Bertis_EB2

well I am converting soon so I'm not to worried...... but my 4spd has recently started to slip constantly dropping itself down to 2nd at 120..... does it at least every 20 minutes..... was wondering if a service would fix it or if its totally stuffed.....

peter_vod69

There is a switch thing on the side of the box that determines what gear you are in or something, and it can get covered in dirt and need cleaning. I had an ED Fairmont with the same issue, and it was because I lived up a dirt road. Take it to a ford service dept and get them to clean it, that'll fix the problem. Sorry I can't remember exact details, you'll have to excuse me I have had the EL 5-speed for over a year now... :)

Bertis_EB2

well I serviced it and still havent worked out if I fixed the problem..... Thanks peter I will look into that if it decides its just going to drop back again...... now that I serviced it seems to be a little smoother.....

Bertis_EB2

hmmm I think I might have to take it to a specialist or hope it lives till I get the manual...... its still stuffing up and now its even stuffing up in first gear...... its like its half in neutral and half in first or something..... and when I drop it back from D to the 3 it does nothing at like 120..... is that normal or have I lost overdrive.... seems to reving at 2000rpm at 120 which I think is rather good

Thanks
Bertis

Bertis_EB2

well its gotten a little worse..... I had to do 70 last night coming back from kilmore cause the stupid thing wouldnt change out of second..... I can put it in whatever gear I want 1,2,3,D and it changes into anything it wants to..... its so strange sometimes I can take it out and it will be perfectly fine.... I've noticed when I give it a hard rev in park and then go to drive off it stays in 2nd or 3rd gear and wont come out of it.... anyone know a method or cost of getting this fixed???? I dont want to spend $$$$ atm cause I am planning to do a conversion.... :(

Bertis

XR8 Lamah

Bertis, definitely check the Gear position selector (might also be called a neutral lockout switch or similar). On the 97LE (which isn't what you've got, but should be similar (97LE is V8 EF/L), its a cream plastic box that sits on the side of the gearbox (has a shield over it, sits on passenger side). You can pull it off and check the resistance values with a multimeter, and this will give you a reasonable indication of whether its working or not.

Basically, its used to tell the ecu where you have the selector, and uses resistance values to do this. I've had this problem previously - gradually the switch dies and sends erratic values to the ecu, which will freak out.

Mine occurred randomly for about a 2 weeks, then got very bad on a ski trip Similar symptoms to you, it would randomly pick another gear, (including neutral), and wouldn't respond to the selector in terms of gears. Made highway driving exciting to say the least (2nd at 100 is fun isn't it ? ).

For the 97LE, it was $85 for the new switch, and took all of 15 mins to install.
If it is the switch, and you are planning conversion very soon, you could probably get a second hand switch from the wreckers - but imo this is a common problem, so the switch you get from the wreckers might not last long . . .

Bertis_EB2

:) thats exactly whats going on...... thank god someone else has experienced the problem.... asked so many people and they had no idea what so ever..... went to the local wreckers to get another one and he recons I was on drugs..... also wouldnt sell me a switch because he wants to keep them on the boxes..... but I'll get one shortly and attach it..... I have drive about 200k's last couple of days and it hasnt stuffed up so I not in such a hurry now.

MustangNicko

My mate had the same problem in his EF2XR8. Cruising all the freeway at 110, the thing would just slip back to second. The problem was the neutral switch on the auto gearbox. Get a diagnostics check and see what the problem is.

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