle. under "electrical" - "Speed Sensor"

It looks like the TSS is listed under the same group as the VSS...but the picture has no gear on it and the electrical connector is at 90 degrees to the sensor body.
The Standard Motor Products TSS lists at $21.79, plus shipping....it is listed at "Trans Speed Sensor Input"

Standard Motor Products (not their T series) lists the VSS for under $18, plus shipping for the VSS and it is listed as "Trans Speed Sensor Output"