BotleRocketWar

I've got a 2000 Tuarus SE with the 24 Valve engine...

Anytime I am traveling on either a straight and level surface or a very slight incline at exactly 1500 RPM (whether in overdrive or drive) the transmission starts slipping, or going in and out of gear, or trying to decide which gear to be in. There is a slight jerking. It won't do it upon acceleration or deceleration, but while maintaining speed.

Fluid changed out, fluid flushed...Electrical problem maybe? Transmission eating itself?

What's the deal?

Thankss guys!

98shotoy

We had a bunch of problems like this with our company vehicles that were also 2000 Taurus. I honestly dont know what the problem was but I would have to say if you are going to change the tranny fluid get it flushed. It does cost more to have it done but it gives your tansmission a brand new life. It will also feel like you are driving a brand new car. I had it done to my 98 SHO and I could not believe the difference it made. You are supposed to have the tranny fluid flushed....not drained....but flushed every 60,000 miles. That also includes a new filter too. I would start there and see what that does. You could also have a bad coil pack and if you have soem high miles.....over 70,000 you might want to think about replacing those too. THese cars are said to be 100,000 mile tune up cars but let me tell you they arent!!!!!

__________________
Matt
1998 SHO
2004 F150 STX
2003 Explorer XLT Limited
Monroe, MI

I'd rather be judged by twelve then carried by six

BotleRocketWar

It was flushed in hopes that the problem would be cured...

It's got 97,000 miles on it. We have a 97 Taurus with 205,000 and a perfect transmission, so we expect better. Even though it's a Ford...

Is the coil pack an expensive item?

98shotoy

The Coil Packs are usually around 100.00....unless you have coilover's. Bt that I mean there is one coil "pack" that plugs into each of your spark plugs. If you have coilover's then that can get pretty expensive.

__________________
Matt
1998 SHO
2004 F150 STX
2003 Explorer XLT Limited
Monroe, MI

I'd rather be judged by twelve then carried by six

fastnsmooth

"at exactly 1500 RPM (whether in overdrive or drive) the transmission starts slipping, or going in and out of gear, or trying to decide which gear to be in."

One possibility is that the transmission is "hunting", i.e. the sensors that control electronic shifting are reading that the load is right on the border between continuing in the present gear or downshifting, so the computer initiates a downshift, then decides to cancel it and remain in the present gear. I've encountered this in other vehicles, so it's not just a Ford problem. It seems to occur when driving at low rpms in vehicles in which the drivetrain programming is leaning more towards economy rather than performance. My only complaint about my 2000 SES with the Duratec engine has been that the shifts are "mushy" under partial throttle, almost feels like the transmission is slipping. Ford techs say that is by design; programming for sharp, crisp shifts would mean rapid downshifts under partial throttle, resulting in lower gas mileage. Several of the performance EPROM chip suppliers claim improved shifting as part of their performance enhancement.

98shotoy

Thats true now that I think about it. At 1500 rpms you are not going very fast and its almost like the "overdrive" gear is to low of an rpm so its trying to "decide" on what gear to be in. My 98 SHO does that at about 1500 rpms when I am going around 35-40 mph.

__________________
Matt
1998 SHO
2004 F150 STX
2003 Explorer XLT Limited
Monroe, MI

I'd rather be judged by twelve then carried by six

hawki101

I have the same problem with my vehicle. I am very upset at this problem I always have to let off the gas and apply it again to get the groaning noise to go away when it goes that far down in OD. Why can't over drive engage at 1900 rpms all the time. I notice when it engages at this RPM level its smoother operation. What ever the case is these transmission need a smoother operation period. I am also tired of the jerky transmission especially when coming to a stop and taking off you get a jult.

aford4you2

Only the 2000 Taurus\sable had coil over plugs. If it was a spark problem there would be misfire codes

skyedragon

I'm telling you it's the torque converter. I had the same problem with my Taurus. Most people don't even think it would come from the TC. The car shudders at low speeds, acceleration, and deceleration.

ljn

Anybody with a Ford Taurus (or any car for that matter) should sign up at www.Alldata.com and gain access to all of the technical service bulletins, repair procedures, schematics, etc. A worthwhile investment. You won't believe all the insider information you can get by doing this. There are all sorts of sensors on these cars that can affect the transmission and you can probably narrow the problem down quickly by using alldata.com