Trans slipping???

I would push throttle and engine would rev but car did not accelerate at all. Checked after a short drive of about 600 miles. It was a bit hard to tell what the level was due to the residual fluid in the tube but it did seem to show fluid in the hash marks at the bottom of the stick. I will probably check it again this morning but will having my mechanic give it a look over.

I kind of suspect that the cable is the problem as this is a known issue with this tranny. Really, really hope that a tear down is not necessary. Don't know if that BG warrantee would be of any use if there is a major problem or whether we can get the info on it. I looked through the papers that I have and do not have anything on any tranny work. It appears that my mechanic is BG certified only for oil changes so I don't know whether he will be able to do anything about that. As far as I can tell the only BG certified tranny shops in my area are GM dealer. Yikes.

BTW, when I manually shifted to D from OD on the hills I left the CC engaged (engine under load) as I shifted. Could that have caused a problem? I haven't had an automatic for quite a while but I don't remember shifting under load being a problem but I could be dead wrong on that so I look for input from the experts.

mike

 

Nah, that is o-k. Well within operating range.

Mark
Berkshire Transmissions
North Adams, Massachusetts

 

Yes, running in park.

I did notice that the temp gauge read lower in the morning and at night when outside air temp was lower. Even during the day after long runs in the hills it never got over even 1/4 and was at the bottom of the normal range. I had plenty of heat but it makes me wonder if the thermostat is possibly not closing all the way so might be worth having the mechanic check that also.

Closest Golden Rule affiliate is 30 miles away in Huntington but there is a Technical Subscriber in town (Russ Moore Transmissions).

mike

 

Most likely the o/d band is gone. It is one of the weak points on the transmission even though others profess to getting 50,000,000 bajillion miles out of theirs with no issue. If it was the TV cable you would probably notice shifting irregularities in all other forward gears.

If you have to do a rebuild there are upgrades available for the o/d band and servo.

 

Will hope for the best. Mechanic will be looking at it next week.

mike

 

ok....I actually went thru this with my 89...sometimes it just felt like it wouldnt come out of 4th !!

up on the throttle body...where the kick down connnects....there is a lil plastic bushing...that wears out !!!!
you wouldnt think that a teeny tiny bit of slop could make the difference...but holy...mu buddy who works at Ford put it in for me...and Nite n day difference !!

im texting right now to see if he recalls the part #

 

oops...didnt realize the time

hes gonna get me the part number tomorrow

apparently this is really common in the 88 to 91...and with out this lil bushing you can toast the tranny...(he says).......

 

Here's the brass bushing. If you are handy with a lathe you can make one fairly easily yourself. I don't know if Ford still has them or not. If they do sometimes they make you buy 3 since they come in packs of 3. Usually if the plastic bushing fails the cable comes completely unhooked from the throttle body linkage and you can really feel it in the shifts in all forward gears.

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com...-shopping-v2&gclid=COjuuKSmsboCFe1aMgoduRAAIg

 

BTW Kevin, I meant to ask. I presume that a bad OD band would mean a total rebuild right? Any thoughts about best or most cost effective approach if so. I would have time to have it rebuilt rather than purchase an already rebuilt if it saves some money.

I suppose one could go with a used tranny from salvage but I wonder about the likelihood of having another failure soon after if it is a common problem.

mike

 

If it were my transmission/car I'd just do the entire trans. You have to take it down pretty far to get to the o/d band. At that point it's one of those "while I'm in here" type things. I'm certainly no trans expert, but that is my opinion.

I don't know what a trans rebuild costs these days or even what you could score a rebuilt unit for. If you have a good trans shop I'd feel better having somebody I know and trust rebuild it from scratch than buying something from somebody else. I'm sure you could save some money by taking the trans out of the car and delivering it to them like that and then reinstalling it yourself.

Either way whatever you do make sure the tv cable is adjusted properly. It's not hard to do if you take your time. All you need is a tv cable spacer to extend the cable while the car is idling and a decent oil pressure gauge. Let me know if you need a step by step if/when it gets to that point.

 

Our son went thru this with his 76 El Camino and recently his 85 Chevy truck with 7004R. Different but similar to the Fords. On the non-electric models the kick down is very important.
Also if you like laying on your back and playing with heavy transmissions buy a used one...or two...or more. Son tried those and ended up going to our Florida NAPA for a rebuilt tranny. Under $1000 with torque converter and ready to hook up if you do your own.
I don't work for NAPA or anyone else. Just the facts and sure beat the other Auto parts stores.

 

Thanks for the info. Given my state of health I am pretty limited in what I can do by myself right now. Might be able to do the adjustment but probably could not install a transmission by myself. I was planning to have my mechanic give the car a once over, sort of a base line inspection so will probably let him try the adjustment.

May not be the whole thing but I bet that this is a part of it...





Kickdown linkage correct?

mike

 

looks like your right on the button mashaffer

 

That's the first problem. But how much damage was done to the bands because of this? Replace the cable, adjust it, and hope.

 

ok...the bushings part number is EOAZ-7F440-A...and according to my guy "every dealer will have it ...thats how common the problem was"

this will be the easiest/cheapest thing to check