AODE Woes
 

I took my 93 LX out for a ride this afternoon to run some errands and pick my son up from high school. While on my way back home, I noticed that, from a complete stop, the transmission seemed to slip a bit before engaging, which was weird, as I had had it completely rebuilt last year, by a reputable local shop, after it lost 2nd gear.

As I tried to make my way back home, I noticed that the slipping was getting worse and the engine temperature gauge was reading slightly higher than normal, but still not into the red "high" area. The slipping got worse each time I tried to take off from a complete stop; I barely made it through a couple of intersections, with people behind me laying on their horns.

I made it my street however the tranny gave up right after I made the turn. The engine temp gauge was at the highest point on the gauge (at the "N" on the "NORMAL" section of the gauge. I completely lost all forward gears, but still had reverse. I shut off the engine and opened the hood to allow things to cool down.

With the engine off, I pulled the tranny dipstick; the fluid was still a reddish-pink, but smelled a little burnt to me. I let the car sit for around 25-30 minutes, and kept checking the temp gauge while turning the key to the "on" position. Once the temp gauge was back in the middle, I restarted the engine, which fired right up, and put the shifter into gear. There was a slight surge as I shifted into reverse, but nothing going from neutral to the forward drive gears, and no forward momentum when I pressed on the accelerator. In fact, the car started to roll back when I took my foot off the brake. I checked the trans dipstick while the engine was running, and it had fluid appearing higher on the dipstick than earlier. I checked the fluid on the dipstick but it did not feel gritty. I should also mention that I brought the car to the transmission repair shop that did the rebuild earlier this spring, as they told me they wanted to see the car after 500 miles to check and see if any adjustments were needed. The tech/owner took it out for a test drive, and added a bit of trans fluid after checking the levels. Per the tech's advice, I put a cardboard sheet under the car, in my garage (which gas oil stains from previous owner's GM products) and have not noticed any leaks.

I called AAA for a tow, and was given a 45+ minute window, so I drove the car the final half mile home in reverse after an interesting K-turn and cancelled AAA after getting back in my driveway and assuring my neighbor that I had not been drinking.

The local shop warranties their work for 3 years/36K miles, which I am no where near, so I will trailer it over to them next week and hope that they cover the work under warranty. I honestly do not abuse or beat on the car, so I am truly at a loss for how the trans could fail so quickly. I understand it's next to impossible to diagnose over the interwebs, but does anyone have any advice or experience with this type of issue?

A complete loss of all forward gears indicates that the forward clutch is failing to apply. You will not be able to engage any forward gears by putting it into drive, or into manual low.

The previous failure, when it lost 2nd gear, may have been due to an issue with intermediate clutch engagement. Now, when you first open up the transmission and remove the pump, the intermediate clutch is the first thing you see. It would have been very easy to address that without digging deeper into the transmission for a complete rebuild. I don't want to point fingers; I'm just saying that it can be tempting if you're in a hurry.

lol........engine temp not in red but at highest on the letter reading...........:icon_deadhorse: do you realize the stock gauge means nothing and by the time it hits that red area, you are well into a 250+ degree range, meaning that your trans temp is at that temp and often even hotter as the fluid runs through the cooler on the radiator............driving it and continuing to drive it overheating as it was IMO is a type of abuse that I'd void your warranty.........most likely it failed completely by driving it with the trans temp to hot.......you need to fix the cars cooling system or expect the same to happen again and it's and AOD not AODE. Aode came in 94 in the mustang 5.0

I totally overlooked that! On my '95 the "N" in "normal" is on the cool end of the gauge...

Yeah, high temperatures are transmission killers. That explains the rapid progression of slippage that took place.

Thank you for the info. I didn't realize the temp gauge was that inaccurate. It's never gotten hot like that before, usually staying in the middle.

I will definitely look into the cooling system once I get the trans fixed. What should I be looking at? Radiator? Water pump?

I guess I also need to invest in some aftermarket gauges for temp, oil pressure, etc.

Whatever you do, don't fry your fresh rebuild. Even if you have to tow it back to your place to fix it.

Not enough information to diagnose the cooling system yet. Could be anything from a thermostat to bad head gaskets.

I will be trailering it to the transmission shop next as soon as I can get an appointment. Once I figure out what's wrong with the tranny and what it's going to cost me, I'll look into the coolant problem. Prior to yesterday, the car never ran higher than the middle of the gauge, although I'm slowly learning that the factory gauge isn't accurate. Will be installing a temp gauge ASAP.

you need to see if the car overheats sitting still or at highway speeds to start with a diagnosis, that's to say it's not low on coolant

Spoke with the transmission repair shop this afternoon. Apparently the accumulator piston delaminated, which led to a fluid leak which caused the trans to fail. Per the tech, it did not seem to be a victim of excessive heat. They are repairing under warranty, which will allow me to have the 3.73 Ford Racing gear set, which is sitting on my garage floor, installed.

Next up, better gauges.