Beej

My brothers 92 EB Falcon XR8 auto dropped from top gear to 3rd the other day whilst doing some highway driving, and could'nt get 4th again until he parked up for an hour or so - then she was sweet.

When I took it for a spin today (to compare revs and changes with my 92 EB Fairmont) I shoved it in 1st and took off - bugger me if didn't change up through the gears all by itself while the shifter was still in 1st! is this normal behaviour? I'm suspecting maybe tranny oil is required (even a flush and change - 260,000kms) - or problems with the solenoid that controls shifting?

Any and all feedback would be appreciated.

XR8 Lamah

This one could be caused by the Gear Position sensor / Neutral lockout switch.
Basically it sits on the side of the tranny and tells the computer what gear position you have the selector in. Its a variable resistor that does go bad occasionally (mine bombed about 6 months ago, someone else in the last week posted similar probs and this was also the cause).

Its an easy part to remove (about 5 - 10 mins under the car ), and not too hard to test ( connect up to a ohm-meter and then change the position - check that it is in the appropriate range.) Unfortunately, depending the level of flakiness, it can sometimes work, and sometimes fail (mine was like this for a month or so ).

Its about $90 for a new switch.
But I'd whip it out and give it a check - will only take about 20mins all up . . .

Hopefully someone can post the right resistances it should show - I don't have an EB manual . . . Otherwise, Ford might be able to test it for you . . .

Oh, and a fluid change probably wouldn't go astray either - there's a bunch of threads on this topic around here . . .